Yes, the 2026 NFL regular season opens with the same game that ended the 2025 postseason. It’ll be a Super Bowl rematch in Seattle, with the Seahawks hosting the Patriots on the night the defending champions hang a banner.
It’s an interesting choice, to say the least. The Super Bowl wasn’t close. And that was at a neutral site. In Seattle, what will happen?
The Seahawks have opened as 3.5-point favorites at DraftKings. Our guess is that will move in Seattle’s direction.
Beyond the game, the selection of the Patriots will bring into focus the Mike Vrabel-Dianna Russini situation. It will require NBC to deal with the issue, at some point during the broadcast.
It also opens the door, frankly, for a potential sit-down by Russini with Oprah (or whoever) on Tuesday, September 8.
Look at it this way. Memorial Day is coming. Things will slow down during the summer months. Labor Day lands on Monday, September 7. With the Patriots-Seahawks game only two days later, Tuesday night becomes the perfect time to attract maximum attention — and to create maximum chaos.
Russini may not decide to tell her story on the record. If she does, Tuesday, September 8, has instantly become the perfect night to do it.
