The Seattle Seahawks ended the 2025 regular season with a seven-game winning streak and won three playoff contests en route to the second Super Bowl championship in franchise history. They hope to pick up right where they left off in Wednesday's rematch of that title game.
Seattle begins the defense of its crown when it hosts the New England Patriots at 8:20 p.m. ET in the 2026 NFL Kickoff Game at Lumen Field. The Seahawks set the club record with 14 wins last year and knocked off the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams in the postseason before cruising past the Patriots 29-13 in Super Bowl LX.
New England and Seattle were two of the highest-scoring teams in the NFL last season, as the former ranked second with a 28.8-point average and the latter was third at 28.4. Both clubs were in the top 10 in rushing, but the ground attacks will have a different look in the 2026 opener.
Rhamondre Stevenson will be the feature running back for the Patriots as the team's 2025 rushing leader TreVeyon Henderson is out with an injured ankle. Meanwhile, rookie Jadarian Price should have a heavy workload due to the offseason departure of Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet's knee injury.
New England (fourth, 250.5 yards per game) and Seattle (eighth, 228.1) also ranked in top 10 in passing last year and should be dangerous through the air again. The Patriots added wide receiver A.J. Brown, who has eclipsed the 1,000-yard plateau in six of his seven NFL seasons, and the Seahawks possess the duo of Jaxon Smith-Njigba (league-leading 1,793 receiving yards in 2025) and Cooper Kupp.
A total of 10 games are on MLB's Wednesday evening schedule, including the finale of the three-game series at American Family Field between the major league-best Milwaukee Brewers (90-56) and National League Central-rival Chicago Cubs (81-65) at 7:40 p.m. ET. The Brewers, who are nine games ahead of the Cubs in the division, are looking to complete a sweep and finish at 9-4 in the season series. Chicago has lost three straight overall and is just three games in front of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the second NL wild card.
Another team seeking a three-game sweep is the two-time defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers (88-57), who aim for their season-high seventh consecutive victory when they face the Cincinnati Reds (69-76) at 10:10 p.m. ET at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers edged the Reds 3-2 on Tuesday to maintain their 10.5-game lead over the Diamondbacks in the NL West and move three ahead of the Atlanta Braves for the No. 2 seed in the senior circuit.
One day after having their five-game winning streak halted, the Boston Red Sox (80-66) attempt to take the rubber game of their three-game series against the major league-worst Los Angeles Angels (55-90) at 6:45 p.m. ET at Fenway Park. Boston, which has a firm hold on the second wild-card spot in the American League, sustained a 6-1 loss on Tuesday after having allowed a total of three runs over its previous four contests.
The New York Yankees (82-62) continue their pursuit of a division title when they host the Colorado Rockies (55-89) at 7:05 p.m. ET in the middle contest of their three-game set at Yankee Stadium. New York, which sits atop the Wild Card standings but trails the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays by four games, won the opener 5-3 despite an 0-for-3 performance by Aaron Judge in his return from an absence of three-plus months due to a fractured rib.
The Seahawks are 3-point favorites against the Patriots in the latest consensus NFL betting odds. The Brewers are -131 money-line betting favorites versus the Cubs in the latest consensus MLB betting odds and the Dodgers are massive -293 betting favorites over the Reds. The Red Sox are huge -216 favorites against the Angels for fans who want to wager at the best sports betting apps, while the Yankees are an enormous -253 to defeat the Rockies.
Below is a snapshot of what to watch and bet for Wednesday, Sept. 9. All times Eastern
NFL best bets, where to watch
Patriots at Seahawks
Time: 8:20 p.m. | Location: Seattle | TV: NBC/Peacock
SportsLine picks -- Model: Seahawks ML (-175) | Expert: DeMario Douglas Over 19.5 receiving yards (-113, Larry Hartstein)
The Patriots are 5-0 in season openers following a loss in the Super Bowl, but the Seahawks ended last campaign with 10 consecutive victories and have won their last four meetings with New England. The SportsLine Projection Model thinks both streaks will continue as the Seahawks emerge victorious in 73% of its simulations. The Patriots added a pair of top-notch receivers in A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs during the offseason, which means not as much attention will be given to DeMario Douglas. SportsLine expert Larry Hartstein likes the 25-year-old Douglas, who made five catches for 45 yards against Seattle in Super Bowl LX, to register at least 20 yards in the 2026 NFL Kickoff Game as one of his favorite prop betting picks on Wednesday.
