The NFL will have a new look when it kicks off the 2026 season this week, starting with moving the opening game featuring the Super Bowl defending champions from Thursday to Wednesday night.
That’s because the Rams and 49ers will play in Australia on Thursday night, which means the league will have four primetime games in the first six days of the season, plus the Eagles at Commanders in the doubleheader game late Sunday afternoon. And only one of them (Rams-49ers) will be streaming on Netflix, so if you have cable TV, you don’t have to pay extra for any of the other games.
Here’s a look at the highlights of the first weekend:
–The Seahawks will host the Patriots on Wednesday night on NBC in a Super Bowl rematch. Unfortunately, the Patriots were overmatched in the Super Bowl and not much has changed. The Seahawks dominated them in the Super Bowl, even though Sam Darnold didn’t have one of his best games, and they figure to win this one. The only real question is if the Patriots can keep it close.
–The Rams-49ers have contrasting philosophies for the game in Australia. The 49ers departed on Sept. 2 to get used to the jet lag. The Rams will leave the day before the game and barely spend 24 hours in Australia. It worked for them last year when they routed Jacksonville in London, leaving the day before the game although they spent the week practicing in Baltimore so it wasn’t that long of a trip. The Rams are favored, but it remains to be seen if the strategy works again.
–The Sunday night game will feature the Cowboys at the Giants. John Harbaugh will make his debut as the Giants head coach, but this is a tough matchup for New York.
–The Monday night game (Broncos at the Chiefs) is an intriguing one with both quarterbacks, Bo Nix and Patrick Mahomes, coming off injuries. The Chiefs hope to bounce back from last year’s losing season in an important division game. The Broncos made the playoffs last year but lost to New England when Nix was out.
–The Eagles are hosting the Commanders in the Fox late game on national TV, and the Eagles figure to have the edge at home in a division game.
–One of the best games this weekend isn’t on prime time. It’s the Bills at Texasin the 1 p.m. CBS game. Both teams finished second in their divisions and both figure to be strong Super Bowl contenders so it is an important game for both teams.
–In the elimination pools, the Chargers are at home against the Cardinals, the Jaguars are at home against the Browns and the Lions are at home against the Saints as the three biggest favorites, although the first weekend is also very unpredictable because most teams don’t play their starters much in the preseason.
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