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For the first time in a decade, the NFL season will begin with a Super Bowl rematch. Ahead of the schedule release on Thursday, it was reported that the Seahawks would be hosting the Patriots on NFL kickoff night, the first game of the season. The Seahawks and Patriots faced off in Super Bowl LX last February, with Seattle dominating New England 29–13 en route to their second Lombardi trophy.
A rematch of the previous Super Bowl on NFL kickoff night is rare. Until the NFL moved to a 17-game schedule in 2021, NFC and AFC teams only played each other once every four years, meaning it was unlikely that the Super Bowl teams from the year before would even be scheduled to face off the ensuing season. Even when the two Super Bowl teams matched up the next season, the NFL often scheduled them to play later in the year. For example, the Patriots and Falcons met the season after their Super Bowl LI contest, but did not go up against each other until late October.
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The NFL only began holding an annual kickoff night on a weekday just over two decades ago in 2002. The game first featured the defending Super Bowl champions in 2004, when the Patriots hosted the Colts. Kickoff has since annually featured the defending champs, except for 2019, when the league opted to begin the season with Bears-Packers as tribute to the league’s 100th anniversary campaign. The Patriots, that year’s defending champions, instead hosted the Steelers on Sunday Night Football in Week 1. Prior to the early 2000s, the first games of the season typically took place on Sunday.
The last time both Super Bowl teams faced off during the first game was 2016, when the Broncos hosted the Panthers months after beating them 24–10 in Super Bowl 50. Like Seahawks-Patriots, that Super Bowl also took place in Santa Clara. The Broncos won the rematch against the Panthers 21–20, though it was a much closer game as Denver played for the first time after Peyton Manning’s retirement. The reigning NFL MVP, Cam Newton, struggled again against the Broncos’ stingy defense, completing 18-of-33 passes for 194 yards, a touchdown and an interception as he averaged 5.9 yards per attempt. The Broncos also scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to come back while the Panthers missed a potential game-winning field goal in the final 10 seconds of the game.
The Seahawks will look to mirror that win when they take on the Patriots again after raising the banner in celebration of their second championship. In the Super Bowl, the Seahawks overwhelmed MVP runner-up Drake Maye, sacking him six times, forcing three turnovers off him and holding the Patriots scoreless through the first three quarters. The Patriots have improved their offensive line and should have a healthier Will Campbell by the time Week 1 rolls around, but the question remains if it will be enough to get revenge on the Seahawks.
Through the years, the defending Super Bowl champions have gone 16–5 on NFL kickoff night. The Seahawks are 1–0, having beaten the Packers 36–16 after their first Super Bowl win in 2014. This will mark the Patriots’ record fifth appearance on kickoff night. They are 3–1 in their previous contests on the NFL’s opening night.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as For the First Time in a Decade, the NFL Season Will Begin the Same Way it Ended.
