Sep 8, 2026
·Brandon Gustafson
Football is back, baby! College football has gotten into the swing of things in 2026, and it’s now time for the professionals to follow suit as the NFL begins with all 32 teams in action for Week 1.
This year’s opening week features four separate days of games, including a rare Wednesday opener. Ahead of the Week 1 NFL schedule, we’re going to look at the top games of the week and break down what you need to know about these matchups before sharing who we think will emerge victorious.
Previewing the top games for NFL Week 1
Week 1 is headlined by a Super Bowl rematch, a historic showdown in the Land Down Under and several early tests for teams with new coaches and major offseason changes.
New England Patriots at Seattle Seahawks: Wednesday, Sept. 9 at 8:20 p.m. ET
The first game of the 2026 season is a rematch of the final game of the 2025 season as the Seahawks host the Patriots. The last time we saw a meaningful NFL game, Seattle dominated New England 29-13 to win Super Bowl 60. The Seahawks’ “Dark Side” defense sacked Patriots quarterback Drake Maye six times, forced a lost fumble and picked him off twice, one of which was returned for a touchdown. Maye will be looking for revenge here.
Both teams ranked in the top five in points scored and allowed last year, and the rosters are very similar to the squads we saw battle back in February. The Patriots’ main offseason change was trading for former Eagles receiver A.J. Brown while letting Stefon Diggs go in free agency. As for the Seahawks, their most notable changes are on offense as Super Bowl MVP running back Kenneth Walker III is now in Kansas City while offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak is now the head coach in Las Vegas. Replacing those two are rookie first-round pick Jadarian Price out of Notre Dame and Brian Fleury, a longtime 49ers offensive assistant.
The Seahawks were the clear better team in the Super Bowl, and there’s little reason to think things will be that much different this time around, especially with the game being in Seattle. How the offense operates with a new play caller and run game will be worth monitoring, but the talent gap was clear seven months ago, and it’d be very surprising to see the reigning champs stumble at home here.
Pick: Seahawks
San Francisco 49ers vs. Los Angeles Rams: Thursday, Sept. 10 at 8:35 p.m. ET (Australia)
The NFL normally kicks off on Thursday, but this year’s opener is on Wednesday, making this Thursday clash in Australia the second game of the season. The 49ers and Rams begin their respective seasons with high hopes coming off postseason appearances, and these NFC West rivals split their season series in 2025, though Mac Jones started both games for San Francisco in place of an injured Brock Purdy.
The Rams enter this year with as high of expectations as you’ll ever see for a team that didn’t win, let alone make, the previous season’s Super Bowl. But L.A. made the NFC Championship Game, has the reigning MVP in Matthew Stafford, owns an elite assortment of offensive talent in Puka Nacua, Davante Adams and Kyren Williams and traded for both All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie and reigning Defensive Player of the Year edge rusher Myles Garrett, who just set a single-season record with 23 sacks. Oh, and some guy named Aaron Donald just came out of retirement. Los Angeles has the most high-end talent of any team in the NFL, and the team has a Super Bowl-winning head coach in Sean McVay.
As for the 49ers, they had a chance to win both the NFC West and secure the No. 1 seed heading into the final week of the season, which is notable as the team once again battled a ton of injuries last year. Purdy missed considerable time, as did George Kittle and Nick Bosa. The team figures to be healthier this time around, though they lost Ricky Pearsall before the season even began. Mike Evans is now in the Bay Area to be a top target for Purdy, and Christian McCaffrey nearly had 1,000 receiving yards on top of 1,000 rushing yards.
The Rams have the talent edge, certainly, but Kyle Shanahan is 11-7 for his career against L.A. and was able to get a split against the Rams last year with Jones under center. That’s all notable, but this Rams team is all-in on the 2026 season, and it’d be shocking for the Super Bowl favorites to stumble in Week 1, even against a familiar foe in a foreign land.
Pick: Rams
Buffalo Bills at Houston Texans: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 1 p.m. ET
The first early slate of the 2026 season features eight games, with none bigger than the Bills facing the Texans. These figure to be two of the best teams in the AFC once again this year, and Houston won the matchup 23-19 last year while making life very difficult for Josh Allen.
All eyes will be on how Allen and Co. look under their new head coach. The Bills parted ways with longtime head coach Sean McDermott and opted to promote from within, naming offensive coordinator Joe Brady the new lead man. Brady and Allen have orchestrated some top-end offenses, but the Buffalo defense was a big problem in high-profile games, including a shootout loss to Denver last postseason.
The Texans return the bulk of their roster from last year’s squad, which made it to the AFC Divisional Round for the third year in a row under DeMeco Ryans. Houston’s defense has been dominant for years and was one of the two or three best defenses in football last year, but the offense has been pretty average the last two years. C.J. Stroud is trying to rekindle his rookie season magic from 2023, while the run game has a new lead back in David Montgomery to lead the way after that element of the offense really struggled last season.
Many people will look at this matchup and pick the Bills due in large part to Allen’s presence. I won’t fault anyone there, but I’m very high on the Texans both this year and in this matchup. The defense is one of just a few in all of the NFL that has proven it can disrupt Allen’s game, and this is the first game for Buffalo under Brady. It’s a tough first test for Brady as a head coach, and while I think he and the Bills will be fine, this feels like a good spot for the Texans to face Buffalo, especially at home in Houston.
