NFL Week 1 opens with Super Bowl rematch and historic Australia game
The 2026 NFL season kicks off with exciting matchups, including a Super Bowl rematch between Seattle and New England. The league also hosts its first regular-season game in Australia featuring the 49ers and Rams. Week 1 showcases intense rivalries and features new coaching debuts, setting the stage for a thrilling season.
The NFL is back, and the opening week of the 2026 season will waste little time delivering some of the biggest matchups on the schedule.
All 32 teams begin the road toward Super Bowl LXI, scheduled for Feb. 14, 2027, at SoFi Stadium. Before the traditional Sunday slate even arrives, Week 1 will feature a Super Bowl rematch in Seattle and the NFL’s first regular-season game in Australia.
Patriots and Seahawks run it back
The season begins Wednesday night with a familiar matchup.
Seattle hosts New England at 8:20 p.m. ET, months after defeating the Patriots 29-13 in Super Bowl LX. It will be only the third time the previous season’s Super Bowl opponents have met again in Week 1.
The Seahawks return with quarterback Sam Darnold, who won a championship in his first season with Seattle, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba after his NFL-leading 1,793 receiving yards in 2025.
New England arrives with Drake Maye coming off a season in which he led NFL quarterbacks with a 113.5 passer rating while throwing for 4,394 yards and 31 touchdowns. A.J. Brown could also make his Patriots debut after joining the defending AFC champions.
NFL makes history in Melbourne
One night later, the league will stage its first regular-season game in Australia.
The San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams meet Thursday at 8:35 p.m. ET at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, bringing an NFC West rivalry to Melbourne.
Los Angeles enters the season with a remarkable collection of individual accolades. Matthew Stafford is the reigning MVP after throwing for an NFL-best 4,707 yards and 46 touchdowns, while Myles Garrett joins the Rams after recording 23 sacks and winning Defensive Player of the Year with Cleveland.
Aaron Donald is also back with Los Angeles after retiring following the 2024 season.
San Francisco counters with Christian McCaffrey, who produced 2,126 yards from scrimmage last season, and Mike Evans, who could make his 49ers debut. Evans and Rams receiver Davante Adams enter the matchup with more than 100 career touchdown receptions each.
Bills face another test in Houston
Sunday’s schedule includes a meeting between two AFC playoff teams when Buffalo visits Houston at 1 p.m. ET.
The Texans have beaten the Bills in Houston in each of the past two seasons, with both games decided by four points or fewer.
Josh Allen begins his ninth NFL season after accounting for 39 touchdowns in 2025, including 14 on the ground. Houston, meanwhile, is coming off its third consecutive playoff appearance behind C.J. Stroud, who has won a postseason game in each of his first three seasons.
Another matchup between 2025 division champions sends Chicago to Carolina. Caleb Williams and Bryce Young will become only the third pair of quarterbacks selected No. 1 overall, both age 25 or younger, to meet during Week 1.
Division rivals take over primetime
Dallas and the New York Giants renew their NFC East rivalry Sunday night. The Cowboys have dominated their Week 1 history against New York, winning 10 of 11 such meetings, while John Harbaugh makes his Giants coaching debut after 18 seasons in Baltimore.
The opening week closes Monday with Denver visiting Kansas City in the first Week 1 Monday Night Football meeting between the AFC West rivals.
Denver has won four of the past five meetings and enters 2026 as the defending division champion. Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce, meanwhile, needs 45 receiving yards to pass Jason Witten for second place on the NFL’s all-time list among tight ends.
Week 1 will also introduce several coaches in new surroundings. Kevin Stefanski makes his Atlanta debut against Mike McCarthy’s Pittsburgh Steelers, while first-time head coaches Jeff Hafley and Klint Kubiak face each other when Miami visits Las Vegas.
The opening schedule arrives after another season that reinforced the NFL’s unpredictability. Six teams reached the playoffs in 2025 after missing them the previous year, while seven divisions changed champions. Seventy-three games were decided by three points or fewer, matching the most in league history.
With a championship rematch, a new continent added to the NFL map and multiple playoff teams meeting immediately, the 2026 season begins without much of a warm-up period.