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MLB best bets, where to watch
Angels at Red Sox
Time: 6:45 p.m. | Location: Boston | TV: MLB.TV | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)
SportsLine picks -- Model: Under 9 (+100) | Expert: Red Sox -1.5 (+100, Adam Thompson)
The Red Sox and Angels combined for fewer than nine runs in three of their previous five meetings this season, including the first two contests of this three-game series. The Angels are 29th in the majors in scoring with 585 runs, and each of their last five games hasn't exceeded the seven-run mark. The same is true of Boston's last five contests. The SportsLine Projection Model sees another lower-scoring affair Wednesday as its Over/Under betting pick is the Under, which is hitting well over 54% of the time. SportsLine expert Adam Thompson (29-13, +1365 on his last 42 MLB picks) is backing the Red Sox to win by multiple runs as the Angels have scored a total of five runs in right-hander Ryan Johnson's last four starts.
Rockies at Yankees
Time: 7:05 p.m. | Location: Bronx, N.Y. | TV: MLB Network | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)
SportsLine picks -- Model: Rockies +1.5 (-102) | Expert: Aaron Judge 2+ total bases (-120, Eric Cohen)
The Rockies own the worst record in the NL and have lost 15 of their last 20 contests. But each of their last seven setbacks were by fewer than three runs, and four of them were one-run decisions. The SportsLine Projection Model believes the Rockies will at least keep it close against righty Will Warren and the Yankees as they cover the spread betting run line in 53% of its simulations. Judge's return from injury was uneventful as he went hitless in three at-bats and struck out twice in the series opener, his first game since May 31. SportsLine expert Eric Cohen likes the three-time AL MVP to have a good night at the plate when he faces Colorado righty Tomoyuki Sugano, against whom he is 7-for-9 lifetime with three homers and a walk.
Cubs at Brewers
Time: 7:40 p.m. | Location: Milwaukee | TV: MLB.TV | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)
SportsLine pick -- Model: Over 7.5 (-110)
The Cubs and Brewers are two of the highest-scoring teams in the league as the former leads the majors with 774 runs and the latter ranks third with 734. The clubs combined for eight or more runs in half of their first 12 meetings this season and finished with seven on four occasions, including each of the first two contests of this series. Ten of Milwaukee's 12 games prior to the set featured eight or more total runs, and Chicago righty Kevin Gausman's ERA on the road (4.95) is more than a full run higher than his mark at home (3.91). The SportsLine Projection Model doesn't think runs will be at a premium on Wednesday as its simulations have the Over hitting almost 71% of the time and has given the pick an 'A' grade.
Reds at Dodgers
Time: 10:10 p.m. | Location: Los Angeles | TV: MLB.TV | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)
SportsLine picks -- Model: Reds +1.5 (+106) | Expert: Yoshinobu Yamamoto Over 18.5 outs recorded (+117, PropBetGuy)
After losing the series opener by three runs, the Reds put up a better fight on Tuesday as they dropped a one-run decision. Los Angeles righty Yoshinobu Yamamoto limited Cincinnati to one run over 13 2/3 innings in two starts last year, including one in the postseason, but was tagged for four runs across five frames in their lone meeting in 2024. Yamamoto's ERA at home this season (3.28) is solid, but it's more than a run higher than his 1.94 road mark. The SportsLine Projection Model sees the Reds doing a solid job of attempting to end Los Angeles' winning streak as they cover the run line in 54% of its simulations. Yamamoto has worked more than six innings in each of his last three overall turns and four of his past six at home. SportsLine props expert PropBetGuy (113-80, +1498 on his last 193 MLB player prop picks) likes the 28-year-old native of Japan to go fairly deep into the game against Cincinnati, as he's had six days off between starts.
