The NFL’s 107th season begins on this Wednesday at Seattle, continues a day later in Australia, and revs up Sunday with 13 games. Week 1 concludes on Monday night at Arrowhead Stadium when the Kansas City Chiefs host the Denver Broncos.
So will Mike Macdonald’s team pick up where it left off last season? How many division champions will repeat in 2026? Who will reach Super Bowl LXI?
There’s plenty of time to figure all of that out. Meanwhile, here are a handful of numbers that may open an eye or two.
Take a look at 5 key numbers for Week 1
40-18-1
On Wednesday evening in the Pacific Northwest, the Seattle Seahawks will not only embark on defense of its NFL championship, they will do it against the team they defeated in Super Bowl LX. The New England Patriots will travel to Lumen Field looking for a little revenge, but history tells us that their chances of winning are not very good. All told, the defending Lombardi Trophy winners are an impressive 40-18-1 in their first game the following season. That adds up to a pretty imposing .686 winning percentage. And…
145
Back to the reigning Super Bowl champions. Mike Macdonald’s team got off to a 3-2 start this past season, and their third loss of 2025 was a 21-19 setback to the Rams at SoFi Stadium in Week 11. It was a game in which Seahawks’ quarterback Sam Darnold threw four interceptions. It also happens to be the last time that Macdonald’s club lost. Including their impressive three-game postseason run, the ‘Hawks have run off 10 straight victories. And in the process, the club has doubled up the opposition by a 290-145 score.
554
It remains the league record for passing yards in a game, and it happened in Week 1 of the 1951 season. Los Angeles Rams’ quarterback Norm Van Brocklin threw for 554 yards (5 TDs) in a 54-14 win over the New York Yanks at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. There have been a total of 27 instances of a player throwing for 500-plus yards in an NFL game—25 in the regular season and twice in the postseason. The last instance came in 2024 via then-Falcons’ quarterback Kirk Cousins (509 yards vs. the Buccaneers).
7
Entering the 2025 NFL season, there had been no repeat champion in the NFC East for more than two decades. Led by head coach Andy Reid, the Philadelphia Eagles won four consecutive division titles from 2001-04. This past season, Nick Sirianni’s Birds won three fewer games than the previous year when they finished 14-3 and went on to win Super Bowl LIX, but that was good enough to win the NFC East once again. Meanwhile, each of the other seven division had new champions from the previous season.
10
Every offseason, the NFL has its share of head coach changes. This offseason was no exception, and the 10 new sideline leaders were the most since 2022 (10). In case you have forgotten, there’s Mike LaFleur (Cardinals), Kevin Stefanski (Falcons), Jesse Minter (Ravens), Joe Brady (Bills), Todd Monken (Browns), Klint Kubiak (Raiders), Jeff Hafley (Dolphins), John Harbaugh (Giants), Mike McCarthy (Steelers), and Robert Saleh (Titans). McCarthy is only the fourth different head coach for the Steelers since 1969.
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