Seahawks 2026 schedule: Predicting which Seahawks games go to primetime

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JANUARY 25: Jaxon Smith-Njigba #11 of the Seattle Seahawks completes a catch and scores a touchdown during an NFC Championship NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams at Lumen Field on January 25, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images) | Getty Images

In about 48 hours, the Seattle Seahawks will have their 2026 regular season schedule unveiled. As Super Bowl champions, we should expect to see a lot of national attention on the Seahawks. Their schedule is friendly toward a lot of glamor games, whether for primetime or as the main fixture of a Sunday doubleheader.

Let's do some predicting of Seattle's primetime and national TV schedule! I'm doing things a little differently this year and not ranking likelihood of a primetime matchup.

As a reminder: Teams are allowed a maximum of six primetime games, with a seventh permitted for Week 18. The same divisional matchup is no longer allowed to be in prime time twice. A game that airs on national TV but not on primetime doesn't count toward the limit, but no team can have more than eight standalone (aka non-regional) games.

Opening night opponent (NBC)

vs. Chicago Bears. It's either the Bears or New England Patriots, and in recent years the immediate Super Bowl rematch hasn't touched opening day. The Chicago Bears were arguably the most entertaining team to watch last season, purely for how chaotic their finishes tended to be. Ben Johnson was just as coveted as Mike Macdonald in the 2024 head coaching cycle, stayed with the Detroit Lions for another year, and landed a job that kept him within the division and to immediate success.

Caleb Williams trying to solve Mike Macdonald's defense is going to be interesting whether it's Week 1 or Week 11.

We were agonizingly close to Seahawks vs. Bears being last year's NFC Championship. The NFL would love to have the big-market Bears open up versus the champs.

Sunday Night Football (NBC)

vs. Los Angeles Rams. It has to be done, right? The best game of the 2025 regular season and a classic NFC Championship just a few weeks later is obligated to be given primetime love. I would be shocked if neither Rams matchup made it to a nighttime kickoff.

at Philadelphia Eagles. Pete Carroll was famously flawless against the Eagles during his time with the Seahawks. This will be Coach Macdonald's first crack at Philly, who will be among the favorites to win the NFC. In terms of non-divisional road games, this could be the toughest one Seattle has on paper.

Monday Night Football (ABC/ESPN)

at San Francisco 49ers. The NFC West was won in Week 18 in Santa Clara. Whether you think the 49ers will be terrible or not, this is still a top tier rivalry and networks have regularly made this a primetime game. The last time a Seahawks vs. 49ers showdown was either not flexed into national TV or not in primetime at all was 2020.

vs. Dallas Cowboys. ESPN and ABC have the Super Bowl rights this year. They are almost an equal to NBC in terms of game quality, so why not have the Seahawks' only primetime Monday game be against America's (most overhyped) Team?

Thursday Night Football (Prime Video)

at Denver Broncos. Perhaps this could've been Super Bowl 60 had Bo Nix not shattered his ankle in the AFC Divisional Round. We're four years removed from the Russell Wilson trade and the Seahawks ended up building their next champion in large part due to the draft capital from the Wilson deal, whereas the Broncos escaped from their own mess and built a contender post-Wilson release. Prime Video typically gets a lot of divisional games on its schedule, but this could be one of those exceptions.

Christmas Day (Netflix)

vs. Kansas City Chiefs. Netflix has a Christmas Day doubleheader on Friday, with the late game kicking off at 1:30 pm PT. I do not want this to happen but I do think the Seahawks will have a game on Netflix, and technically this won't be primetime. In a scheduling oddity, the last two Seahawks vs. Chiefs games have been scheduled for Christmas-ish, so this could be the third time in a row these former AFC West foes clash in December. Patrick Mahomes makes only his second regular season appearance (we assume, a lot can happen) in Seattle, while Kenneth Walker (again, we assume) marks his return to the Seahawks as an opponent.

The regional and main doubleheader bin (FOX or CBS)

vs./at Arizona Cardinals. Even if Arizona is better than last year, there's not much reason to believe the Cardinals will get much national attention.

at Los Angeles Rams. As noted already, a divisional matchup cannot be on primetime twice.

vs. San Francisco 49ers. See above.

at Carolina Panthers. I think the Panthers might get a couple of marquee dates by default as NFC South champs, but the Seahawks won't be on that list.

at Las Vegas Raiders. Klint Kubiak, good luck! I thought about this as a sneaky Thursday or Monday game, but chances are Raiders appearances in standalone windows will be limited. Maybe a divisional game and a non-divisional game, but nothing more than that. This is a much more interesting matchup given Vegas' offseason upgrades, I must admit.

at Washington Commanders. It looks like the Seahawks will once again not play an international game, so the Commanders in London won't be happening. There are only three 10 am PT kickoffs the Seahawks can have this season, and Washington is one of those possibilities.

vs. New York Giants. The Giants will get their usual set of it's the Giants" primetime dates, but they play in the NFC East and have natural opponents for national selection. Outside of Mike Macdonald against his mentor, John Harbaugh" I don't think this rises to the level of a primetime game.

vs. Los Angeles Chargers. Similarly to the Giants in the NFC East, I suspect many Chargers national appearances will involve divisional showdowns against the AFC West. Justin Herbert coming back to the Pacific Northwest should be fun, but probably CBS doubleheader" game intriguing.

vs. New England Patriots. My semi-bold prediction is that the Super Bowl rematch will be a 1 pm kickoff, but as a featured late-game doubleheader on CBS or FOX. Last year, the Eagles-Chiefs rematch was on FOX, likewise Chiefs-49ers the year before that. When the Seahawks rematched the Broncos in 2014, CBS did not have it as a standalone national window.

You can make your own predictions in the comments section! We'll have the official schedule in our tracker.

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