NFL Kickoff - New England Patriots vs Seattle Seahawks

The NFL officially kicks off tonight with a Super Bowl rematch - The New England Patriots travel to Seattle to take on the defending champion Seahawks. A very exciting matchup to open up 5 months of football. Here are 3 things to watch for in tonight’s game.

Defensive Slugout

Anyone who watched Super Bowl 60 knows how volatile both of these defenses can be. The Patriots made most key additions on offense but went out and signed Dremont Jones and drafted Illinois standout Gabe Jacas in April’s draft. A revamped edge rushing group can be a problem for Seattle’s offensive line. The Seahawks stayed pretty steady on defense, only losing Coby Bryant to free agency. He will be replaced by Ty Okada primarily, as their rookie safety Bud Clark was injured in preseason and will not play in 2026.

The Pats just extended cornerback Christian Gonzalez, jumping Seahawks corner Devon Witherspoon for highest paid in the NFL. They will be big players in locking up each other’s top wideout.

Rhamondre Stevenson

Mike Vrabel and his staff didn’t hide how much they liked Rhamondre Stevenson last year, and it probably won’t change in week 1. 2nd year running back TreVeyon Henderson is injured and will not play in the opener. This means there will be plenty of touches for the lead back. In the Super Bowl, Stevenson had 7 carries for 23 yards and 5 targets for 40 receiving yards and a touchdown. With the volatility of the Seahawks pass rush and ability to cover at a high level, it’s going to be a big day for Mondre.

On the other side, the Seahawks will be debuting their first round rookie running back. Jadarian Price, the former Notre Dame back, is going to be taking the bulk of the workload for his team as well due to the injury Zach Charbonnet suffered last January. Kenneth Walker, now on the Kansas City Chiefs, won Super Bowl MVP due to how lackluster the pass game was. Price may be in a similar boat, where he’ll have many opportunities for touches in week 1.

Old vs. New

The Seattle Seahawks won the Super Bowl and did not make many changes to their team. The offensive line remains constant, their receivers are the same and the defense is returning 10 of the 11 starters from the Super Bowl. The Patriots did not share the same sentiment, as they were very aware of how easy their path to the Super Bowl was. New England has two new starting receivers, losing both of their starters from the Super Bowl.

AJ Brown is an All Pro caliber receiver and is likely going to be across from cornerback Devon Witherspoon. That is one elite matchup. The problem will be time to throw in the pocket for Drake Maye. Luckily, the Patriots went out and acquired former Jets first round pick Alijah Vera-Tucker, a versatile guard with very good skill in pass pro. They also drafted Utah tackle Caleb Lomu in the first round of April’s draft, though he’ll likely be taking a redshirt year to develop. I’m sure that if Will Campbell plays anywhere close to the way he did in Super Bowl 60, the line will be moved around, as last year’s guard Jared Wilson has been moved to center. He was a college center with a skillset that is rather solidified at that position.

As mentioned earlier, the Patriots did acquire some new pass rush. The defense wasn’t a problem in the playoffs, as they continuously forced turnovers and held teams to low point totals, but they needed some more juice off the edge. I’m not sure that it will be a complete game wrecker for Seattle though, as Abraham Lucas and Charles Cross are more than good enough to stop a rookie power rusher and the inconsistent Dremont Jones. Jones was in Seattle on a rather large contract where he never really panned out, so it may be a revenge game in his mind.

Will the team that remained the same come out victorious again, or will the effort to retool from the Patriots be enough for revenge?

Predictions

With all this talk, there may as well be some predictions put into writing. If you are of age, please gamble responsibly and do not rely on these predictions.

Winner - Seattle Seahawks ML -180

Total Points - Under 41.5 +128

Rushing Attempts - Rhamondre Stevenson’s over -105

Receiving yards - AJ Barner’s over -115

Kicker Props - Over on Andres Borregales points +100

The NFL is kicking off tonight, it truly is the most wonderful time of the year.