The 2026 NFL season kicks off Wednesday, September 9, when the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks host the New England Patriots at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock — a rematch of Super Bowl LX, and the league’s first Wednesday season opener since 2012, according to FOX Sports. One night later comes something the NFL has never done: a regular-season game in Australia, with the 49ers and Rams meeting at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, streaming exclusively on Netflix. By the time Monday Night Football wraps on September 14, the longest wait in American sports will finally be over — USA Today counts 213 days between Super Bowl 60 and meaningful football.
Key Takeaways
- The season opens Wednesday, September 9: Patriots at Seahawks, 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC/Peacock — a Super Bowl LX rematch.
- September 10: 49ers vs. Rams in Melbourne, the NFL's first regular-season game in Australia, exclusively on Netflix.
- Fourteen games land Sunday, September 13, capped by Cowboys–Giants; Broncos–Chiefs closes Week 1 on Monday night.
- Seven players are suspended for Week 1, led by Falcons pass rusher James Pearce Jr. (8 games).
Why the opener is on a Wednesday
Tradition says the reigning champion raises its banner on Thursday night. This year the league moved the Seahawks’ opener up a day — the first Wednesday kickoff in 14 years, per FOX Sports — to clear the stage for Thursday’s historic Australia game. Seattle, which claimed the second Lombardi Trophy in franchise history by beating New England in February, opens its title defense against the very team it just beat. As USA Today puts it, “the team that wrapped up the last season will begin the next one” — fittingly, against the same opponent.
The Australia experiment: 49ers vs. Rams on Netflix
Thursday, September 10 brings the NFL’s first regular-season game on Australian soil: San Francisco vs. Los Angeles — a full NFC West division game, not an exhibition — at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Kickoff is 8:35 p.m. ET on Netflix; in Melbourne it’s actually Friday morning at 10:35 a.m. local time, per FOX Sports.
The choice of matchup is deliberate: two contending teams with a genuine rivalry, playing a game that counts in the standings on the other side of the planet. It’s also another step in the streaming era — after Netflix’s Christmas games, this is the service’s highest-profile regular-season slot yet.
Full Week 1 schedule
Per FOX Sports and USA Today (all times Eastern):
Wednesday, Sept. 9
- Patriots at Seahawks — 8:20 p.m. (NBC, Peacock)
Thursday, Sept. 10
- 49ers vs. Rams (Melbourne, Australia) — 8:35 p.m. (Netflix)
Sunday, Sept. 13 — early window (1 p.m.)
- Bears at Panthers (FOX) · Ravens at Colts (CBS) · Buccaneers at Bengals (FOX) · Falcons at Steelers (FOX) · Jets at Titans (CBS) · Saints at Lions (FOX) · Bills at Texans (CBS) · Browns at Jaguars (CBS)
Sunday, Sept. 13 — late window (4:25 p.m.)
- Cardinals at Chargers (CBS) · Packers at Vikings (CBS) · Dolphins at Raiders (FOX) · Commanders at Eagles (FOX)
Sunday Night Football
- Cowboys at Giants — 8:20 p.m. (NBC, Peacock)
Monday, Sept. 14
- Broncos at Chiefs — 8:15 p.m. (ESPN, ABC and ESPN2, per FOX Sports)
The full 272-game schedule was released back on May 14, per FOX Sports, with the marquee Week 1 games announced ahead of the reveal.
The games with the most juice
Beyond the opener and the Australia game, three Sunday matchups stand out. Commanders at Eagles pits two NFC East rivals in Philadelphia with immediate divisional stakes. Packers at Minnesota renews one of the NFC North’s oldest feuds in a late-window slot. And Cowboys at Giants gets the Sunday night stage — because of course it does. Monday’s finale sends Denver to Arrowhead, where the Chiefs open at home against a division rival amid what FOX Sports’ pregame crew describes as “A LOT OF CONCERNS” entering Week 1.
Who’s missing: the Week 1 suspension list
Several players will watch Week 1 from home. Sports Illustrated’s tracker of players suspended to start the season:
- James Pearce Jr., DE, Falcons — 8 games. The league ruled he violated its personal conduct policy following an offseason arrest on three felony charges; he entered a pretrial intervention program. Pearce had 10.5 sacks as a rookie, making this the most football-significant absence on the list.
- Nazeeh Johnson, CB, Titans — 6 games, for violating the performance-enhancing substances policy. Johnson said publicly he unknowingly took a banned fertility medication; he’s also on injured reserve after ankle surgery.
- Brock Rechsteiner, WR, Saints — 6 games, also under the PED policy.
- Phidarian Mathis, DT, Bills — 3 games, under the substances of abuse policy, stemming from a 2025 alcohol-related incident, per ESPN via SI. He misses Houston, Detroit, and the Chargers.
- Jeshaun Jones, WR, Vikings — 3 games, substances of abuse policy.
- Dorance Armstrong, edge, Commanders — 1 game (personal conduct policy), missing the Eagles opener.
- Cam Taylor-Britt, CB, Colts — 1 game (personal conduct policy), missing the Ravens game.
How the 17-game schedule actually works
If you’ve ever wondered why your team plays who it plays, FOX Sports lays out the rotating formula: six games against division rivals (home and away), four against a full division within the conference, four against a division in the other conference, two more intra-conference games based on last year’s division finish, and a 17th cross-conference game also determined by prior-year standing. Each team gets one bye, and teams alternate between hosting nine and eight regular-season games each year.
What happens next
Week 1 rolls straight into a full season rhythm: Thursday night games on Prime Video, Sunday regional windows on CBS and FOX (with FOX carrying six regional games in Week 1, streamable on FOX One in local markets), Sunday nights on NBC, and Mondays on ESPN/ABC. The stories to track from day one: whether Seattle looks like a repeat threat in the Super Bowl rematch, how the NFL’s Australian audience shows up for a 10:35 a.m. local kickoff, and whether Kansas City’s shaky-by-their-standards offseason narrative survives a home date with Denver. The suspension list adds subplots too — Atlanta’s pass rush must survive half a season without its best young edge rusher. Drafting a fantasy team this weekend? The expert cheat sheet covers who to take and who to fade — and until the pros kick off, college football’s Labor Day slate will keep the lights on. Football is back; the answers start September 9.
Quick poll
Which Week 1 game are you clearing the schedule for?
For the record: USA Today counts 213 days between Super Bowl 60 and the Wednesday opener — the longest wait in American sports.
FAQ
When does the 2026 NFL season start? Wednesday, September 9, 2026 — Patriots at Seahawks, 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. It’s the NFL’s first Wednesday opener since 2012.
Why is there an NFL game in Australia? The league scheduled its first-ever regular-season game there: 49ers vs. Rams at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Thursday, September 10 (Friday morning local time). It streams exclusively on Netflix.
Who plays on the first Sunday of the 2026 season? Fourteen games on September 13, headlined by Commanders-Eagles and Packers-Vikings in the late window and Cowboys-Giants on Sunday Night Football. The Broncos-Chiefs Monday night game closes Week 1.
Which players are suspended for Week 1? Per Sports Illustrated: James Pearce Jr. (8 games), Nazeeh Johnson (6), Brock Rechsteiner (6), Phidarian Mathis (3), Jeshaun Jones (3), Dorance Armstrong (1), and Cam Taylor-Britt (1).
