NFL NationMay 11, 2026, 04:03 PM ETCloseNFL Nation is made up of 32 team-specific reporters who cover the NFL year-round across ESPN.com, ESPN television shows, ESPN Radio, ESPN+ and social media platforms. It was established ahead of the 2013 season.Multiple Authors
Are Cowboys or Giants in a better position to make a statement in Week 1? (1:51)Damien Woody and Dan Graziano discuss the Giants’ matchup vs. the Cowboys on the first Sunday night game of the season. (1:51)
The 2026 NFL schedule will be released Thursday night, and for only the second time, the regular season will start on a Wednesday.
The Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks will open the season Sept. 9 against an unannounced opponent. Since 2004, 21 defending champs have played in the opener and have gone 16-5, including the Philadelphia Eagles’ 24-20 win against the Dallas Cowboys to start the 2025 season, according to ESPN Research.
The season is starting mid-week to accommodate for the first regular-season game in Melbourne, Australia. The Los Angeles Rams play the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday, Sept. 10. Melbourne is 14 hours ahead of New York and 17 hours ahead of Los Angeles and San Francisco, meaning the game will kick off at 10:35 a.m. ET the next day in Australia. The NFL will play a record nine international games in 2026, across four continents and seven countries.
The first “Sunday Night Football” matchup was announced as coach John Harbaugh will make his New York Giants debut against the Cowboys.
The last time the NFL season started on Wednesday was in 2012 to accommodate for Barack Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention the following day.
NFL Nation reporters will provide a bold prediction for every team following Thursday’s schedule release, and they will be in this file, along with analysis for each team and links to see the full schedule. in the meantime, here are links to every team page and depth chart.
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Are Cowboys or Giants in a better position to make a statement in Week 1? (1:51)Damien Woody and Dan Graziano discuss the Giants’ matchup vs. the Cowboys on the first Sunday night game of the season. (1:51)
Damien Woody and Dan Graziano discuss the Giants’ matchup vs. the Cowboys on the first Sunday night game of the season. (1:51)
NFL NationMay 11, 2026, 04:03 PM ETCloseNFL Nation is made up of 32 team-specific reporters who cover the NFL year-round across ESPN.com, ESPN television shows, ESPN Radio, ESPN+ and social media platforms. It was established ahead of the 2013 season.Multiple Authors
CloseNFL Nation is made up of 32 team-specific reporters who cover the NFL year-round across ESPN.com, ESPN television shows, ESPN Radio, ESPN+ and social media platforms. It was established ahead of the 2013 season.