Sam Darnold Injured on Opening Series of Seahawks' Opener

Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold hurt his hip on the opening series of Wednesday's Super Bowl LX rematch against the Patriots and was ruled out.

The 2026 NFL season opened Wednesday night at Lumen Field with a rare Super Bowl LX rematch between the defending champion Seattle Seahawks and the AFC champion New England Patriots. The night quickly turned grim for the champions: Field Gulls reports that quarterback Sam Darnold was injured on the opening series, was initially listed as questionable to return, and was later ruled out, with the team saying he would undergo "off-site" testing on his hip. Per Pats Pulpit's live coverage, Seattle clung to a 13-10 lead in the late fourth quarter.

Darnold's injury on the very first series was the last thing a banner night was supposed to deliver. He had been the steady hand of a Super Bowl-winning season, and Yahoo Sports framed the opener around exactly the question that now looms larger: whether Darnold could keep playing mistake-free football under a new offensive coordinator. Instead, Seattle's backup was thrust into a heavyweight rematch. Brown left the game with an ankle injury and was ruled out, per Pats Pulpit's live thread — gutting the marquee matchup both fan bases had circled on the schedule.

Seattle entered as the favorite, though not an overwhelming one: according to FanDuel Sportsbook odds cited by Pats Pulpit, the Patriots were 3.5-point underdogs despite the lopsided Super Bowl. Pats Pulpit's staff predictions split on the margin but leaned Seattle in three of four picks, with scores ranging from a 20-16 Seahawks win to a lone 27-24 Patriots upset call from Pat Lane. The writers flagged the fault lines that proved real: Seattle is banged up at safety and thin at corner behind Nehemiah Pritchett, per Field Gulls, while New England added A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs to boost Drake Maye's offense but overhauled its defense and has edge-rusher question marks. Both teams also lost Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker's replacement plan — Seattle turned to rookie Jadarian Price — with Pats Pulpit noting TreVeyon Henderson missing the game for New England.

For Seattle, the immediate stakes are the health of the quarterback who just delivered the franchise's second Super Bowl. Field Gulls notes the Seahawks were already managing injuries — safety Nick Emmanwori and receiver Tory Horton were ruled out before kickoff, forcing the team to sign practice-squad secondary depth — so losing Darnold stretches an elite roster to its limits in Week 1. Pats Pulpit writers called beating the Seahawks in Seattle "a statement win" the Patriots quietly wanted, and a close game in the fourth quarter suggests the gap between the two teams is far narrower than February's score implied.

The immediate question is the results of Darnold's off-site hip testing, which Field Gulls says the Seahawks are pursuing after ruling him out — his availability for Week 2 hinges on those exams. Seattle must also wait on A.J. Brown's ankle, which Yahoo Sports flagged as the game's breaking injury news for New England. Fan confidence was high entering the year: Field Gulls' Seahawks Reacts survey found fans setting minimum expectations of nothing less than a return to the Super Bowl, so any extended quarterback absence will test that optimism quickly.