There’s no shortage of storylines as the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks pick up right where they left off at the top of the 2026 NFL season.
Ain’t that a kick(off)?
The football-loving public’s patience will finally be rewarded on Wednesday night when the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks face off in the Pacific Northwest (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC). This unusual, if not anticipated, foray in to Wednesday action is a rematch of the 60th Super Bowl staged in February, one that saw Seattle run away with a 29-13 victory behind a sterling defensive effort down by the Bay (Area).
Much has shifted yet remained static as the 2026 campaign gets underway and the most recent Super Bowl contestants were no exceptions to both the calm and turbulence. With that in mind, TeamFB7 has an appropriate seven headlines to keep an eye on with the chaotic kickoff looming …
You Spin Me Right, Brown
The Patriots’ offseason was defined by frequent flirtation … between New England and consistent playmaker A.J. Brown, who finally shipped up to Boston in a June trade with the Philadelphia Eagles. It’s a deal that reunites Brown with embattled head coach and Tennessee supervisor Mike Vrabel and gives rising franchise quarterback Drake Maye an undeniable weapon as he works toward the prime of his career.
Despite the sizable pressure facing Brown in New England, he has found professional peace following his escape from Philadelphia. Brown’s work over the last two seasons has been brilliant enough (14th in yardage, seventh-most touchdowns) but he clearly feels like he has something to prove after watching his targets dwindle.
If he’s able to bring the New England offense to a new level of explosiveness and foster in a new era of Patriot passing dominance, the football world could be looking at bona fide contender for MVP at receiver, a realization has shockingly never come to pass (pun intended) in the award’s history.
Run-Off
While a good bit of appeal surrounding Wednesday’s game centers on the fact it essentially picks up where we left off, one of the main protagonists will be watching elsewhere.
Kenneth Walker III broke through a tepid offensive performance with an MVP-winning outing that allowed Seattle to pull away in February. He now resides in Kansas City, joining the likes of Larry Brown, Desmond Howard, and Dexter Jackson in the unique brotherhood of Super Bowl MVPs that played their success into a payday abroad.
Walker’s departure is one of the few happenings that kept the Seahawks from maintaining perfect attendance from last year’s Super starters but they soothed the situation by using the first round’s final choice on Notre Dame spell option Jadarian Price. Trapped behind fellow first-rounder Jeremiyah Love (now stationed with divisional rival Arizona), Price managed to leave his mark as a scorer of 20 touchdowns over the last two seasons. He and George Holani are expected to hold down the rushing fort until Zach Charbonnet returns from a torn ACL.
The Patriots are also left puzzled in the ground game: TreVeyon Henderson will miss his sophomore debut with an ankle injury, turning the rushing reigns over to veteran Rhamondre Stevenson.
BREAKING: Patriots, CB Christian Gonzalez agree to 4-year, $135M deal with $102M guaranteed.
— NFL (@NFL) September 8, 2026
(via @RapSheet) pic.twitter.com/g2HX6HyPr2
Prove It Deals
While most of America slept … or at least had its focus on the collegiate thriller between Florida State and SMU … Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez inked a four-year, $135 million deal that made him the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history. Gonzalez, ironically, takes the title from Wednesday opponent Devon Witherspoon after both defenders set an offensively-challenged tone for the Super Bowl tilt in February. Their work and more, as many of the top defenders from February’s fracas are making their way back, may force modern bettors to do the unthinkable: bet the under in an NFL game.
Both have instant opportunities to prove their new paydays: Witherspoon is squaring up against Brown as he makes his New England debut while Gonzalez will likely be tasked with covering the NFL’s new undeniable top playmaker in Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Seattle Slew (of Absences)
Walker isn’t the only one that walked (sorry) from the Seattle spotlight.
Recency bias tilts the defensive barometer toward Gonzalez but Witherspoon will have to take on a heavier burden come Wednesday night: Seattle is somewhat clipped in the secondary after respectively losing Coby Bryant and Riq Woolen to Chicago and Philadelphia while safety Bud Clark is done for the season.
The Seahawks controversially attempted to soothe the blow by adding former Detroit defensive standout Terrion Arnold but he’s unavailable as he attempts to sort out his legal woes. With the absences capped off by Ty Okada (hamstring) and possibly nickel sensation Nick Emmanwori (questionable with an ankle), third-round pick Julian Neal and undrafted freshman Avery Smith face a de facto trial by fire in their respective debuts.
Building Blocks
With the Seattle secondary ailing, Maye has a brilliant opportunity to get his third season as Tom Brady‘s successor off to a good start … that is, if he can get the ball off in the first place. That proved to be difficult in the Super Bowl, as Maye faced six sacks and innumerable pressures. While the Seahawks may be auditioning new men in the secondary, a star-spangled front seven (partly headlined by the start of a farewell tour for DeMarcus Lawrence) will no doubt be looking for blood.
To avoid another case of tossed salad and scrambled eggs in the backfield, New England staged a subplot of finding blocking help amidst its chase for Brown: former division rival Alijah Vera-Tucker takes over at left guard, a $42 million risk considering his potential being hacked away by injuries. Drafting Utah standout Caleb Lomu in the first-round not only set a plan of succession for 35-year-old Morgan Moses but also raises the pressure on touted 2025 debut choice Will Campbell. Retained veterans Mike Onwenu and Jared Wilson will man the interior, no doubt looking to atone for the brutality by the Bay.
Fantastically Fearsome Four
Critics of the Patriots’ run to the Super Bowl have been quick to point out the team’s rather easy schedule: by pure win percentage, last year’s AFC champions faced the softest schedule the NFL had ever seen since 1999 and some of their more fearsome opponents had lost a little bite (i.e. a Denver Broncos group that played without starting quarterback Bo Nix during a snowy AFC title game).
Credit New England for handling business ― after all, it was former head coach Bill Parcells that once declared “you are what your record is.” But last year’s work likely wasn’t going to impress a hypothetical NFL playoff selection committee.
Another look at the 2026 schedule 🗓️ pic.twitter.com/ilq6rPxFeE
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) September 5, 2026
The Patriots’ potential return trip to the Super Bowl gets an immediate trial by fire beginning with Wednesday’s war with Seattle: it’s the first of four consecutive games against fellow 2025-26 playoff reps with Pittsburgh, Jacksonville, and Buffalo looming next. Only the Week 2 title against the Steelers will be staged at the friendly confines of Gillette Stadium.
Life of Brian
Watching a Super Bowl champion work without a coordinator that found a higher calling is becoming an NFL tradition unlike any other.
Last year’s Eagles offense took a noticeable hit (culminating in Brown’s request for a trade) after Kellen Moore took on The Big Easy, for example. The Seahawks, in fact, got in the fun recently by taking on Moore’s Super Bowl LVIII opponent Klint Kubiak, promoting him to offensive coordinator after he was the passing game specialist for rival San Francisco. Kubiak played his Seattle success into the top headset with the Las Vegas Raiders after last year’s Super Bowl run.
In his place comes another Bay Area dweller in Brian Fleury, who spent the past seven seasons in a variety of roles with the 49ers, including the last four as tight ends coach. A disciple of both Kubiak and Kyle Shannahan, Fleury kept his cards close to the chest in a preseason that saw Seattle rest its offensive starters. Wednesday will be the world’s first exposure to his expanded work, coming on the grand stage of a Super Bowl defense’s opening act.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
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