The 2026 NFL season has begun. Unofficially, that is.
NFL schedule leaks offer clues for Week 1 of 2026 season
Week 1 is going to have some great games.
Mark Schofield is a former college quarterback and attorney covering the NFL and F1.
On Thursday May 14 the league will unveil the entire schedule for the 2026 regular season. However, as we have seen in year’s past the NFL will slowly release details regarding specific games on the schedule.
And days before the full release, Week 1 is starting to come into picture.
Here is what we know, so far, about the first week of the 2026 NFL regular season.
NFL Kickoff Game 2026
The new season will begin with the defending Super Bowl champions hoisting a banner.
But it will look a little different than previous installments.
The Seattle Seahawks will welcome their first opponent of the season to Lumen Field, but that game will not be on a Thursday night as is standard. Instead, the Seahawks will begin the 2026 season on Wednesday, September 10.
The reason? We’ll get to that in a moment.
As for who the Seahawks will welcome to Lumen Field, that has not been announced yet. But we do have some suggestions for the league.
San Francisco 49ers vs. Los Angeles Rams
Now we get to the reason Seattle is playing on Wednesday night.
For the first time in NFL history, the league is headed to Australia for a regular-season game. This game — the first international game on the 2026 schedule — will be played between the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers. The game between the Rams and the 49ers will be held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia, and be the first NFL regular season game played on that continent.
Due to the time difference, that game will kickoff at 10:35 a.m. local time on Friday, September 11, meaning it will start at 8:35 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, September 10.
Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants
We also know the first Sunday Night Football game of the 2026 regular season.
And it will feature a clash between NFC East rivals.
On Monday morning, the league announced the first Sunday Night Football game of the season. Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys will head to MetLife Stadium to take on Jaxson Dart and the New York Giants.
And their new head coach, John Harbaugh:
Denver Broncos vs. Kansas City Chiefs
On Tuesday, the league announced that the first Monday Night Football game of the season will feature the Chiefs and the Broncos.
However, where that game will be played is still being sorted:
Whether Patrick Mahomes will be under center for Kansas City is also a question mark.
This is a developing story, and will be updated as more games are announced for Week 1.
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