Jaxon Smith-Njigba just put together a franchise-record, NFL-leading receiving season and Rashid Shaheed is back on a new deal looking for a bigger role, so the receiving corps in Seattle might actually be deeper than the one that won it all. New England's questions are more about health and continuity: Rhamondre Stevenson left a camp practice early with an undisclosed issue, and the offensive line is getting reshuffled around Brown's arrival. The number opened basically identical to the Super Bowl line itself, which tells you the market isn't expecting much separation between these two.
This is only the third time a Super Bowl rematch has opened the very next season in Week 1, and the first since 2016 — that alone makes it appointment viewing on a Wednesday night. Seattle lost pieces of that championship roster this offseason, notably Super Bowl MVP running back Kenneth Walker III to the Chiefs, along with some defensive starters and their offensive coordinator. New England, meanwhile, is trying to prove the 10-game win streak that got them to the Super Bowl wasn't a one-year mirage.
New England's last five results are all wins outside of the Super Bowl loss itself, and that late-season surge is the reason expectations shot up in Foxboro. Seattle's last five are a clean sweep, capped by the win that actually mattered most. Both teams are walking in with real momentum from a year ago — the difference is Seattle's came with a trophy attached.
Keep an eye on Stevenson's status for New England and Nick Emmanwori's ankle for Seattle — both are firmly in the "unclear, but not long-term" bucket this early in camp, and neither team has any incentive to rush a real injury update out in late July. A lot can shift over the next six weeks before kickoff, but as of now this reads like the closest thing the NFL schedule-makers could engineer to a Super Bowl do-over.