The Seattle Seahawks kicked off their Super Bowl 60 title defense against the New England Patriots at Lumen Field on Wednesday, September 10, 2026, playing through a scoreless first quarter as starting quarterback Sam Darnold exited with a hip injury and backup Drew Lock took over.
Sam Darnold Exits With Injury as Drew Lock Takes Over
The Seahawks suffered a major blow on their opening drive when starting quarterback Sam Darnold sustained an apparent lower-body injury after taking a sack. Darnold initially walked toward the sideline and shook off the hit before entering the blue medical tent for an evaluation. NBC cameras later captured him limping and grimacing as he walked out of the tent and headed to the locker room.
The team officially listed Darnold as questionable to return with a hip injury. Backup quarterback Drew Lock immediately stepped in behind center to guide Seattle’s second offensive drive after signing a two-year, $5 million deal to return to Seattle following a season with the New York Giants. The first quarter ended with a scoreless tie at 0-0, leaving the Lumen Field crowd waiting for an offensive spark.
A Rematch Defined by Defences and Missing Personnel
Wednesday night’s matchup marks a high-stakes rematch of Super Bowl 60, where the Seahawks’ defense overpowered the New England offensive line by sacking quarterback Drake Maye six times. Both teams entered the season opener dealing with significant roster absences.
Seattle played without multi-dimensional second-year safety Nick Emmanwori, who spent the summer recovering from ankle surgery and was ruled inactive before kickoff. Coach Mike Macdonald also had to manage without wide receiver Tory Horton and safety Ty Okada due to hamstring injuries, prompting the team to sign AJ Finley from the practice squad to assist Julian Love in the secondary. Meanwhile, the Patriots played without second-year running back TreVeyon Henderson, who suffered an ankle injury when he slipped during practice on August 24.
Roster Turnover and Betting Odds at Lumen Field
Both franchises entered the 2026 campaign looking to establish early dominance in tightly contested division races after combining for a blistering 28-2 record over the remainder of last regular season following simultaneous Week 1 losses. Seattle enters the new season following an offseason of transition on offense, notably losing Super Bowl MVP running back Kenneth Walker III to free agency in addition to Zach Charbonnet recovering from a major knee injury. That left rookie first-round draft pick Jadarian Price to be featured heavily against the Patriots’ defense.
Bookmakers installed the defending champions as 3.5-point betting favorites with an Over/Under set at 44.5 points, while projection models and analysts continued to back Seattle to replicate their dominant defensive formula from February. New England counterpunched by adding weapon power around Drake Maye, acquiring wide receiver A.J. Brown via trade from Philadelphia and signing Romeo Doubs from Green Bay to bolster an offense seeking a breakthrough against Macdonald’s defensive scheme.
