The NFL continues to raid nights on your calendar. Just look at the opener for the 2026 season, which kicks off on Wednesday, Sept. 9, with a Super Bowl rematch between the and in Seattle. There are also plenty of Friday games in this year’s schedule to go with football on Thursday, Sunday and Monday. Oh, and don’t forget Saturday when college football wraps up and the playoffs begin.
Here are the 20 best games to watch this season.
Week 1
New England at Seattle
6:20 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 9, KUSA-9
Drake Maye likely had offseason nightmares from the pounding he took from Seattle’s defense in the Super Bowl. Will the Patriots be able to exact some revenge on a night when Seattle raises its second championship banner? Insider tip: Mike Vrabel can’t wait to get back to playing actual games after an offseason full of tabloid headlines.
San Francisco at Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne, Australia
6:35 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 10, Netflix
The NFL’s first game Down Under should be saltier than Vegemite. Kyle Shanahan loves nothing more than beating his old friend Sean McVay at SoFi Stadium with 49ers fans taking over the joint, which is likely why McVay worked the NFL’s scheduling levers to play a neutral site game — after a 16-hour flight. Makes sense, since the Niners have won three of their last four in Los Angeles.
Denver at Kansas City
6:15 p.m., Monday, Sept. 14, ESPN
“Are you ready for some football?” Yeah, you can say that again for two fan bases ready to put 2025 in the rearview. Will Patrick Mahomes be rusty coming off knee surgery? Are the Broncos a legit Super Bowl contender? Does Sean Payton love rivalry games in which his team isn’t favored? You know the answer to that last one. We’ll find out the rest under the lights in Kansas City.
Week 2
Dallas at Washington
2:25 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 20, KDVR-31
Will the Eagles have any serious competition for their third straight NFC East crown in 2026? This early-season tilt between the Cowboys and Commanders should provide some clues.
Week 3
Baltimore at Dallas in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2:25 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 27, KUNC-4
Jerry Jones loves spectacle, so it makes sense that America’s Team would play in the legendary Maracanã Stadium in the NFL’s first regular season game in Rio. Dak Prescott and the Cowboys receivers against Lamar Jackson and the Ravens should provide some offensive fireworks for the fans in Brazil.
Week 4
Los Angeles Rams at Philadelphia
11 a.m., Sunday, Oct. 4, KDVR-31
The odds-on Super Bowl favorites face a brutal opening stretch against the rival Niners (in Australia), Giants, Broncos, Eagles and Bills — which includes back-to-back road games in Denver and Philadelphia. The Eagles have also won the last four matchups in this series. Could this be an NFC Championship preview?
Week 5
Buffalo at Los Angeles Rams
6:15 p.m., Monday, Oct. 12, ESPN
In a quarterback league, it doesn’t get much better than old gunslinger Matthew Stafford firing away against Josh Allen at home. Outside of the Broncos, Allen won’t face a more ferocious pass rush this season, especially if Aaron Donald comes out of retirement.
Week 6
Dallas at Green Bay
6:20 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 28, KUSA-9
Does the winner of this game break the 40-40 tie from last season? The Packers have won eight of the last 10 in this series, including a 48-32 thrashing in the NFC wild card at Jerry World after the 2024 season that still has Cowboys fans sore.
Week 7
Kansas City at Seattle
6:20 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 25, KUSA-9
Itap the Kenneth Walker III Bowl and a possible Super Bowl preview when last year’s title-game MVP faces his former team in Seattle. Yards won’t come easy for Walker against Mike MacDonald’s swarming unit, especially with the 12s in full throat. Old AFC West fans and Hall of Famer Warren Moon will love Seattle rocking its crisp royal blue throwbacks against the Chiefs for a national audience.
Week 9
Houston at Los Angeles Chargers
2:05 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 8, KCNC-4
The Texans have won the last two against the Bolts, including a playoff win after the 2024 season. Will the addition of QB whisperer Mike McDaniel tip the scales for Justin Herbert and Los Angeles against DeMeco Ryan’s top-ranked defense from last season?
Week 12
Kansas City at Buffalo
6:20 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 26, KUSA-9
The only thing better than an extra slice of pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving? A renewal of the NFL’s best QB duel. Josh Allen is sick of the narrative that he can only beat Patrick Mahomes during the regular season, but so far thatap true. These two rivals have split their last 10 meetings, but Mahomes is 4-0 in playoff games. This will be the first time the two rivals square off at Buffalo’s new Highmark Stadium.
