Going into a season opener against last year's Super Bowl winner, who just happened to beat you in that game, was always going to be a big challenge for the Patriots. Not only will they face one of the best teams in the NFC, but it's on their home turf, with a crowd known for disrupting opponents' plays and taking pride in doing so.
That's nearly impossible to prepare for, so the Patriots will have to be up to the task as much as possible, if that's even something they can legitimately do.
Making matters worse is the latest rumor about who the head official is likely going to be for the game, and that is Adrian Hill, who called just one game for the Patriots in 2025.
The problem is that it was the Week 6 game against the Saints, which saw a ridiculous amount of penalties and touchdowns taken away from DeMario Douglas. Although they inevitably won, it was still a frustrating way to get there, and now they'll have to deal with the crew that loves to throw flags at the start of the year.
The NFL can't help but screw over the Patriots in their brutal season opener
As if playing in a season opener on a Wednesday night in Seattle wasn't bad enough, the NFL decided to give the Patriots another challenge they'll have to overcome by putting the crew of officials who called the second-most penalties in the entire league last year in the game.
For the entire 2025 season, 108 penalties were accepted by away teams and 106 by home teams. That's pretty disruptive no matter which team you're on, but slightly worse for those on the road, which the Patriots will be against the Seahawks.
Because it's the first game of the season, which most feel is an extension of the preseason, both teams are bound to make plenty of mistakes that result in penalties. The Patriots have had a habit of racking those up with avoidable missteps, making Hill's presence even more relevant.
It will be a test of where they are and who they might be for the rest of the season, even if they have a lot of time to clean up their act.
No matter what, it's a brutal first test of the season, kicking off a difficult month of games against the Steelers, the Jaguars, and then the Bills. It would be ideal to start that run with a win on the road against an NFC frontrunner, and it would be more impressive if they could do it with a frustrating officiating crew on hand.
It would certainly set the tone for the season and prove that the improvements they made over the past several months were the right ones, especially compared with how last year's roster performed in the Super Bowl.
They can't let the referees' blame become a topic too early, if at all, and we'll have to hope it doesn't become a conversation after this game.
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