NFL kicks off 2026 season with a Patriots-Seahawks rematch of Super Bowl 60

The 2026 NFL season will kick off with a Super Bowl rematch.

Mike Macdonald, Sam Darnold and the Seahawks will face off against Mike Vrabel, Drake Maye and the Patriots after raising their championship banner on Sept. 9 in the first of the NFL’s 272 games.

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The Seahawks dominated the Patriots in a 29-13 victory that secured the franchise’s second NFL title in February. It’ll be just the third time that the teams that played in the Super Bowl face off again in Week 1.

The last time came in 2016 when the Broncos beat the Panthers.

Overall, the Super Bowl opponents have met 11 times the following season, including each of the last three years. The defending champions are 8-3 in those games.

The Eagles followed up a Super Bowl victory with another win over the Chiefs in Week 2 last year.

“Yes, it was definitely a key data point for us,” NFL executive Hans Schroeder said. “We saw what a big draw that was and so we just thought it was really fun. I think it’s been a decade since we did Denver and Carolina in Super Bowl 50 and came back in Week 1 the next year. We thought it was a fun way to start the season again with New England in Seattle, coming off that Super Bowl, certainly a ton to play for. Let our fans see if they play again.”

The NFL season will be opening on a Wednesday for just the second time in league history — the Giants hosted the Cowboys on Sept. 5, 2012.

The opener will be Vrabel’s first game since the reigning AP Coach of the Year missed Day 3 of the NFL draft to seek counseling following the publication of photos of him and longtime football reporter Dianna Russini at an Arizona resort. The photos led to Russini’s resignation from The Athletic less than a week later.

The Seahawks will play at least six other stand-alone games, including Christmas night at home against the Los Angeles Rams. The Patriots have five other stand-alone games.

Other opening week highlights announced before the full schedule release included:

The San Francisco 49ers will face the Rams in Melbourne on Sept. 10 in the first of a record nine international games. The Cowboys and Giants meet in the first Sunday night game of the season while the Broncos and Chiefs go head to head in the first Monday night game.

Raiders fans get to see No. 1-overall pick Fernando Mendoza — probably on the sideline watching Kirk Cousins start — in Week 1 when Las Vegas hosts Miami.

Josh Allen and the Bills host Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs on Thanksgiving night to complete a tripleheader that will include matchups between the Bears-Lions and Eagles-Cowboys.

Aaron Rodgers — maybe — and the Steelers host the Broncos on Black Friday.

The Packers and Rams are playing on Thanksgiving Eve.

The Eagles host the Texans in a Christmas Eve contest on “Thursday Night Football.”

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The Christmas Day tripleheader features the Packers-Bears, Bills-Broncos and Rams-Seahawks.

The two games on Saturday, Dec. 26, haven’t been determined.

The league will play across four continents, starting with the Week 1 game in Australia. Sixteen of the league’s 32 teams will play at least one of their 17 regular-season games outside the United States.

The 49ers and Jacksonville each have two international games. San Francisco also faces Minnesota in Mexico City in Week 11. The Jaguars have consecutive games in London in Weeks 5 and 6 against the Eagles and Texans. The Colts and Commanders also face off in London in Week 4.

The Steelers play the New Orleans Saints on Oct. 25 in Paris in the NFL’s first regular-season matchup in France.

The Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens go head to head in Rio de Janeiro in Week 3. The Bengals and Falcons are in Madrid in Week 8 and the Patriots and Lions play in Munich in Week 9.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier issued an investigative subpoena to the NFL regarding the Rooney Rule.

Uthmeier, who threatened possible enforcement actions against the league in March if it didn’t suspend the 23-year-old rule, sent the subpoena along with a letter to NFL executive vice president and attorney Ted Ullyot on Wednesday.

The Rooney Rule requires teams to interview at least two minority candidates for head coach, general manager and coordinator positions. At least one minority candidate must be interviewed for the quarterbacks coach position. Uthmeier sent his first letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in March saying the rule amounts to “blatant race and sex discrimination.”

Goodell, speaking at the league meetings in Phoenix in March, acknowledged the changing political landscape for diversity initiatives in the US, but added he didn’t believe there should be any legal issues with the league’s policy. “The Rooney Rule has been around a long time,” Goodell said then. “We’ve evolved it, changed it. We’ll continue to do that.”

The Jets signed veteran wide receiver Tim Patrick to add pass-catching depth to their offense. Patrick had 15 receptions for 187 yards and three touchdowns last season with the Jaguars.

He joins a wide receivers room that includes Garrett Wilson and first-round draft pick Omar Cooper Jr. Patrick has familiarity with Jets coach Aaron Glenn from their time in Detroit.

Current Jets general manager Darren Mougey was in Denver’s front office when the Broncos signed Patrick as an undrafted free agent in 2017.

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