The Seahawks welcome the Patriots to Lumen Field to start the NFL season.
Real football is nearly here and for the Seattle Seahawks, they won't get an easy transition from the offseason to proper football, as the New England Patriots are on the menu at Lumen Field to start the year.
With a host of changes both on and off the field, the Seahawks remain an interesting proposition under Mike Macdonald.
Making it known that Seattle isn't defending its title, they are running it forward; the Seahawks will get an early chance to lay down a serious marker for the 2026 season.
At home on Wednesday against last year's Super Bowl runner-up, the Seahawks can gain a serious psychological edge over the Patriots. ...
Not to mention starting the year 1-0.
And for quarterback Sam Darnold, he's just excited that real football is now here.
"It's been a while," Darnold said. "It's a great opportunity for us. Obviously, this is a really good football team coming in here in New England, really good defense, offense, good special teams, obviously really good coaching.
"So, we got our work cut out for us, but it's exciting, man. It's exciting to have football back and just ready to go."
With the Seahawks now through the offseason grind and with proper football on the doorstep, this will be the first time since last year's Super Bowl that some starters will be playing "real" football.
No doubt there will be some rust early on as starters like Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp, and others get their feet under them, and I'd imagine the 12s will be doing their part too.
One of the most hostile environments in football, the Patriots not only have to deal with Macdonald's defense and Brian Fleury's offense, but also the home crowd, who will be doing everything they can to get under the skin of the visitors.
It is shaping up to be a huge clash right off the bat, with each team having the opportunity to send a message to the rest of the league in Week 1.
Yes, it will be built up to within an inch of its life, but it's clear Darnold, and I assume the rest of the Seahawks roster, are just happy football is back.
