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# Seahawks Prepping for ‘Guessing Game' Facing Overhauled Patriots in Super Bowl Rematch
- URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/seattle-seahawks-guessing-game-overhauled-new-england-patriots-super-bowl-rematch/
- Published: 2026-09-06T00:35:07.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-08T06:10:27.000Z
- Author: Corbin Smith
- Tags: Features, Seahawks, Julian Love, Leonard Williams, Mike Macdonald

RENTON, Wash. - Playing the same opponent to end one season and open another isn’t completely unprecedented in the NFL, particularly in the event that the two teams who played in the previous Super Bowl just happen to have a rare out of conference matchup slated for the following regular season.

Still, when the Seattle Seahawks kick off their Super Bowl title defense against the New England Patriots, the “same” opponent that they defeated to hoist the Lombardi Trophy in Santa Clara back in February, there’s no question there will be some oddities to the rematch seven months and a full offseason in the making. Beyond playing on a Wednesday night, which has only happened five times previously in league history, including twice on Christmas, the two squads will have some notable differences personnel-wise, particularly for the visitors flying in from Foxboro.

Settling into his first game planning week of the season, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald likes the “change of pace” away from the vanilla days of the preseason in August and has certainly gone back to watch Super Bowl LX as a means for preparation for the Patriots, but he understands the unpredictable nature that always comes with season openers regardless of familiarity with opponent. No matter what, there inevitably will be developments in the game that his staff and players haven’t prepared for and need to audible on accordingly.

“First game of the year is a little tricky,” Macdonald said prior to Saturday’s practice, which replaced the typical Wednesday practice to open a game week given the unique Week 1 schedule. “You don’t want to fall in the trap of applying last year’s things you see too much to what’s going to happen this year. Teams grow and evolve and change and there’s different personnel on both sides. Our focus is trying to do the things that we do that our guys can go play the best they can and also try to apply as much pressure as you can as well but understanding how the game goes, there’s going to be some things that we’re going to be required to make adjustments in game.”

Compared to most Super Bowl victors, Seattle stands to benefit from an incredible amount of continuity in all three phases, as the team only lost five players in free agency. With such a small amount of players departing in the offseason, not many newcomers found their way onto the initial 53-man roster who weren’t with the team in February, including only three of the team’s eight 2026 draft picks making the cut.

But while New England has plenty of returning starters from last year’s AFC Champion and Super Bowl runner-up, the front office aggressively sought out upgrades, particularly on offense. Swapping out Stefon Diggs and Kayshon Boutte for A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs, the franchise believes they have dramatically upgraded the receiving corps for rising star quarterback Drake Maye, giving him an enhanced arsenal of weapons.

The Patriots also made improving their offensive line a priority after the Seahawks wrought havoc harassing Maye at Levi’s Stadium, with the most notable upgrade coming in the form of signing former Jets first round pick Alijah Vera-Tucker in free agency and sliding second-year blocker Jared Wilson back to his natural position at center.

“It's so weird because they have had a decent amount of turnover,” Seahawks safety Julian Love said of the Patriots’ offseason moves prior to Saturday’s practice, citing skill position changes specifically. “Obviously at the receiver position, they got new guys and they got some stars and all. You never know how they're going to be for this season. We know what they did last year, also who they had last year. So this week one's always weird. You're just playing your style of ball, and you're gonna have to adapt as the game goes on to what they're presenting.”

“I feel like it was so long ago that we obviously have to restudy,” defensive tackle Leonard Williams added. “They still have some tendencies as all teams do, but they brought in a lot of new receivers and a lot of new players. Overall, we just have to relearn this team and take it day by day all over again. We played them last, but I feel like that was so long ago that we’ve got to start all over again.”

In the case of Brown and Doubs, Seattle has ample film to evaluate on both players. The former has been a perennial 1,000-yard receiver since coming into the league out of Ole Miss in 2019, enjoying tremendous success in Tennessee and Philadelphia, where he helped the Eagles win the Super Bowl just two years ago, while the latter proved to be an underrated cog as a secondary target in the Packers’ passing attack coming out of Nevada.

