The Seahawks now know who they will be facing in Week 1 to begin their Super Bowl defense
The Seattle Seahawks knew for weeks they would open their season at Lumen Field, but Mike Macdonald's team didn't know who their opponents would be.
There were several options, including the Kansas City Chiefs, Arizona Cardinals, New England Patriots, Chicago Bears, and Los Angeles Chargers.
All except the Chiefs and Cardinals, to me, made sense.
And as it turns out, made sense to the NFL as well.
Because the Seahawks' Week 1 clash at Lumen Field will now be against the New England Patriots.
A Super Bowl rematch to open the season? That will be a ratings bonanza.
Along with that come some rumors ahead of the Thursday official schedule announcement.
What we're hearing, in addition to the opener vs. the Pats is Christmas Day vs. the Rams at home, as many as six prime-time games including MNF home games vs. Chicago and Dallas, and a Week 18 closer rematch against the Rams again.
The Seahawks took care of the Patriots, you could argue, relatively easily in the Super Bowl, winning 29-13 after keeping Mike Vrabel's team scoreless for three quarters.
Now, the Patriots will get a chance to begin the year with a vengeance, but it looks like a tall order.
Seattle will be at home, which is already a tough place to play football, and they'll be unfurling their Super Bowl banner, plus it's a prime-time game, so you add all of those things up, and the Patriots could be walking into a buzzsaw to begin their year.
It has been a smooth-ish offseason for the Seahawks as they have seen key players move on and chosen to replace them with players already on the roster.
Sam Darnold and his offense remain largely intact, except for Kenneth Walker, and the defense did lose Riq Woolen, Coby Bryant, and Boye Mafe.
Offensive coordinator Brian Fleury will be getting a true test of his credentials straight out of the gate, going up against New England's stout defense.
While the Seattle defense could be going up against a Drake Maye offense that has A.J. Brown as it's center piece.
So there will be plenty of storylines to follow in this game, and it presents an opportunity for the Seahawks to gain a big mental edge over the Patriots, a team they could see in the playoffs again if things roll their way.
Beating them in the Super Bowl and then in their very next game would give Seattle a huge mental advantage, not to mention winning what is a tough game first up.
A Super Bowl rematch to open the new NFL year? Yeah, sign me up.