Seahawks 2026 NFL Schedule Released as Sam Darnold, JSN, Kupp, Macdonald Eye Super Bowl Repeat

Coming off the second Super Bowl win in franchise history last season, the Seattle Seahawks now know their 2026 schedule as they prepare to defend the Lombardi Trophy.

The NFL released the schedule for all 32 teams on Thursday, with the Seahawks set for the regular-season kickoff game on Sept. 9 against the New England Patriots.

Full schedule information available on the team's official website.

Analysis

The Seahawks' strength of schedule based on 2025 records is .514, which is the 14th-hardest in the NFL. Nine of their 17 opponents finished with a winning record, including six that won at least 12 games.

Four of those matchups will be divisional games against the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers. The NFC West was a gauntlet last season, with those three teams combining to go 38-13.

Seattle's path through the playoffs included wins over the 49ers in the divisional round and Rams in the NFC Championship Game. There was also a Week 18 game against the 49ers for the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye in the playoffs, which Seattle won 13-3.

The non-divisional opponents on Seattle's schedule include the NFC East, AFC West, as well as the reigning division winners in the NFC North (Chicago Bears), NFC South (Carolina Panthers) and AFC East (New England Patriots).

Seattle will enter the 2026 season riding a 10-game winning streak including the playoffs. One more win will tie the longest streak in franchise history, set in 2005.

Pivotal Matchups

To give an idea of how difficult the NFC West was in 2025, the Seahawks lost three games the entire year.

Two of them were against the 49ers and Rams, with the lone non-divisional outlier being a Week 5 loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when the Seahawks were without Devon Witherspoon, Julian Love and DeMarcus Lawrence due to injuries.

Given that the Rams addressed their biggest roster weakness by trading for Trent McDuffie and the 49ers added to their group of skill-position talent by signing Mike Evans, it doesn't seem like things will get any easier for the Seahawks as they look to repeat as division champs.

The Seahawks haven't won back-to-back NFC West titles since the peak Legion of Boom era in 2013 and '14.

Outside of their division, the Seahawks' key matchups include a Super Bowl rematch against the New England Patriots and a showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs. Both of those games are at Lumen Field.

The two key road games for the Seahawks are against the Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos. One big reason for Seattle's success last season was an 8-1 record away from Lumen Field. New England (8-0) was the only other team that won at least eight road games in 2025.

Even with some key departures in free agency, including Super Bowl 60 MVP Kenneth Walker III, the Seahawks still have as much talent as any team in the NFL. They will need it with a difficult schedule on tap as they look to repeat as Super Bowl champions.