Every NFL season opens with the previous year's Super Bowl champion hosting the first game at home. This means the Seattle Seahawks would have started on Thursday in a normal season, but 2026 won't be normal. The team will likely open on Wednesday, instead.
The issue is that the NFL will have a regular season game occur in Australia for the first time, and that is expected to happen in Week 1, too. Speculation was that the teams playing in Australia, which will be the San Francisco 49ers versus the Los Angeles Rams, could be held on Wednesday, a day ahead of the Seahawks hosting a Thursday game.