Ahead of the full release Thursday, the 2026 NFL schedule is slowly leaking.
Week 1 especially is coming more and more into view before official schedules release Thursday at 8 p.m. ET, with the opening “Monday Night Football” game between the Broncos and Chiefs being announced Tuesday. The venue for the AFC West clash, though, has not been revealed.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is in a race to be ready for that prime-time matchup as he recovers from a torn ACL.
The NFL’s opening week will kick off with the defending champion Seahawks celebrating their Super Bowl win on Wednesday, Sept. 9, with a potential Super Bowl 2026 rematch against the Patriots a possibility.
“Thursday Night Football” will follow with a matchup between the Rams and 49ers in Australia — the first NFL game to touch down in the Down Under.
The Sept. 10 game will be broadcast by Netflix, and the streaming platform is set to host various games this season.
The Giants even learned of their first opponent in the John Harbaugh era as they will host the Cowboys at MetLife Stadium on “Sunday Night Football” on Sept. 13.
After a dramatic offseason overhaul, Big Blue will be chasing a 1-0 start — something they haven’t accomplished since 2022.
A few nuggets have dropped regarding the following weeks as well.
The Lions will be on the road against the Bills for a Thursday night game in Week 2, which will air on Amazon Prime. The game will mark the debut of the Bills’ new Highmark Stadium.
The NFL will also be traveling internationally again in Week 3, packing their bags for Brazil, where the Ravens and Cowboys will clash on Sept. 27.
Additionally, a holiday game has been revealed.
The Cowboys will host the Eagles on Thanksgiving on Nov. 26 for a 4:30 p.m. ET kickoff.
Tuesday also brought out another schedule wrinkle, which is the continuation of Saturday NFL games.
The league is expected to schedule Saturday games in Weeks 15, 16, 17 and 18, and continue to have them during the Wild-Card and divisional playoff rounds as usual.
