Ranking NFL's possible season opener matchups: Who gets first crack at Seahawks?
The Seahawks are still waiting to learn which team they'll face first in their title defense. What are the best and worst possible NFL season openers?
With the 2026 NFL Draft complete , only one major event stands between the league and its summer break. A date has yet to be officially set for the schedule release , but it shouldn't be long before all 32 teams have their regular-season roadmaps. Among the many unknowns: Who will take on the defending champion Seattle Seahawks in a unique season opener?
The calendar necessitated a shift in Week 1 , with the league opting to move its kickoff game to Wednesday to carve out a Thursday slot for the first international clash of the year. That setup also limits the options for the Seahawks' possible opponents, as the rival Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers are set to open their seasons against each other in the league's first Australia game , thereby eliminating them from consideration. Still, the NFL has seven candidates from which to pick, with no shortage of accompanying story lines.
Here is our ranking - from worst to best - of the seven possible matchups for the season opener. NFL SCHEDULE: Home and away matchups for all 32 teams 7. Arizona Cardinals One of the most lopsided divisional matchups in all of football doesn't warrant a prime-time slot, let alone a spotlight of this intensity.
Under first-year coach Mike LaFleur , the Cardinals might very well be more competitive than last year's 3-14 group was. But any progress likely won't materialize immediately, and an offense with a ramshackle offensive line and no certainty behind center shapes up as cannon fodder for the Seahawks' defense. Between the gulf in talent and Arizona's minimal national appeal, this might constitute ratings poison - if such a thing exists in the NFL.
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