Patriots react to notable early-season schedule quirk

The Patriots’ 2026 schedule comes with several notable quirks, particularly early in the year.

After facing the NFL’s easiest strength of schedule a season ago, New England opens 2026 against the Seahawks, Steelers, Jaguars, and Bills. Those four teams combined for a .721 winning percentage last season, the highest mark any team has faced through the first four weeks since the 1986 Eagles. Their first three games also come against reigning division winners.

That stretch begins in Seattle against the Seahawks in a rematch of Super Bowl 60. It marks just the third time in NFL history that a Super Bowl rematch has been scheduled for Week 1 of the following season. The only other instances came in Broncos vs. Panthers in 2016 and Vikings vs. Chiefs in 1970. Overall, it’s only the 12th time a Super Bowl rematch has taken place during the following regular season.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for us to go out there and showcase our talents and all the hard work that we’ve been putting in this offseason,” Brendan Schooler said. “It’s just another opportunity for us to go out there and come together as a team, band together, start the year off right, 1-0 on the road — it’s hard to do that. Go out there, do your job to the best of your abilities, and see what happens.”

Although it won’t erase the memory of falling short on the biggest stage, the opener still gives the Patriots an immediate shot at redemption. Their 29-13 loss to Seattle in Super Bowl 60 not only ended their season one win shy of a championship, but also stood as New England’s only double-digit defeat of the year.

“At the end of the day, we put in a lot of work [last year]. You get all the way to where you wanted to be, and we didn’t get the job done. We understand it, but we know our potential, and we know how far that we can go,” Marcus Jones said. “[We’ve] got a lot of guys that are back on the team that have been in those situations. So we understand that we don’t want that to happen again. It’s a long path. It’s Week 1. After that game, we’ll be on to Week 2. So not looking too far into the future, but knowing where our feet are.”

The rematch will be played on a Wednesday night, making it just the second time in NFL history the season has opened on a Wednesday (2012, when the Giants hosted the Cowboys in a game moved due to the Democratic National Convention). It will also mark the first Wednesday game in Patriots' franchise history.

Seattle will also raise its Super Bowl 60 banner on opening night, but Brendan Schooler downplayed the moment as anything beyond the task at hand.

“I think you always have a chip on your shoulder when you’re up against somebody who you previously lost to the year before,” he said. “I’m treating it just like another game. I’m going to go out there, I’m going to be composed just like I was in the Super Bowl when we played them. Nothing’s really changed except just the date we’re playing each other and the location we’re playing each other. So, I’m going to go out there, and kind of treat the game just how I did in the Super Bowl.”

For now, though, the focus remains on ramping up for the season ahead.

“At the end of the day, we’re not looking too far forward,” Jones said. “There are a lot of things that we’ve got to get installed. Training camp, that comes down to it – build during preseason and everything. But we’re excited about Week 1.”