Denver at Pittsburgh
1 p.m., Friday, No. 27, Prime Video
Skip the lines at the mall and feast on leftovers and Broncos-Steelers on Black Friday. Itap the last time (presumably) that the Broncos will face Aaron Rodgers, who is 2-2 against Denver entering his 22nd NFL season.
New York Jets at Miami
11 a.m., Sunday, Nov. 29, KUNC-4
Geno Smith vs. Malik Willis looks like one of the worst games of the regular season, but there could be a big prize at stake: The right to draft Archibald Charles Manning at No. 1. The Dolphins, carrying an NFL record $179.2 million in dead cap space, are projected to win only 4.5 games, while the Jets are projected to win just 5.5. The Cardinals, of course, might be worse than both. Embrace the suck.
Week 13
Buffalo at New England
2:25 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 6, KCNC-4
These two division rivals would’ve faced off for the right to go to the Super Bowl last January if not for Ja’Quan McMillian’s season-saving pick in an AFC wild-card thriller in Denver. (Yeah, don’t bring it up with Bills fans, who are still convinced it was a Brandin Cooks catch.) The Bills are looking to recapture the AFC East crown after the Patriots’ magical run in 2025.
Week 15
Baltimore at Pittsburgh
11 a.m., Sunday, Dec. 20, KUNC-4
John Harbaugh is coaching the Giants. Mike Tomlin is analyzing games in the NBC studio. Doesn’t matter — the antipathy between these two franchises is still as strong as ever, especially after last year’s rock fight to close the NFL regular season. The Ravens, a trendy Super Bowl favorite, would certainly love to get payback after a missed FG cost them the playoffs and cost Harbaugh his job. Mike McCarthy and Jesse Minter, you’ve got next.
Week 16
Green Bay at Chicago
11 a.m., Friday, Dec. 25, Netflix
Da Bears and the Packers at frigid Soldier Field, renewing the NFL’s oldest rivalry, is the perfect gift to open after you get done with the presents under the tree. Expect the Packers to be like your nephew who didn’t get “Grand Theft Auto VI” for Christmas, too, after blowing both tilts in the Second City last season. That includes a brutal playoff loss in which the Bears, trailing 21-3 at halftime, went off for 25 points in the fourth quarter and won on Caleb Williams’ TD dime to DJ Moore. Micah Parsons, nearly a year removed from his ACL surgery, will try to make sure that doesn’t happen again.
Buffalo at Denver
2:30 p.m., Friday, Dec. 25, Netflix
You know who doesn’t love the NFL’s Christmas Day schedule? The NBA. This rematch of last year’s instant-classic AFC wild-card matchup is the stuffing between Bears-Packers and Rams-Seahawks. It should be pivotal for playoff position in the race for the AFC’s top seed.
Los Angeles Rams at Seattle
6:15 p.m., Friday, Dec. 25, KDVR-31
All football fans want for Christmas is another NFC West title fight after three epic clashes last season. That included Week 16’s overtime classic in which the Seahawks scored their third 2-point conversion of the game to secure the win. Playoff seeding and home-field advantage should be on the line again when the odds-on Super Bowl favorites head to Lumen Field to tussle with the defending champs.
Week 17
Denver at New England
TBD Jan. 3 or 4, TBD
Woulda. Coulda. Shoulda. The Broncos are motivated by the Super Bowl opportunity that disappeared in a whiteout during last year’s AFC Championship. What if Bo Nix hadn’t broken his ankle? What if Sean Payton kicked the field goal on fourth-and-1 from the 14? No doubt Nix will be up for this one against Drake Maye, who went nine picks ahead of him in the 2024 draft.
Baltimore at Cincinnati
6:15 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 31, Prime Video
Skip the pricey prix-fixe on New Year’s Eve and stay in for this one, which could decide the AFC North title. This division rivalry only got juicier after Trey Hendrickson switched sides on a four-year, $112 million deal after the Ravens nixed the Maxx Crosby blockbuster. Hendrickson returning to the Jungle for the first time as a Raven should bring out the boo birds from Who Dey Nation. Crank the Guns N’ Roses.
