One of the most underrated dates on the National Football League’s annual calendar is the release of the schedule for the upcoming season. We know the “who” and most of the “where” of every team’s schedule already (i.e. which teams are ON the schedule)., we just don’t know the “when” and we don’t know every team that will be traveling internationally yet.
The day will come soon, usually in early May, where all the blanks will be filled in. We will know the who, when, and where of all 272 games on the league’s schedule. Among the more intriguing bits of information that we’ll learn is which opponent the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks will host in the season opener.
The Seahawks open the season on Wednesday of Week 1 this season. Usually, the season opener is on Thursday night, but the NFL’s first trip to Australia, in which the Rams and Niners face off in Melbourne, Aurstalia that night (actually, Friday morning local time in Melbourne), changes things up a bit.
The season opener is fun for everybody football fan, gambler, and fantasy football player. It’s the salvo that “FOOTBALL IS BACK!” With that as the backdrop, here is my power ranking of the seven possible opponents for the Seahawks in that Week 1 matchup, with a couple sentences explains each ranking:
7. ARIZONA CARDINALS
The Cardinals have a first year head coach in Mike LaFleur, and barring any unforeseen acquisitions, are going to start Jacoby Brissett at quarterback. This team will be unwatchable, hence, the last spot in these power rankings.
6. KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
It’s crazy to see the Chiefs this far down a list of desired matchups, but they were a mediocre outfit last season (6-11 record), and it’s questionable whether Patrick Mahomes’ torn ACL will be fully healed in time for a season opener. Good enough for sixth!
5. NEW YORK GIANTS
4. LOS ANGELES CHARGERS
I’ll bunch these next two together, because then most appealing storyline fo a Seahawks-Giants or Seahawks-Chargers game would be Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald going against either one of the Harbaugh brothers. Macdonald was Jim Harbaugh’s defensive coordinator at Michigan in college, and held the same spot for John Harbaugh with the Ravens. Teacher versus pupil always works as a storyline.
3. DALLAS COWBOYS
If you’re putting prime time matchups together, you can rarely go wrong, in terms of generating viewership, by putting the Cowboys in as part of the presentation.
2. CHICAGO BEARS
Bears quaretrback Caleb Williams is coming off a breakout campaign in 2025. Now, heading into his third season, and trying to get the Bears even further in the postseason, booking Williams’ first game of this pivotal season against the best defense in the NFC makes for good theater.
1. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
A rematch of last year’s Super Bowl, where the Seahawks confounded Patriots second year QB Drake Maye, may not be what the Patriots want, and the lopsided nature of said game may give some of the league executives some trepidation. However, in the end, a Super Bowl rematch would play nicely. Outside of Boston, most of the country would like to see the Patriots get their asses kicked again.