The countdown to the 2026 NFL season is officially on, and while the full schedule drops Thursday, May 14, some exciting details are already leaking out. We know the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers will make history with the first-ever NFL game in Australia on Thursday, Sept. 10. The Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants are set to light up Sunday Night Football, and the Detroit Lions will face the Buffalo Bills in Week 2 for the first Thursday Night Football game at Highmark Stadium. Plus, the Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens will take the field in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Dallas will host the Philadelphia Eagles on Thanksgiving Day.
But the biggest mystery has been the season opener itself—set for Wednesday, Sept. 9, on NBC. All we knew was that the defending champion Seattle Seahawks would be the hosts. Now, thanks to a report from Barstool Sports podcaster and former Boston radio host Kirk Minihane, we might have the answer. According to Minihane's sources, the New England Patriots will travel to Seattle for a Super Bowl LX rematch to kick off the season.
“Patriots will open the season in Seattle on 9/9, per sources,” Minihane posted on X.
It makes sense when you look at the Seahawks' home opponents for 2026: the Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots, New York Giants, and San Francisco 49ers. Several of those teams already have Week 1 games locked in—the Rams, 49ers, Cowboys, and Giants are all spoken for. That leaves the Bears, Cardinals, Chargers, Chiefs, and Patriots as possibilities.
The Cardinals are projected to be one of the league's weakest teams, making them an unlikely prime-time draw. Patrick Mahomes is still recovering from a torn ACL, casting doubt on his Week 1 availability and making the Chiefs a risky choice for the league. The Chargers are a solid squad, but the Patriots—with their storied history and recent Super Bowl clash with Seattle—offer the perfect storyline to open the season with a bang. Get ready for a thrilling start to the 2026 campaign.