The Seattle Seahawks already have a blueprint for beating the New England Patriots. Head coach Mike Macdonald just doesn’t want his team trusting it too much.
Seattle will open its Super Bowl defense against New England on September 9, only seven months after beating the Patriots 29-13 in Super Bowl LX. But Macdonald cautioned against assuming what worked in February will translate directly to the Week 1 rematch.
“You don’t want to fall in the trap of applying, you know, last year’s things that you see too much to what’s going to happen this year,” Macdonald told reporters on September 5. “Teams grow and evolve and change and there’s different personnel on both sides.”
That is especially true of the Patriots.
Mike Macdonald Expects a Different Patriots Team
Seattle overwhelmed New England in Super Bowl LX, holding the Patriots scoreless through the first three quarters while sacking quarterback Drake Maye six times and forcing three turnovers.
The Seahawks won 29-13, capturing the second Super Bowl championship in franchise history.
That game can still help Seattle prepare for the rematch. Macdonald acknowledged the Seahawks will study how New England attacked them and how the Patriots responded to different situations.
He just does not want February becoming Seattle’s entire scouting report.
The Patriots have made substantial changes since the Super Bowl.
New England acquired star wide receiver A.J. Brown from the Philadelphia Eagles and signed Romeo Doubs, giving Maye two new targets. The Patriots also added offensive lineman Alijah Vera-Tucker and reinforced the defense with veterans Kevin Byard and former Seahawks defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones.
New England’s official transaction log shows Brown was acquired in June, while Doubs, Vera-Tucker, Byard and Jones were among a group of veterans added in March.
Those changes give Macdonald another reason not to assume the rematch will follow the same script.
“There’s a lot of new players involved, so that makes it simpler to get that message across,” Macdonald said. “Context changed.”
He added that both teams are now “different versions” of the ones that met for the championship.
Seahawks Have Their Own Changes to Account For
Seattle isn’t running back the exact same operation, either.
One of the biggest changes comes on offense, where Brian Fleury enters his first season as offensive coordinator after Klint Kubiak left following Seattle’s championship season.
Fleury will also be calling plays in a regular-season game for the first time when the Seahawks face New England.
That adds another layer of uncertainty to a matchup that might look unusually familiar on paper.
Macdonald said Seattle’s priority is putting its players in position to execute what they do best rather than trying to predict everything New England will show based on old film.
“I think 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,” Macdonald said.
The Seahawks coach also expects both staffs to encounter something they didn’t anticipate.
“There’s going to be some things that we’re going to be required to make adjustments in game,” Macdonald said, “because there’s inevitably going to be things that happen that you haven’t prepared for.”
That may be the biggest difference between February’s Super Bowl and September’s rematch.
Seattle knows exactly what worked the last time.
Now the challenge is figuring out what still applies.
Seahawks Begin Super Bowl Defense at Home
The circumstances will make ignoring the past difficult.
Seattle will raise its championship banner before beginning the 2026 regular season at Lumen Field against the same opponent it defeated to win that championship.
Macdonald said the Seahawks should appreciate that moment rather than pretending it doesn’t matter.
But he has also consistently framed Week 1 as the beginning of a new season rather than an extension of the last one.
“This is the first step of this journey as well,” Macdonald said.
Whatever happens against New England, he said Seattle will have to continue evolving if it wants to become the team it hopes to be by the end of the season.
The first test comes against the Patriots.
They just won’t be the same Patriots Seattle remembers from February.
Mike Macdonald Explains Why Seahawks Can’t Lean on Super Bowl Win vs. Patriots