NFL 2026 Season: Schedule, Kickoff Game and Super Bowl LXI

The 2026 NFL regular season starts on **Wednesday, September 9, 2026**, with NFL Kickoff at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. Unusually, the opener falls on a Wednesday rather than the traditional Thursday. The full Week 1 slate then runs through the following Monday. Sources: NFL.com, NFL Media.

The **Seattle Seahawks host the New England Patriots** in Seattle on Wednesday, September 9. The Seahawks earn the opener as reigning champions: the NFL always gives the Kickoff Game to the winner of the previous Super Bowl, and Seattle won **Super Bowl LX**. Sources: NFL.com.

The **Seattle Seahawks** won Super Bowl LX, which is why they host the 2026 NFL Kickoff Game. They begin the 2026 season as defending champions with the target on their back, and open at home against New England. Source: NFL.com.

**Super Bowl LXI is on Sunday, February 14, 2027, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California**, kicking off at approximately 6:30 p.m. ET on ABC and ESPN. It is the first Super Bowl ever played on Valentine's Day and the latest calendar date the game has ever been held, a knock-on effect of the 18-week regular season. Sources: NFL.com, Wikipedia.

Each team plays **17 games over an 18-week regular season**, with one bye week. The format has been in place since 2021, when the league moved from 16 games to 17. The 2026 regular season runs from September 9, 2026 to **January 10, 2027**. Sources: NFL.com.

A record **nine games** are played abroad, spread across seven countries: **Melbourne** (49ers at Rams, September 10, the first NFL regular-season game in Australia), **Rio de Janeiro** (Ravens vs Cowboys at the Maracanã, September 27), **three games in London** at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Wembley through October, **Paris** (Steelers vs Saints at the Stade de France, October 25, a first in France), **Madrid** (Bengals vs Falcons at the Bernabéu, November 8), **Munich** (Patriots vs Lions at the Allianz Arena, November 15) and **Mexico City** (Vikings vs 49ers at Estadio Banorte, November 22). Sources: NFL Media, NFL Operations.

**Wild Card weekend is January 16-18, 2027**, the **Divisional round is January 23-24**, and the **Conference Championship games are on January 31**. Super Bowl LXI follows two weeks later, on February 14. Sources: NFL.com, Wikipedia.

Several changes were approved for 2026. **Onside kicks are now allowed at any point in a game**, rather than only by a trailing team in the fourth quarter. Replay officials can now initiate a discussion about an ejection even when no flag was thrown on the field. The kickoff formation was adjusted to require five players rather than six at the setup line. And first-round draft picks now have eight minutes on the clock instead of ten. Source: NFL.com.

In the United States the package is split as usual between CBS, Fox, NBC, ESPN/ABC and Amazon Prime Video, with the Kickoff Game on NBC and Peacock and Super Bowl LXI on ABC and ESPN. A notable change for 2026: **ESPN has taken over distribution of NFL Network and NFL RedZone**, which shifts where a lot of out-of-market coverage now lives. Sources: NFL.com, NFL Media.

Because of the 18-week regular season and the current playoff structure. With the regular season now finishing on January 10 and three rounds of playoffs plus the customary bye week before the final, the game lands on **February 14, 2027**, the latest date in Super Bowl history. Sources: NFL.com, Wikipedia.

Yes, and it is a first. The **Pittsburgh Steelers face the New Orleans Saints at the Stade de France on October 25, 2026**, the NFL's first ever regular-season game played in France. It is part of the league's record nine-game international slate for the season. Sources: NFL Media, NFL Operations.

Fourteen, seven from each conference. The top seed in each conference gets a first-round bye, and the remaining six teams per conference play on Wild Card weekend. The bracket then narrows through the Divisional round and the Conference Championship games to the two Super Bowl teams. Source: NFL.com.

It has already started. The **Pro Football Hall of Fame Game** opened the exhibition schedule on **Thursday, August 6, 2026**, in Canton, Ohio. The three regular preseason weeks then run from **August 13 to August 29**, with all 32 teams playing three games each, 48 games in total plus the Hall of Fame Game. Sources: NFL.com, FOX Sports.

The **Carolina Panthers beat the Arizona Cardinals 33-30** in Canton on August 6. Rookie quarterback **Haynes King** ran in a 5-yard touchdown with no time left to win it, finishing 21 of 34 for 180 yards and two passing touchdowns plus 39 rushing yards. Cardinals third-round pick **Carson Beck** was the other story, completing 15 of 19 for 188 yards and a touchdown on his NFL debut. Sources: NFL.com, ESPN, Yahoo Sports.

No. Preseason results have no bearing on the standings, playoff seeding or any tiebreaker. What they decide is the roster: teams use the three exhibition weeks to evaluate rookies, undrafted free agents and depth players before cutting down to the 53-man regular-season roster at the end of August. Starters typically play very limited snaps, if any. Source: NFL.com.