Seahawks vs. Patriots Is the Wrong Choice for NFL Opening Night

The new season of the NFL will open up with the Seattle Seahawks, the defending Super Bowl champions, per usual.

That’s great.

The Seahawks, like every reigning champion, deserve to open their brand-new campaign with a spectacle of a ceremony before their first game.

But their opponent?

The team they just faced in the Super Bowl, the New England Patriots.

Why?

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I understand the buzz around Mike Vrabel and his steamy, dramatic affair with reporter Dianna Russini, along with the easy narrative of Drake Maye and the Patriots wanting revenge for getting embarrassed in the championship game.

But do we really need to see a replay of a Super Bowl that, let’s all be honest here, wasn’t fun to watch the first time? It was a game in which Bad Bunny’s halftime performance drew more discussion than the actual game itself, aside from the Seahawks defense beating up sophomore signal-caller Maye.

Neither team has made any major changes, though A.J. Brown might change that if he gets traded to Boston at the start of June, as many in the league expect.

Why not the Chicago Bears, the upstart NFC franchise that almost faced the Seahawks in the NFC Championship last year, and are looking to prove 2025 wasn’t a fluke?

Kansas City Chiefs? The most recent NFL dynasty with Travis Kelce returning for possibly his final season, going up against the reigning champions?

Dallas Cowboys? They’re the Dallas Cowboys.

New York Giants? OK, maybe we’ve run out of good, marketable opening opponents.

While millions will watch the game because it’s the beginning of the NFL season after a long slumber, I still don’t think it’s the best game they could have chosen to open the season.

And no, I promise I’m not Drake Maye moonlighting as a sports writer.

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This story was originally published May 13, 2026 at 5:33 PM.