SAN FRANCISCO -- It took just two seasons for Mike Macdonald to take the Seattle Seahawks from playoff observer to Super Bowl champions.
The dominant defensive performance in a blowout win over the New England Patriots underscored the defensive guru’s place among the top young minds in the NFL. Macdonald is the third-youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl (38 years, 227 days old). His 17 victories this season set a new record for the most wins in a season by a head coach under 40 years old (including playoffs).
With a young head coach and a roster built by general manager John Schneider to last, Seattle won’t be a one-hit wonder. The Seahawks could just be hitting their stride under Macdonald. After a swift ascent to the mountain top, it’s never too early to start thinking about that elusive repeat.
Next season, Seattle hosts the Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots, New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers.
Here are my top four matchups for the Seahawks to begin their Super Bowl defense in 2026's NFL Kickoff Game:
The Seahawks bested L.A. two out of three times in a trio of slugfests in 2025. The Super Bowl champs taking on MVP Matthew Stafford, Sean McVay, and a trove of Pro Bowl players would lead to fireworks to kick off the season. Sam Darnold's career arc versus the Rams alone -- where he went from turnover machine to spearheading the Seahawks past their division rival -- would provide an inspiring backdrop as Seattle raises its championship banner.
Ben Johnson’s cardiac Bears offered some of the most epic comebacks of the 2025 season -- the type of drama the NFL desires for its Kickoff Game. Caleb Williams, facing off against Mike Macdonald’s menacing defense, is a dream matchup right out of the box. Chicago overachieved in Johnson’s first season. Now comes the hard part: staying atop the NFC North. Pitting the Bears against a dominant Super Bowl champion would indicate that the league is confident Chicago’s young squad will continue to ascend -- similar to when the NFL put Johnson’s then-Lions on opening night in 2023.
The final two Niners-Seahawks games of 2025 were duds, particularly Seattle’s 41-6 Divisional Round pummeling. However, the decimated San Francisco squad, with Nick Bosa and Fred Warner back, among others, would offer a different bout. With award-winners Christian McCaffrey and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Brock Purdy versus Sam Darnold, and defensive stars littering the field, this matchup would be promo gold. As we saw last year, the NFL won’t shy away from pitting division rivals out of the gate. If either the 49ers or Rams is the choice for the Kickoff Game, it would have major implications for the hotly contested NFC West.
Hate them or love them, the Cowboys still bring the eyeballs. With Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, likely George Pickens, Quinnen Williams and whatever other defensive moves Dallas makes this offseason, Jerry Jones’ squad would bring the glitz to another Kickoff Game. Dak versus the Seahawks No. 1 defense would be must-see television. The question is whether the NFL puts Dallas in back-to-back Kickoff Games?
BONUS
I’m adding a bonus here just to discuss the fact that K.C. would probably be at the top of this list if not for the uncertainty of Patrick Mahomes' status. The QB is confident he’ll be ready by Week 1 after tearing his ACL, but given that the schedule comes out in the spring, it feels too early to project that the star will be on the field at 100 percent. Better to save this star showdown for prime time later in the season.