Seven months after the Seattle Seahawks lifted the Lombardi Trophy for the second time this century, the NFL season is back. The New England Patriots will seek revenge after losing the Super Bowl, 29-13.
As is customary, the defending Super Bowl champions will host the first game of the season, so tonight’s 8:20 p.m. ET matchup between the Seahawks and the Patriots will draw plenty of eyeballs, as football fans have been hungering for this day for months.
Seattle is a three-point favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook (-166 on the Moneyline), with the point total set to 44.5. New England is +140 on the Moneyline.
There are plenty of ways to bet on the season-opening game, but one of the most potentially rewarding is a same-game parlay (SGP), in which users can pick legs from the same game, increasing possible payout. Here’s my favorite four-leg parlay from the NFL season opener.
Patriots at Seahawks Best Same Game Parlay
- Seattle Seahawks Moneyline
- Sam Darnold 32+ Passing Attempts
- DeMario Douglas 25+ Receiving Yards
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba Anytime TD Scorer
Parlay Odds: +1700
Best Same Game Parlay for Patriots at Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks Moneyline
With 14 wins in their final 15 games, including the postseason, it became pretty clear that the Seahawks were the best team in football, and the Super Bowl was less competitive than the final score indicated. Seattle likely got worse over the offseason, as Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III signed with the Kansas City Chiefs in free agency, and the Patriots got better, adding wide receiver A.J. Brown. It’s unclear whether those improvements were enough to make up the 16-point gap, especially with TreVeyon Henderson out. The league’s most raucous crowd is sure to be rocking, and the Seahawks won the opening game the last time they were the defending Super Bowl-winners.
Sam Darnold 32+ Passing Attempts
Darnold only recorded more than 32 passing attempts five times in the regular season, but he did so in both the NFC Championship Game and the Super Bowl. This is a different Seattle offense now; with Walker in Kansas City and Zach Charbonnet still on the mend from the torn ACL he suffered in the Divisional Round of last fall’s playoffs, the Seahawks’ primary running back is rookie Jadarian Price. Although Price rushed 113 times for 674 yards and 11 scores last season as the junior partner in a snap share with Jeremiyah Love, I don’t feel particularly confident that he’ll be effective against a team that ranked above the league average by Expected Points Added on rushing plays. New England had a comparatively stronger secondary than front seven last season, but Darnold had some strong moments in the Super Bowl and should trust his receivers.
DeMario Douglas 25+ Receiving Yards
Douglas caught five passes for 45 yards in the Super Bowl, and he had at least 25 receiving yards in seven of his final 10 games of the regular season. With Stefon Diggs now gone, Douglas should be the Patriots’ primary slot receiver, as both he and Diggs took a majority of their snaps out of the slot last season. Brown could take some targets away from him, since almost solely played out wide with the Philadelphia Eagles last season, but with no competition in the slot, Douglas should record a higher snap share than he did in 2025 (26.3%). Plus, Seattle’s slot corner, Nick Emmanwori, seems likely to miss tonight’s game after missing virtually the entire offseason program while recovering from ankle surgery. Drake Maye could target Brown against Devon Witherspoon, but throwing to Douglas against rookie Julian Neal could be a better option.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba Anytime TD Scorer
If Darnold ends up throwing the ball at least 32 times, Smith-Njigba will likely be his favorite target. Last season, Smith-Njigba ended up leading the league in receiving yards, winning the Offensive Player of the Year award, and he accounted for 27.4% of Darnold’s targets inside the 20-yard line, garnering five more targets in the red zone than any other Seahawks player. Although he didn’t score in the Super Bowl, he found the end zone in 10 of his 20 games throughout the season, making +130 pretty good value. New England tied for the 15th-most passing touchdowns allowed last season. Christian Gonzalez, his likely matchup, ranked just 25th in coverage grades among qualified cornerbacks in 2025.
