In this breakdown, we'll be covering how each team stacks up following the offseason, who to watch out for, betting odds, injury reports, and some fun facts to get things started.
Now, let's take a look at the breakdown as we are just a few hours away from the 2026 NFL season kicking off.
Fun facts
This marks just the second time in NFL history when a season starts on a Wednesday. The first was in 2012 when the New York Giants hosted the Dallas Cowboys to avoid overlapping with President Barack Obama's speech at the Democratic National Convention.
Teams that won the Super Bowl are an astounding 43-9-1 in their Week 1 games in the following season.
And since 2002, the home team in the NFL's Kickoff Game has won 18 of the last 24 matchups. The last time they lost was in 2022 when the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Detroit Lions.
Seattle are also undefeated (4-0) against the Patriots since losing to them in Super Bowl XLIX (2014) and hold an 11-8 all-time regular season record.
The Patriots have won eight straight regular season road games, while the Seahawks have won seven straight at home. It's time for something to give in this anticipated matchup.
Seahawks breakdown
Seattle had some hits to their team leading up to the 2026 Kickoff Game.
Star running back and Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III left for the Kansas City Chiefs. Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak became the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, replaced by former San Francisco 49ers tight end and run game coordinator Brian Fleury.
Safety Coby Bryant signed with the Chicago Bears, while linebacker Boye Mafe went to the Cincinnati Bengals and cornerback Riq Woolen to the Philadelphia Eagles.
On top of that, safety Bud Clark is starting the season on the IR with a broken ankle, and running back Zach Charbonnet is still rehabbing his way back from an ACL tear, meaning their two starting RBs from last season will not be on the field for them in Week 1.
Now, that doesn't mean they don't have a stacked squad.
Rookie running back Jadarian Price has been making waves through camp and the preseason as one of the favorites to win Offensive Rookie of the Year. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is coming off a season where he led the league in receiving with 1,793 yards and 10 touchdowns as he continues to lead (almost) the same receiving group with Rashid Shaheed, Cooper Kupp, Tory Horton, and rookie Montorie Foster Jr.
Meanwhile, AJ Barner remains the starting tight end after putting up career numbers during his second season, falling just behind Smith-Njigba with six receiving touchdowns for the second-most on the team in 2025.
On the flip side, the Seahawks still pose one of the best front sevens in the entire league.
Leonard Williams (All-Pro), Demarcus Lawrence (Pro Bowler), Byron Murphy II, Jarran Reed, Drake Thomas, and Ernest Jones IV (All-Pro) all return this season. It's a unit that didn't allow a single rusher to hit the 100-yard mark in a game all last season, as their streak is currently at an NFL record of 26 consecutive games.
Their All-Pro cornerback Devon Witherspoon (All-Pro) is healthy and ready to go, but standout safety Nick Emmanwori is still questionable after missing practice, leaving a possible massive disadvantage in the secondary. However, it's important to note that the Seahawks went 3-0 during the weeks (2-4) Emmanwori missed last season.
Although their opponents during that stretch were the Pittsburgh Steelers, Arizona Cardinals, and New Orleans Saints - none had a top-10 scoring offense and a combined 18-33 record.
Seattle lost only twice at home during the regular season last year; one of those was in Week 1, when they fell to their division rival San Francisco 49ers, 17-13. The other was against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a 38-35 shootout.
In 2014, following their first Super Bowl win, the Seahawks won their Week 1 game in the following season in a 36-16 beatdown of the Green Bay Packers. Since then, Seattle has been 9-3 in home openers.
Quarterback Sam Darnold has the chance to become the first quarterback in Seahawks history to throw for at least 4,000 passing yards in three straight seasons. Despite former QB Russell Wilson having four seasons with at least 4,000 passing yards, he never had three straight doing so.
Patriots breakdown
The Patriots offensive line gave up the eighth-most sacks (48) last season, and they're practically running with the same unit besides one minor change. Jared Wilson will move to center, while newly signed Alijah Vera-Tucker takes the left guard spot.
Despite letting Stefon Diggs walk, the Pats helped out their wide receiver core big time. They traded for All-Pro A.J. Brown in a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles and also signed Romeo Doubs, who just put up a career-high 724 yards last season, while also retaining Demario Douglas, Mack Hollins, and Kyle Williams.
Hunter Henry remains their No. 1 tight end after leading the team with seven touchdowns last season. Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson will be the team's top two backs.
However, Henderson has been ruled out of the opener, so expect two-year back Corey Kiner to get some reps as the [a href="https://x.com/YahooFantasy/status/2089425968268234828?s=20" target="_blank"]team originally had Stevenson and Henderson at a 50-50 split[/a] heading into Week 1.
