The official NFL schedule release is still pretty far out, but it’s been announced that the Seattle Seahawks will play a rare Wednesday night opener, and their list of potential opponents has already been released, so it feels like a good time to rank the top choices for Seattle's opponent.

1. Los Angeles Rams

With the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers set to play in Melbourne the night after Seattle’s opener, and thus out of consideration for the opening opponent, the Dallas Cowboys present a fun option that most are underrating. The Cowboys should have a dynamite offense once again, led by QB Dak Prescott and a WR duo featuring two of the league's best in Ceedee Lamb and George Pickens.

The pressure would be on Seattle’s defense to generate quick pressure on Prescott and limit his damage through the air. On defense, the Cowboys still have major holes across the board after ranking dead last in opponent points per game at a whopping 30.1. Defensive tackle Quinnen Williams could give Seattle’s interior all they can handle, but the Dallas secondary has little hope of containing Jaxon Smith-Njigba, meaning this matchup could provide points in bunches.

2. Chicago Bears

A bit of an upside swing here. The Bears blew past expectations in year one under Ben Johnson, reaching the NFC divisional playoff round and giving the Rams all they could handle in a narrow defeat. The Bears have a lot to be excited about heading into Johnson's second year, with a QB in Caleb Williams who really popped in year two while learning to balance his love for play extension with the quick, concise decision-making it takes to operate a successful offense down-to-down in the NFL.

Williams will have help from other ascending talents like Luther Burden and Rome Odunze at receiver, Colston Loveland at tight end, and an offensive line featuring Joe Thuney and Darnell Wright. The Bears' clear deficiency was their boom-or-bust defense, so this matchup could offer another chance at a shootout to open the season.

3. New England Patriots

We’ve seen Super Bowl rematches in season openers before, most recently in 2016 between the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos, so this wouldn’t be shocking. The main question would be if the Patriots have done this offseason enough to avoid another offensive flop against the Seattle defense.

They signed guard Alijah Vera-Tucker to bolster the offensive line that desperately needed help and swapped out Stefon Diggs for Romeo Doubs, who should fit in nicely but isn’t necessarily a needle mover against the Seattle defense. Another offseason of work for Drake Maye will likely mean he avoids another disaster of a game, and the Patriots would come out fired up for this rematch, which earns them the last spot on the list.

Honorable Mentions

Two other teams piqued my interest while putting together a top three. The Chiefs stood out partly due to Kenneth Walker III moving base to Arrowhead. But with the uncertainty around Patrick Mahomes' return date from ACL surgery, the league will likely want to avoid any chance of Justin Fields vs the Seattle defense in primetime.

Finally, the Los Angeles Chargers have a great head coach and QB combo in Jim Harbaugh and Justin Herbert. They should be getting both Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt back from injury as well, giving Herbert a chance to do damage through the air, yet this Chargers team doesn’t have the weaponry on the outside to exploit Seattle’s defense.