NFL Opens 2026 Season in 50 Days as Seahawks Host Patriots in Week 1 Super Bowl 60 rematch
Updated
Updated · USA TODAY · Jul 21
NFL Opens 2026 Season in 50 Days as Seahawks Host Patriots in Week 1 Super Bowl 60 rematch
3 articles · Updated · USA TODAY · Jul 21
Summary
Sept. 9 is 50 days away, with defending champion Seattle opening the 2026 NFL season at home against New England in only the third season opener matching the previous Super Bowl teams.
Week 1 will look different across the league: the opener falls on a Wednesday, the 49ers and Rams play the NFL’s first regular-season game in Australia, and 2026 will feature a record nine international games.
Seattle enters the title defense chasing the league’s 10th repeat championship, but it lost Super Bowl 60 MVP Kenneth Walker III to Kansas City and will break in first-time offensive coordinator Brian Fleury.
The broader season backdrop includes 10 new head coaches, a narrowly averted officials strike, major offseason trades such as A.J. Brown to New England and Myles Garrett to the Rams, and ESPN’s first Super Bowl broadcast on Feb. 14.