On the defensive side, New England's unit ranked eighth in total defense to Seattle's sixth last season. They also ranked fourth in PPG (18.8), while Seattle ranked first (17.2). However, their front seven is looking a little different.
Elijah Ponder moved up to a starting outside linebacker role after serving as a backup during his rookie year last season. He'll take over Harold Landry's role as he remains on the physically unable to perform list with knee issues.
Dre'Mont Jones is now a starter for the Pats after splitting the games last season with the Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens. He's taking over the spot left by K’Lavon Chaisson, who signed with the Washington Commanders in the offseason after putting up a career-high in QB hits (18), sacks (7.5), and forced fumbles (2).
Safety Kevin Byard is the only new face among starters who made up a secondary that gave up the ninth-fewest passing yards per game (193.5) last season. Byard set a career-high and led the NFL last season with seven interceptions and was already named a team captain for the Patriots heading into his first season with the team.
He'll be a huge boost to a secondary consisting of the same starters from last season that ranked 21st in both opposing passer rating (92.8) and interceptions (10). And that was in a season when they faced just one top-10 passing offense (Cincinnati Bengals).
However, the Patriots' starters are relatively healthy outside of the aforementioned Landry and Henderson. And that might be the difference-maker against a banged-up Seattle team.
They'll be rocking their grey-white-blue uniform combo for the season opener, while the Seahawks rock the all-blue that they wore in the Super Bowl.
Who to watch out for
A.J. Brown is a name to watch out for in this matchup. Last season, Kayshon Boutte became the first Patriots receiver since Julian Edelman (2011) to put up at least 100 receiving yards (103) in a Week 1 game.
Brown has accomplished this himself before in 2022 with the Eagles. And when that happened, Hurts was in his second full season as the team's starting quarterback. And this year? It will be Drake Maye's second full season as the Patriots' starting quarterback (in his rookie year, he sat behind Jacoby Brissett to start the season).
The current highest "over" betting odds for Brown's yardage in this game are at 74.5 (MGM), while the lowest under is at 64.5 for the majority of sportsbooks. Will we see some magic happening with Brown this game if the stars align? Or will he have a rehash of last season when Brown put up just eight yards on one reception the entire game in Week 1?
On the Seahawks side, there's no bigger chance than for rookie running back Jadarian Price to live up to the hype he's receiving. With Walker's departure and Charbonnet on the IR, expect Price to have a heavy workload.
It's unknown how the Seahawks will operate with other running backs George Holani and perhaps Emanuel Wilson in the mix, but Price's over-under on rushing yards is set around 51.5 to 54.5, depending on the sportsbook. And for any bettors out there, the Patriots defense gave up at least 51 yards to opposing rushers in seven games last season; six of those were offenses that ranked top 10 in rushing (Bills x2, Jets x2).
Meanwhile, Seattle ranked 11th in rushing.
Take that as you will, but there could be some fireworks from the rookie in his debut under the lights.
Seahawks-Patriots Week 1 injury report
Seahawks safety Ty Okada is ruled out after not practicing all week. Running back Emanuel Wilson, cornerback Julian Neal, guard Anthony Bradford, and tight end AJ Barner are all good to go after being full participants in practice all week.
Offensive lineman Josh Jones also has no injury status for Week 1 after being a limited participant in practice this week. Meanwhile, Tory Horton (WR) and Emmanwori (S), as mentioned before, are both questionable for the Patriots matchup after both were limited in practice over the past three days.
As for the Patriots, center Ben Brown and running back TreVeyon Henderson are both out for the Seahawks matchup, while defensive tackle Christian Barmore has no injury status after being a full participant in practice on Monday and Sunday.
Seahawks-Patriots betting odds
The Seahawks (-176) are 3.5-point favorites over the Patriots a few hours ahead of kickoff, with the over-under set at 44.5 points.
Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson is listed with the best odds to score a touchdown (+110), followed by Price (+135), Smith-Njigba (+140), and Brown (+150). Stevenson is listed at 57.5 o/u for rushing yards.
Four of the top five players given the best odds to record a sack are on the Seahawks, with the Patriots' Jones (+182) as the outlier in the group led by Seattle's Demarcus Lawrence (+116).
Maye's over-under on passing yards is set at 232.5, with Darnold's at 228.5.
Brown's over-under for receptions is at 5.5 and receiving yards at 64.5 (-113); Smith-Njigba's is at 6.5 and 81.5 (-113).
