Five first downs. Nine real drives. That's what New England had to show for the first three quarters of Super Bowl LX, and it's the number that tells you everything the 29-13 final score tried to hide. Seattle led 19-0 before the Patriots ever found a rhythm, and by the time Drake Maye's garbage-time numbers merely padded the box score — 295 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions — the game had been over for the better part of an hour. This wasn't a close game that got away, but rather a beating in which the aggressor eventually started letting its foot off the gas.
Redemption arc complete. Sam Darnold is a #SuperBowl Champion. pic.twitter.com/csz9PrrxVb
— Lucky Rebel (@LuckyRebel__) February 9, 2026
But seven months on from their initial meeting at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, the two protagonists of the 2025 season will meet again. The Seahawks and Patriots will open the 2026 season against each other on September 9 at Lumen Field in Seattle in the 2026 kickoff game, marking just the third time in NFL history that the previous season's Super Bowl participants have squared off in an immediate rematch in Week 1 the following year.
Seven months separate February from September, and in that window, four things shifted dramatically to make the upcoming contest potentially far different from the one we saw in California. And the bookies know it.
The Spread Has Narrowed
Super Bowl LX wasn't competitive. Maye's 295 yards and two touchdowns concealed a game in which New England managed five first downs through nine drives and trailed 19-0 before late stat-padding narrowed the final score.
That day, online betting sites installed Seattle as a 4.5-point favorite to leave Santa Clara with the Lombardi Trophy, and it should have been far wider. Now, however, the early Patriots Vs Seahawks rematch spread line has been shaved, with New England now just a 3.5-point underdog, despite the 16-point drubbing they took in the Big Game.
So, why do the bookies rank the two teams closer together despite what happened at the Super Bowl? Well, the betting line isn't the only thing that's changed.
A. J. Brown is Now Drake Maye's Primary Target
Stefon Diggs barely factored in the Super Bowl. He finished with 37 yards on three targets and didn't see his first look until 10:02 remained in the second quarter — an absence Maye later admitted he regretted. Diggs and tight end Hunter Henry combined for just 23 catches and 55.5 yards per game across the postseason, roughly half their 104.8-yard regular-season average. When Seattle's pass rush got home, New England's passing game simply had no answer.
The fix arrived on June 1, when superstar wideout A. J. Brown officially became a Patriot in a trade that sent Philadelphia a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-rounder. The deal was deliberately structured to close after June 1 so the Eagles could split the dead-cap hit across two seasons. Brown instantly becomes Maye's WR1.
This is arguably the single biggest variable heading into the rematch. Diggs got schemed away and never won his matchups; Brown wins his through physicality, a contested-catch bully rather than a separation artist. If Seattle's blitz-heavy approach — which generated an 85.7% pressure rate when dialed up in February — gets home again, Brown gives Maye an outlet who can fight for a ball rather than disappear the way Diggs did.
The Super Bowl MVP is Gone
Kenneth Walker III authored the loudest individual performance of the night back in February, gashing New England's front for 135 yards at 7.4 per carry and hitting the over on his rushing total before halftime. He became the first running back to win Super Bowl MVP since Terrell Davis in 1997, repeatedly setting up Seattle's scoring drives with chunk gains New England never solved.
That production left in free agency. Walker agreed to a three-year deal worth up to $45 million with the Kansas City Chiefs, and he won't face New England again until a Week 8 reunion — meaning the Patriots dodge him entirely in the rematch.
The timing is awkward for Seattle. Zach Charbonnet, the presumed lead-back replacement, is still working back from offseason surgery, though Mike Macdonald left the door open for a possible Week 1 return after surprisingly strong rehab progress at minicamp. If he isn't ready, Seattle opens its title defense without the engine of its Super Bowl win against a defense now even more motivated to prove last February was a fluke.
The 'Dark Side' Has Been Somewhat Gutted
Both Boye Mafe and Coby Bryant were central to New England's collapse in Santa Clara. Bryant closed the game with an interception and earlier flattened Diggs after a contested catch, part of a Seattle 'Dark Side' defense that forced three turnovers, including a defensive touchdown. Mafe rotated through a pass-rush group that piled up five total sacks and never let Maye get comfortable.
Both are someone else's problem now. Mafe signed a three-year deal worth up to $60 million with the Cincinnati Bengals; Bryant landed a three-year, $40 million deal with the Chicago Bears. Seattle's pass rush and secondary lose the two players who directly authored the Super Bowl's biggest moments.
Ty Okada is the in-house answer at safety, but he's unproven on this stage. If New England's retooled offensive line — with Alijah Vera-Tucker now in the fold — buys Maye more time, and Brown gives him somewhere to go with it, the absence of Mafe and Bryant could be the difference between a repeat blowout and an actual fight.
