The Seahawks easily disposed of the Patriots in the Super Bowl, and that in itself is enough to warrant running harder this offseason for New England.
The Seattle Seahawks are defending champs, and as the schedule release was getting closer, many had an idea of who Mike Macdonald's team should face to begin the year.
We knew Seattle would be at home in the cozy confines of Lumen Field, but we didn't know the opponent.
And it appears the NFL had a good sense of theater because the New England Patriots will be walking into enemy territory to begin their season.
Facing the Seahawks on the road is a difficult proposition to begin with, but then we add in that they will be unfurling their banner and celebrating their Super Bowl win, which was over the Patriots, it adds another layer to it.
But apparently it does for the Patriots as well.
As OTAs get set to begin and training camp comes into focus, Patriots quarterback Drake Maye has detailed how the team will be using last season's loss to the Seahawks as something that can push them forward.
"I think it's a chance for us to get some extra motivation during training camp," Maye said via NFL.com. "You know, starting off with the bang like that, a chance to get an opponent that left a bad taste in our mouth. So, I think it's something for us that's going to really make us work.
"We've got to bring it Week 1 on the road in a tough environment. They're going to be hanging their banner, and that's the part of it. So, I think it's going to be interesting. It's going to be fun. It's going to be a tough task. So, it'll be something for us to get some extra motivation and make training camp better."
The Seahawks have a chance to lay a serious psychological beatdown on the Patriots in the first game of the season.
With Maye and Co. already setting themselves for this game, if the Seahawks beat the Patriots again, that will give them a serious mental edge if they were to meet each other down the road in 2026.
Of course, if the Patriots win, they will get some revenge, but it won't truly matter in the grand scheme of things because Seattle has that championship ring.
But for the Seahawks to already be on New England's mind, that can be used to Seattle's advantage because the Patriots could be so caught up in beating the Seahawks that they might get too emotionally invested and leave themselves open.
And if there's one team who has the weaponry to exploit that, it's Seattle.
Is it Week 1 yet?
