FOXBOROUGH - Drake Maye is not interested in selling Wednesday night as a revenge spot.
The New England Patriots open the 2026 season at Lumen Field against the Seattle Seahawks on Wednesday, Sept. 9, at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC.
It is a Super Bowl LX rematch after Seattle’s 29-13 win on Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, according to FOX Sports and Reuters. But when Maye was asked Saturday whether the opener carries revenge-game energy, he dismissed that framing immediately.
Mark Daniels of MassLive reported the comments from Gillette Stadium. Maye’s line was simple: “They won the big one.”
Daniels also posted the quote on X, and Maye’s point was clear in the rest of the session: New England lost the biggest game on the schedule, and nothing about Wednesday can erase that. The focus, from his perspective, is on starting the year the right way against the team that finished the job.
There is a reason he is keeping the temperature down. The last meeting was rough on every level.
Per The Associated Press, Maye was sacked six times, threw two interceptions and lost a fumble in the 29-13 defeat. The Patriots didn’t get on the board until the fourth quarter.
That was less about emotion and more about Seattle’s defense overwhelming New England’s protection and speeding up Maye’s internal clock.
The setting in Seattle adds another layer. Lumen Field is a tough place to operate on opening night, and noise will be part of the test from the first snap.
That means cadence, protection calls and hot routes matter just as much as any storyline attached to the rematch. Maye’s refusal to lean into revenge talk fits that reality.
His teammates, though, are willing to talk a little differently. Rhamondre Stevenson called the trip exciting and said he wants a measure of payback, according to MassLive.
Center Jared Wilson said the loss is still in the back of their heads. Maye, meanwhile, is separating the emotional residue from the actual football task in front of him.
And the Patriots have changed some things since February.
New England traded for A.J. Brown on June 1, sending Philadelphia a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-rounder, according to NFL.com and AP.
Romeo Doubs signed a four-year deal in March after four seasons in Green Bay, per NFL.com. Guard Alijah Vera-Tucker also arrived to help stabilize a line that gave up those six Super Bowl sacks.
Those additions matter because they alter the equation on early downs. In February, Maye often had to work without a true outside receiver who could win against press coverage and force Seattle out of its preferred looks.
Brown gives Josh McDaniels that kind of weapon. Doubs adds another boundary option.
None of it has been proven in a regular-season snap, though, and the Patriots starters sat out the preseason, a decision Mike Vrabel described as a health call, according to ESPN.
That is what makes Week 1 so interesting. Can Maye handle the same defense that buried him once, this time with different targets and no preseason reps to shake off the rust?
A win would say plenty. It still would not change the trophy that Seattle already has.
The numbers from last season and Super Bowl LX show the gap Maye is trying to close:
- Completion rate: 72.0% in the 2025 regular season; 62.8% in Super Bowl LX (27 of 43)
- Passing yards: 4,394 in the 2025 regular season; 295 in Super Bowl LX
- Touchdowns/interceptions: 31/8 in the 2025 regular season; 2/2 in Super Bowl LX
- Sacks taken: 6 in Super Bowl LX
There is also a scheduling wrinkle. This is the NFL’s first Wednesday season opener since Sept. 5, 2012, when the Giants hosted Dallas to avoid a conflict with the Democratic National Convention, according to NFL Football Operations and the Patriots’ preview.
New England then has a long wait before its next game, with the Pittsburgh Steelers coming to Gillette Stadium on Sept. 20.
Eleven days separate the two games.
Maye is 24 and entering Year 3. He took the Patriots from 4-13 as a rookie to a Super Bowl in his second season.
Fans may see Wednesday as unfinished business. Their quarterback sees it as the first game of a new year.
In Other News...
Seahawks Suddenly Have A Week 1 Concern In The Secondary
The Seahawks opened their 2026 injury report with a familiar sort of early-season unease, and the secondary was right in the middle of it. Safety Ty Okada showed up with a hamstring issue, while rookie Nick Emmanwori is still working back from ankle surgery, leaving Seattle with an immediate reason to watch the back end of the defense as Week 1 approaches. Wide receiver Tory Horton was also limited with a hamstring injury, but rookie corner Julian Neal was a full participant after dealing with a quad issue.
For a team that leans on communication and depth in the secondary, any limitation at safety this early is worth monitoring closely. The first practice week always comes with a little caution, but Seattles initial report offered a reminder that the opening game plan could depend on how quickly Okada and Emmanwori can get right. Across the field, New England had its own concerns, with defensive tackle Christian Barmore and running back TreVeyon Henderson both missing practice because of injuries. [Read more 🡒]
Braden Fiske Is Feeling The Rams' Blockbuster Move In A Real Way
The Rams defense keeps coming up as a moving target in the NFC West, and Braden Fiske has been right in the middle of that conversation. The outside linebacker has already weighed in on the teams blockbuster trade chatter around Myles Garrett and on the departure of Jared Verse, a reminder that even a division rivals personnel moves can ripple well beyond one locker room.
For the Seahawks, the larger picture is how quickly the divisions roster landscape can shift, with Arizona also locking up Michael Wilson on a new extension and Seattle making its own notable addition in Terrion Arnold. The one-year deal came after the Seahawks did their homework with background checks and consultations across the football world, but the legal situation around Arnold still leaves the move carrying more scrutiny than your typical depth signing. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Seahawks Opener Just Got Dragged Into A Mike Vrabel Mess
The Seahawks season opener has picked up an unexpected off-field subplot, with NFL insider Albert Breer predicting that more details could surface before New England and Seattle kick off the regular season. What began in April as a swirl around photos involving Dianna Russini and Mike Vrabel has already spilled well beyond a tabloid-style rumor, forcing the issue into the NFL conversation at the exact moment the Patriots are trying to turn the page and get ready for Week 1.
Vrabel has kept the focus on football in recent public comments, declining to address the report directly during a press conference and steering the conversation back to the matchup ahead. But the unresolved questions around the episode still hang over a game that should have been about the Seahawks measuring themselves against a new-look Patriots team, making this opener feel a little less like a clean start and a little more like a story with another chapter still to come. [Read more 🡒]