The Patriots do not have to wait until Sunday to begin their season. New England opens Wednesday night in Seattle against the Seahawks, giving Boston fans the first major appointment of the new NFL year—and a rematch carrying considerably more weight than an ordinary Week 1 game.

Patriots at Seahawks: the essentials

  • Date: Wednesday, September 9, 2026
  • Kickoff: 8:20 p.m. Eastern
  • Location: Lumen Field in Seattle
  • Television: NBC
  • Streaming: Peacock and NFL+, subject to service and location rules

The details appear on the official NFL Week 1 schedule and the Patriots team schedule.

Why Wednesday—and why this matchup matters

Seattle enters the season as the defending champion after beating New England in the previous Super Bowl. The NFL selected the rematch for its rare Wednesday kickoff before the rest of Week 1 unfolds. That makes this both a national showcase and an immediate measurement of how the Patriots respond after the championship loss.

What to watch

Opening games can be messy: new personnel groupings, fresh play-calling tendencies and special-teams decisions often matter as much as preseason expectations. For New England, the central questions are how quickly the offense settles on the road, whether protection holds against Seattle's pressure and how the defense limits explosive plays in one of the league's loudest buildings.

What comes next

The Patriots then receive an extended break before their home opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, September 20 at 1 p.m. That gap gives the team time to recover from the trip and correct anything exposed in Seattle.