The 2026 NFL schedule features 15 must-watch matchups, including Patrick Mahomes vs. Josh Allen and Seahawks vs. Broncos. These games highlight key rivalries and star players.
Key points
2026 NFL schedule includes 15 top matchups
Matchups feature marquee players and rivalries
Notable games include Mahomes vs. Allen
Seahawks vs. Broncos is among the highlighted games
Games are essential for casual NFL fans
Kansas City ChiefsBuffalo BillsSeattle SeahawksDenver Broncos
If you're a casual NFL fan and able to only watch 15 games in the 2026 regular season, which ones should you mark as can't-miss matchups?
Arguably, every nationally televised game is required viewing, but there are some tilts that stand out more thanks to marquee players, storied rivalries, compelling storylines or a combination of all three.
Here are the dates and the times of the games to circle most on the latest seasonal calendar:
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Wed. Sept. 9, 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC
The Super Bowl 60 immediate rematch tops the list right off the bat, despite the lopsided result of Seattle beating New England 29-13 in Santa Clara. This gives the Seahawks a chance to keep flexing while the Patriots look for more redemption than revenge after a rough finish to last year's special season.
All the storylines, from quarterbacks to past meetings, will come flowing back. That includes the coaching duel between Mike Macdonald and Mike Vrabel, who already had his Super Bowl hangover during the offseason.
Kansas City went 6-11 and didn't make the playoffs in the most anomalous of seasons that saw Patrick Mahomes suffer a major knee injury that kept him short of finishing it. Buffalo went 12-5, lost its own hold on the AFC East and fell short of the Super Bowl again, prompting the promotion of Joe Brady, Josh Allen's 36-year-old offensive coordinator.
Brady vs. 68-year-old Andy Reid renews this premier modern rivalry between the QBs as the Chiefs are right up there again with the Bills and Ravens as favorites to win the AFC.
3. Rams at Seahawks, Week 16
Fri., Dec. 25, 8:15 p.m. ET, Fox
The Seahawks won the first game in Seattle last season by a point, 38-37. The Rams won the home date in Los Angeles by two points, 21-19. The rubber match in the NFC championship game went to the host Seahawks, 30-25. Those scores played a big part in the race for the conference's top seed and Super Bowl 60.
The teams are once again co-favorites in the NFC West, just over the 49ers and have the two best consensus Super Bowl 61 odds in the NFC. Sean McVay has a new coaching foil in the division vs. the defensive-minded Macdonald. The tensions will once again ride as high as the stakes in front of the loud home crowd late in the season, with the rematch in Los Angeles only two weeks later.
The 49ers took down the Eagles in Philadelphia as a wild-card team in the playoffs before succumbing to the Seahawks in Seattle in the divisional round. This rematch is critical for Philadelphia to restore itself in the pecking order to win the NFC, now a couple of seasons removed from the winning Super Bowl 59 run. Brock Purdy vs. Jalen Hurts is becoming an annual watch to watch two passers with different big-play styles.
The oldest (and best?) rivalry in the NFL is back in the biggest way. The Bears won the November matchup in Green Bay, 22-16 last season. The Packers won the December rematch in Chicago, 28-21. But the Bears won the NFC North and took down the Packers again when it counted most, 31-27 in January's wild-card playoffs. Chicago feels like it has the upper hand for the first time in a long time and will want to keep marching to a big victory over Green Bay at Soldier Field to make it a true Merry Christmas.
6. Bills at Rams, Week 5
Mon., Oct. 12, 8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN
Allen vs. Matthew Stafford is a quarterback duel between the NFL's most two recent MVPs. Buffalo and Los Angeles feel like they left a golden chance to win the Super Bowl on the table last season and will be compelled to show that extra punch in the league title game that could have been. Brady will get to battle McVay to prove whether he can be the same kind of offensive-minded coaching wunderkind.
The Broncos wrestled the division hard away from the Chiefs last season, winning with a lot of great defense and clutch big-game play by quarterback Bo Nix. Now the question is whether Denver has taken true control of the AFC West or Kansas City had a long-overdue down season from being the best. The health of Nix and Mahomes will be in the spotlight most as the Chiefs' QB tries to restore his dominance of this matchup.
8. 49ers vs. Rams, Week 1
Thurs., Sept. 10, 8:35 p.m. ET, Netflix
The Niners and Rams are going from the California Coast to Down Under for this season opener from Melbourne, Australia. Although they'll both be far from the Pacific, McVay vs. Kyle Shahahan will rev up the season well with the Niners unleashing big Mike Evans in their offense against Trent McDuffie and a revamped Rams secondary. Both teams will try their best to avoid letting the other keep them from catching and jumping the Seahawks.
Jalen Hurts vs. Caleb Williams is a new, fun QB rivalry to watch developing in the NFC. Philadelphia hopes its new offense under Sean Mannion can keep up with the Ben Johnson express in Chicago. This game should feature plenty of big plays, including those from the active defenses of Vic Fangio and Dennis Allen.
10. Packers at Patriots, Week 9
Sun., Nov. 8, 4:25 p.m. ET, Fox)
Green Bay's schedule is loaded with marquee classic matchups well beyond facing Chicago, Minnesota and Detroit twice each in the NFC North. The Packers' slate includes facing the AFC champions in New England, with Jordan Love going in to duel Drake Maye. The cyclical nature of interconference play doesn't bring this matchup around often, so enjoy the two of the game's winningest franchises going at it.
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Mahomes purdy 101424
Darren Yamashita, Jay Biggerstaff
11. 49ers at Chiefs, Week 16
Sun., Dec. 27, 4:25 p.m. ET, CBS
Everywhere you look on Kansas City's schedule, it has some major highlights. Here's picking out the rematch of Super Bowls 54 and 58 vs. San Francisco. The Chiefs swept those games with great late performances, leaving the 49ers still looking to end their now 31-year-old ring-winning drought. Shanahan's team beating Reid's on the road can rebuild the confidence it can happen soon with Purdy at QB.
12. Cowboys vs. Ravens, Week 3
Sun., Sept. 27, 4:25 p.m. ET, CBS (in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil)
Dallas and Baltimore take their matchup on the road to Rio, which will get to enjoy Jackson and Dak Prescott lighting up the scoreboard with plenty of extra star power with Derrick Henry, CeeDee Lamb and others at work, too.
The Seahawks thought this might be the Super Bowl 60 matchup but that was derailed when Nix injured his ankle and couldn't play vs. the Patriots. almost ensuring an AFC championship loss. Now they can check out what could have been with Nix and Sean Payton coming to town in the Russell Wilson Bowl.
14. Patriots at Lions, Week 10
Sun., Nov. 15, 9:30 a.m. ET, Fox (in Munich, Germany)
The Patriots don't also play the Lions very often, so this gets the cut ahead of their Super Bowl 20 rematch with the Bears. Dan Campbell vs. Vrabel should make for a fun one in Ford Field, as Maye and Jared Goff figure to square off in a high-scoring affair to please the excited European crowd.
15. Ravens at Bills, Week 8
Sun., Nov. 1, 1 p.m. ET, CBS
Baltimore and Buffalo, despite having respective young rookie head coaches for Lamar Jackson and Allen with John Harbaugh and Sean McDermott ending their long tenures, are trying to create a spark that lets them take advantage of the Chiefs leaving a gap in the AFC title race.
Jesse Minter's Ravens defense vs. Brady's Bills offense will get the headlines, but it's more Declan Doyle's offense vs. Jim Leonhard's defense that will determine whether Jackson can out-MVP Allen in what's been a tough matchup for him in the past.
