Super Bowl rematch to open 2026 NFL season
The NFL schedule for 2026 was released this week and begins on Wednesday, 9 September, with a rematch of last season's Super Bowl. The next day 100,000 fans will fill the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground to watch a huge divisional match-up involving the Los Angeles Rams - one of a league-high seven prime-time games for a team rated as favourite to win Super Bowl 61. Thanksgiving week now features a bumper five games while there is again a triple-header on Christmas Day.
Kenneth Walker was the first running back to be the Super Bowl's Most Valuable Player since 1998 and the first Super Bowl MVP to immediately join a new team since 2003 Since 2004, the opening game of the NFL season has featured the defending champions. The Seattle Seahawks beat the New England Patriots to win Super Bowl 60 in Santa Clara in February so will host this season's kick-off game. And they have an immediate reunion with the Patriots in the first Super Bowl rematch to start the season since 2016.
The season opener normally takes place on a Thursday but this year's game has been brought forward to a Wednesday - 9 September - for the first time since 2012. That is because the season's first international game cannot be played on a Friday, as it has been the past two seasons. The NFL's 2026 schedule is starting a week later than normal, bringing it into conflict with US bylaws which prohibit professional football games being broadcast on a Friday or Saturday from the second week of September.
So the Rams will 'host' the San Francisco 49ers in Australia on Thursday, 10 September, which will be streamed on Netflix. The following Thursday will mark the first game at the Buffalo Bills' new home, with the Detroit Lions heading to Highmark Stadium, while on 25 October the Super Bowl's Most Valuable Player Kenneth Walker makes a swift return to Seattle after joining the Kansas City Chiefs. Football is a big part of the holidays in the US and the schedule has been boosted with the NFL's first game on Thanksgiving Eve, with the Rams hosting the Green Bay Packers on Wednesday, 25 November - another Netflix game.
That's followed by a Thanksgiving triple-header, which begins with two divisional match-ups as the Detroit Lions host the Chicago Bears (18:00 GMT) and the Dallas Cowboys welcome the Philadelphia Eagles (21:25 GMT). Then provided Patrick Mahomes makes a smooth return from injury, the star quarterback will renew his rivalry with Josh Allen as the Kansas City Chiefs visit the Buffalo Bills (01:20 GMT). For the fourth straight year the Thanksgiving slate concludes with a Black Friday clash on 27 November as the Pittsburgh Steelers host the Denver Broncos.