When it comes to a new season’s first game, the NFL likes to go for the dramatic storyline. And they love to show off the best that they have. Prior to 2026, six consecutive Super Bowl champs had been given the honor of playing in that very first game. You have to go back to 2019 to find the last time it did not happen.
So it came as no surprise when the league’s schedule makers chose to have the Seattle Seahawks host this year’s inaugural contest. Their opponent, however, did come as a bit of a surprise. A matchup against top-tier division rivals Los Angeles or San Francisco seemed to be a good bet. But the NFL sent those two NFC West powerhouses off to Melbourne, Australia, for Week 1.
An intraconference game against the up-and-coming Chicago Bears would have made a lot of sense, or perhaps an interconference tilt against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs could have been attractive. But the NFL passed on those in favor of a Super Bowl rematch with the New England Patriots.
Patriots coach sings Seattle Seahawks praises when looking forward to opening day
Of course, a Super Bowl rematch should feature two excellent squads and carry plenty of drama, so it would also seem to fit the bill. Still, the fact is, the NFL has almost never opened a season with a Super Bowl rematch.
The last time it happened was ten years ago when Denver beat Carolina for the second consecutive game. Prior to that, Kansas City played Minnesota – back in 1970. That’s the entire history of opening game Super Bowl rematches. Seattle and New England will be just the third such game in the Super Bowl era.
When discussing the upcoming game, Patriots coach Mike Vrabel sounded refreshingly honest when he said the game would be a very big challenge for his club. As reported in a Musket Fire story by Ryan O’Leary, Vrabel said, “We’re clearly not ready for it yet. I don’t think anybody is.”
Now, there are several ways to interpret what Vrabel is saying. The interpretation Seahawk fans would like to believe suggests that Vrabel is admitting the Seahawks are simply flat-out better than the Patriots, and perhaps the rest of the league as well.
Given the way in which Mike Macdonald’s men dominated Super Bowl LX, that’s an easy POV to defend. But perhaps Vrabel was merely stating the obvious. Every NFL team is at the very beginning of an arduous three month summer journey to get into game shape. Perhaps when he says “I don’t think anyone is,” he is merely stating that no team is ready to play right now.
Still, Vrabel is clearly impressed by what he saw from Seattle in the Super Bowl and what he expects to see when they face off on September 9. Seattle may be missing key components of last year’s club – Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III, and valuable defenders like Boye Mafe, Riq Woolen and Coby Bryant. But they are still the champions and the still have plenty of firepower.
Jadarian Price will step into Walker’s cleats, while GM Schneider has assembled plenty of talent to make up for the other departures.
So Seattle will be very tough, especially at home. But if you think for one moment that Vrabel will be heading into that kickoff contest thinking he is not going to win, you haven’t been paying attention to the NFL.
To me, this sounds more like a snow job than an actual tribute. Vrabel is a smart coach and knows better than to talk too proud about another game with Seattle. He believes in keeping his head down and grinding away.
By the same token, the Patriots’ coach is a world-class competitor. He will enter Luman Field this September with a major chip on his shoulder and an awful lot to prove. You had best believe he will have his team flying high for the matchup.
As O’Leary points out, Week 1 is always prone to upsets. The Patriots themselves lost a tough battle at home last year to the 49ers in the first week of the season. It didn’t end up meaning very much. The Hawks slaughtered the 49s at the end of the season – once in the final week of the regular season, and then again in the divisional round of the playoffs.
So the outcome itself may not matter very much. But the way a team plays in week one does matter. It sets a tone for the season. It gauges how comfortable the well-oiled machine is with a bunch of new moving parts.
So Seahawks fans can take some pride in hearing the way an opposing coach talks about them, but we’d all be advised to take that kind of talk with several grains of salt. Mike Vrabel, regardless of how much he praises the Seahawks, will not be giving an inch come September.
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