The 2026 NFL season will kick off with a Super Bowl rematch between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots. Seattle will face New England on 9 September after raising their championship banner. This will be the first of 272 games in the season.
The Seahawks secured their second NFL title with a 29-13 victory over the Patriots in February.
A Rare Super Bowl Week 1 Repeat
This game marks only the third time that Super Bowl opponents have faced each other in Week 1. The last instance was in 2016 when the Broncos played the Panthers. In the previous year, the Eagles followed their Super Bowl victory with another win against the Chiefs in Week 2.
NFL executive Hans Schroeder said the Week 2 Eagles-Chiefs game was a key data point. He said the league thought it would be fun to start the season with New England in Seattle, coming off that Super Bowl.
Vrabel’s First Game
The opener will be Mike Vrabel’s first game since missing the third day of this year’s draft. Vrabel sought counselling following the publication of photos of him and NFL reporter Dianna Russini at an Arizona resort. The photos resulted in Russini’s resignation from The Athletic less than a week later.
International Games and Thanksgiving Matchups
Other opening week highlights include the San Francisco 49ers facing the Rams in Melbourne on 10 September. This is the first of a record nine international games. The Cowboys and Giants will meet in the first Sunday night game, while the Broncos and Chiefs will play in the first Monday night game.
- Raiders fans will see Fernando Mendoza in Week 1 when Las Vegas host Miami.
- Josh Allen and the Bills host Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs on Thanksgiving night.
- The Packers and Rams are playing on Thanksgiving Eve.
The league will play across four continents, starting with the Week 1 game in Australia. Sixteen of the league’s 32 teams will play at least one of their 17 regular-season games outside the United States.
The 49ers and Jacksonville each have two international games. San Francisco also face Minnesota in Mexico City.