Super Bowl rematch to open 2026 NFL season

From a record seven international games last year, the NFL will play abroad nine times during the 2026 season.

The league will head to Australia and France for the first time, meaning there will be regular-season games played across four continents and seven countries.

The NFL schedule for 2026 was released this week and begins on Wednesday, 9 September, with a rematch of last season's Super Bowl.

The next day 100,000 fans will fill the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground to watch a huge divisional match-up involving the Los Angeles Rams - one of a league-high seven prime-time games for a team rated as favourite to win Super Bowl 61.

Thanksgiving week now features a bumper five games while there is again a triple-header on Christmas Day.

When does the NFL season start?

Image caption,

Kenneth Walker was the first running back to be the Super Bowl's Most Valuable Player since 1998 and the first Super Bowl MVP to immediately join a new team since 2003

Since 2004, the opening game of the NFL season has featured the defending champions.

The Seattle Seahawks beat the New England Patriots to win Super Bowl 60 in Santa Clara in February so will host this season's kick-off game.

And they have an immediate reunion with the Patriots in the first Super Bowl rematch to start the season since 2016.

The season opener normally takes place on a Thursday but this year's game has been brought forward to a Wednesday - 9 September - for the first time since 2012.

That is because the season's first international game cannot be played on a Friday, as it has been the past two seasons.

The NFL's 2026 schedule is starting a week later than normal, bringing it into conflict with US bylaws which prohibit professional football games being broadcast on a Friday or Saturday from the second week of September.

So the Rams will 'host' the San Francisco 49ers in Australia on Thursday, 10 September, which will be streamed on Netflix.

The following Thursday will mark the first game at the Buffalo Bills' new home, with the Detroit Lions heading to Highmark Stadium, while on 25 October the Super Bowl's Most Valuable Player Kenneth Walker makes a swift return to Seattle after joining the Kansas City Chiefs.

What are the NFL's Thanksgiving and Christmas Day games?

Football is a big part of the holidays in the US and the schedule has been boosted with the NFL's first game on Thanksgiving Eve, with the Rams hosting the Green Bay Packers on Wednesday, 25 November - another Netflix game.

That's followed by a Thanksgiving triple-header, which begins with two divisional match-ups as the Detroit Lions host the Chicago Bears (18:00 GMT) and the Dallas Cowboys welcome the Philadelphia Eagles (21:25 GMT).

Then provided Patrick Mahomes makes a smooth return from injury, the star quarterback will renew his rivalry with Josh Allen as the Kansas City Chiefs visit the Buffalo Bills (01:20 GMT).

For the fourth straight year the Thanksgiving slate concludes with a Black Friday clash on 27 November as the Pittsburgh Steelers host the Denver Broncos.

That is one of 17 games to be streamed on Amazon Prime, which include the Houston Texans at the Eagles on Christmas Eve, plus the Baltimore Ravens at the Cincinnati Bengals on New Year's Eve.

Netflix will again feature two games on Christmas Day, with the Bears hosting the Packers (18:00 GMT) before the Denver Broncos welcome the Bills (21:30 GMT).

The festive triple-header then concludes with a repeat of last season's epic NFC Championship game, as the Seahawks host the Rams (01:15 GMT).

When are the NFL's international games?

There will be a record nine international games played in 2026, with Australia and France hosting games for the first time. The NFL returns to Mexico after a four-year gap while trips to Brazil, Germany and Spain remain on the schedule, as well as the traditional three UK games:

• 10 Sep - San Francisco 49ers v Los Angeles Rams (Melbourne, Australia)
• 27 Sep - Baltimore Ravens v Dallas Cowboys (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
• 4 Oct - Indianapolis Colts v Washington Commanders (Tottenham, London)
• 11 Oct - Philadelphia Eagles v Jacksonville Jaguars (Tottenham, London)
• 18 Oct - Houston Texans v Jacksonville Jaguars (Wembley, London)
• 25 Oct - Pittsburgh Steelers v New Orleans Saints (Paris, France)
• 8 Nov - Cincinnati Bengals v Atlanta Falcons (Madrid, Spain)
• 15 Nov - New England Patriots v Detroit Lions (Munich, Germany)
• 22 Nov - Minnesota Vikings v San Francisco 49ers (Mexico City, Mexico)

How many games are there in the NFL season?

The NFL regular season is spread over 18 weeks, with each team playing 17 games and having one bye week.

The season will end on Sunday, 10 January 2027, with the play-offs scheduled to begin on 16 January.

There are a total of 272 games across the regular season, followed by 13 in the post-season, culminating with the NFL's championship decider - the Super Bowl.

When is the Super Bowl?

Super Bowl 61 will be played on Sunday, 14 February 2027, with the big game falling on Valentine's Day for the first time - the following day is a national holiday in the US, Presidents Day.

It will be played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, making it the ninth Super Bowl to be played in the Greater Los Angeles area.

Built at a cost of $5.5bn, it is the world's most expensive stadium and is shared by the Los Angeles Chargers and Rams.

It opened in 2020 and hosted the Super Bowl in 2022, when a crowd of 70,048 watched the Rams beat the Cincinnati Bengals 23–20.

This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team.

More questions answered...

• Why do Super Bowl winners get rings and not medals?
• What is financial gap between Old Firm and rest of Scottish Premiership?
• How do pacers work?
• How to follow 2026 F1 season on BBC