But as Macdonald cautioned, in the same vein as not being too reliant on tendencies from the Super Bowl or other games from last year for the Patriots, the Seahawks can’t put all of their eggs into one basket looking back at what Brown and Doubs did with their former teams from a scouting perspective for Wednesday night.

Even as established veterans who have played at least four seasons apiece, New England likely will have subtle differences in how it deploys both Brown and Doubs in a different offensive scheme with a different play caller, once again creating a fluidity game-planning wise that always exists in the season opener facing teams with changes from the year prior. On top of that, the presence of Maye, one of the top young gunslingers in the sport, could elevate their respective ceilings as pass catchers, especially on extended plays utilizing his legs that put opposing defenses in a bind.

“At best, that’s an educated guess,” Macdonald explained when asked about the challenges of projecting how Brown and Doubs may alter the Patriots offense. “We’re going to have a way that we try to have an understanding of where they’re going to be and then you have to do a great job in the game of understanding how they’ve been utilized and how we’re structuring our coverages to combat that. It’s one of those examples where I don’t think you have all the answers laid out in front of you going into the game.”

In agreement with his coach, Love doesn’t necessarily see the challenge for the Seahawks revolving around assessing and preparing for the skill sets and play styles for Brown and Doubs. They have seen what both players bring to the table as playmakers and those strengths will undoubtedly continue to be the foundation of their respective games. Brown offers tremendous size and speed on the outside, making him a difficult cover as a downfield threat who can high point the ball out of the stadium, while Doubs has a craftiness to his route running that can twist corners into knots coming out of his breaks.

But while there’s a semblance of familiarity, Seattle’s biggest test will come early on Wednesday night as the defense gets a feel for where New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels lines up Brown and Doubs in various formations. It will also be interesting to see how their presences on the field potentially impact the usage of other receivers on the roster, including home run threat Kyle Williams, a second-year wideout from Washington State who many expect to take on a bigger role in his sophomore season.

“It's such a guessing game for how they're going to use them, but they are established vets in this league, and so you know how they play,” Love added. “Who they are won't change. I think Brown's been a wide receiver one since day one in the league, and so we have to account for him over there. Romeo Doubs has been just a sleeper, underrated, really good overall player over in Green Bay. You know who they are, \[but\] we have no idea how they use until we line up and play them.”

To an extent, Macdonald and the Seahawks will have to lean on some of the things they do know about the Patriots, starting with Maye’s penchant for creating explosives off schedule and the dynamic duo of Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson out of the backfield. Play callers such as McDaniels don't simply reinvent the wheel and many of the staple concepts in his playbook will once again be on display under the lights on Wednesday at Lumen Field.

But from the coaches on the sideline to the savvy veterans such as Love and Williams, all hands will have to be on deck ready to pivot for unexpected wrinkles against an opponent eager to start off the new season with a slice of revenge in a hostile road environment. The ability to quickly make in-game adjustments in all three phases will be crucial, but especially so on defense given the personnel changes that the Patriots have made leading up to this much-anticipated rematch.

Always looking forward to testing his defensive whit against the best of the best, if there’s an added silver lining, all of those changes have made Macdonald’s job that much easier reminding his players that February’s win in the big game holds absolutely no bearing on what will transpire in the opener. It’s a fresh slate with the defending champs sporting a massive target on their backs as the Seahawks re-launch the long ascent back up to the mountaintop against an elite, formidable opponent that will require everyone to do their part adapting on the fly to start the season off with a win.

“There’s a lot of new players involved. That makes it simpler to get that message across. Context changed but it hasn’t really been a topic of conversation. It’s been a long time between the two games. Both teams will tell you that we’re different versions of who we are. It does help the message of, ‘Hey, we’re a new team.’ I’m sure the Patriots feel the same way. We’re focused on doing what we need to do on this game to make it come to life.”