When Does the 2026 NFL Season Start? My Week 1 Schedule Notes

I checked the NFL’s official schedule to pin down when the 2026 season starts, whether there is a game today, and what is scheduled for Week 1.

Why I looked this up

I kept seeing variations of the same question: When does the NFL season start, and are there any NFL games today? I wanted a direct answer, so I checked the NFL’s current schedule rather than relying on search snippets or social posts.

As of Monday, September 7, 2026, the official Week 1 schedule does not list a regular-season game today. The first game is scheduled for Wednesday, September 9.

The short answer

The 2026 NFL regular season begins with the New England Patriots visiting the Seattle Seahawks on Wednesday, September 9 at 8:20 p.m. ET.

The NFL Football Operations calendar identifies September 9–10 and September 13–14 as Kickoff Weekend. In other words, Week 1 is spread across Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday, and Monday rather than starting with the usual Thursday-night slot.

The NFL marks its important dates as subject to change, so I would still recheck the official schedule before kickoff.

The complete NFL Week 1 schedule

All times below are Eastern Time, matching Lookup Notes’ U.S. time zone.

Date	Time	Matchup
Wednesday, September 9	8:20 p.m.	Patriots at Seahawks
Thursday, September 10	8:35 p.m.	49ers vs. Rams in Melbourne
Sunday, September 13	1:00 p.m.	Bears at Panthers
Sunday, September 13	1:00 p.m.	Buccaneers at Bengals
Sunday, September 13	1:00 p.m.	Saints at Lions
Sunday, September 13	1:00 p.m.	Bills at Texans
Sunday, September 13	1:00 p.m.	Ravens at Colts
Sunday, September 13	1:00 p.m.	Browns at Jaguars
Sunday, September 13	1:00 p.m.	Falcons at Steelers
Sunday, September 13	1:00 p.m.	Jets at Titans
Sunday, September 13	4:25 p.m.	Cardinals at Chargers
Sunday, September 13	4:25 p.m.	Dolphins at Raiders
Sunday, September 13	4:25 p.m.	Packers at Vikings
Sunday, September 13	4:25 p.m.	Commanders at Eagles
Sunday, September 13	8:20 p.m.	Cowboys at Giants
Monday, September 14	8:15 p.m.	Broncos at Chiefs

My quick schedule-checking order

I turned what I found into a short checklist:

Check the date first. Week 1 begins Wednesday, September 9, not Sunday.
Confirm the kickoff time in ET. This matters especially for the Melbourne game listed on the U.S. schedule.
Verify the matchup on the official Week 1 page. That page groups every game under the correct week.
Recheck close to kickoff. The NFL’s calendar says its dates are subject to change.

What I looked up next

The unusual part for me was the shape of the opening week. It starts with Patriots–Seahawks on Wednesday, continues with 49ers–Rams in Melbourne on Thursday, carries most of the schedule on Sunday, and closes with Broncos–Chiefs on Monday.

That makes “When does the NFL start?” slightly different from “When is the first Sunday of NFL games?” For 2026, the answers are Wednesday, September 9 and Sunday, September 13, respectively.