Pick: Texans
Baltimore Ravens at Indianapolis Colts: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 1 p.m. ET
From one first-year head coach of a presumed contender to another, Sunday also marks the head coaching debut of Jesse Minter for the Ravens. Baltimore parted ways with longtime head coach John Harbaugh and hired Minter from the Los Angeles Chargers, where he was the defensive coordinator for Harbaugh’s brother Jim. Minter also was an assistant coach for the Ravens from 2017-20. Minter’s first game as a head coach is against a Colts team that was the talk of football last year … until they weren’t.
Let’s start with the Colts, who started 8-2 before losing their final seven games. The good news is they have a lot of talent. They’ll have Daniel Jones back under center after an Achilles injury ended his season early and led to Indy signing Philip Rivers for the final few games of the year. Jonathan Taylor is one of the NFL’s best running backs, Tyler Warren emerged as one of the league’s top tight ends as a rookie, and Alec Pierce has shown he’s an elite deep threat. The Colts traded Michael Pittman Jr., though, so guys like Josh Downs will need to step up in the passing game. Indianapolis was average to below average defensively last year, but a full season of cornerback Sauce Gardner should certainly help.
The Ravens’ roster is loaded with the usual suspects. Offensively, Lamar Jackson will be in the MVP conversation once again, Derrick Henry doesn’t appear to be slowing down any time soon and Zay Flowers is fresh off a big payday and 1,200-yard season. It will be interesting to see who steps up behind him as a No. 2 option in the passing game, which includes Mark Andrews, who had the worst year of his career with 422 yards despite playing every game. Defensively, Kyle Hamilton is the straw that stirs the drink as he’s the NFL’s best safety, and the Ravens have a number of other intriguing players on that side of the ball for Minter to utilize.
We’re fading the Bills in their first game with their new head coach, but I like the Ravens here. Indy’s defense is still a bit suspect, and Jones is coming off a major injury. If the Ravens can lean on Jackson and Henry late in this game, they should be able to leave Indianapolis with a win to kick off the Jesse Minter era.
Pick: Ravens
Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 4:25 p.m. ET
The top game of the late-afternoon slate comes in the NFC North with the Vikings hosting the Packers. Green Bay enters 2026 coming off a humiliating loss to Chicago in the postseason that saw the Packers allow 25 points in the fourth quarter. The Packers have made the postseason each of the last three years, but they’ve lost in the Wild Card Round each of the last two seasons. The Vikings, on the other hand, went from 14-3 to 9-8 due largely to poor quarterback play from J.J. McCarthy.
The Vikings have moved on from McCarthy, at least for the time being. Kyler Murray is the new QB1 in Minnesota, and he should give the Vikings an upgrade there. That‘s good news for an offense that has a ton of weapons, most of whom are coming off career-worst years due to the poor play under center. That includes Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. TJ Hockenson is back at tight end, there’s a capable running back tandem in Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason, and Jauan Jennings signed from San Francisco and should offer Murray a reliable target. Defensively, this is a fun group to watch under Brian Flores, who has this group ready to play and very aggressive each and every week.
The Packers will wait a bit to get Micah Parsons back, and top running back Josh Jacobs is on the exempt list as a legal issue plays out. Those are two big names to be without, putting more pressure on Jordan Love under center as well as new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, the former Arizona head coach. Matt LaFleur has been a proven winner in Green Bay since taking over in 2019, but he and his staff will have their hands full in sorting out the run game early on as well as navigating what should be an even tougher NFC North than it was a year ago.
The Vikings are one of my favorite teams that’s being slept on right now. Even with all the issues at quarterback, this team went 9-8 amid a very competitive NFC North. I think Murray will thrive in Kevin O’Connell’s offense, and speaking of KOC, the guy just wins. With the questions in the run game for Green Bay, I like Flores’ defense to heat things up and make life hard for Love and Co.
Pick: Vikings
Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 8:20 p.m. ET
This NFC East matchup is the first Sunday Night Football game of the year, and there’s a lot to watch out for when the Cowboys visit the Giants.
The road team has one mission in 2026 – fix the defense. Dallas allowed the most points and yards in the NFL last year, which resulted in just a 7-9-1 record despite fielding one of the league’s best offenses. The offense should be great again with Dak Prescott, Javonte Williams, CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens leading the way, but the team’s ceiling is dictated by whether the defense can improve. In addition to new defensive coordinator Christian Parker, the Cowboys’ biggest addition is rookie safety Caleb Downs, who was arguably the best defender in college football the last two seasons. Even an average defense should be good enough to get the Cowboys into the playoffs.
The Giants have an entirely new look this year. John Harbaugh was let go by the Ravens and is now leading the G-Men, who have a talented young core to be excited about. Defensively, rookie linebacker Arvell Reese joins a front seven that includes Abdul Carter and Brian Burns, though the loss of Dexter Lawrence should be a big one. Offensively, quarterback Jaxson Dart played well at times last year as a rookie, and he has a good cast around him, namely Malik Nabers, Cam Skattebo and Darius Slayton. The additions of former Ravens standouts Isaiah Likely and Patrick Ricard at tight end and fullback, respectively, should help New York’s offense under new coordinator Greg Roman.
These rivals split the season series last year, and there were a ton of points scored each time. While I’m not someone who thinks the Cowboys’ defense will improve enough for them to contend for the postseason, I like Dallas’ makeup more than I do the Giants. I get why New York is viewed as a sleeper team, but I think the Giants are still a year away and will underperform in Harbaugh’s first year as head coach. I expect the Cowboys to put up a lot of points and begin the year with a win.
Pick: Cowboys
Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs: Monday, Sept. 14 at 8:15 p.m. ET
The final game of Week 1 will have a ton of eyeballs on it when the Broncos visit the Chiefs. Denver is fresh off a 14-3 season that included two wins over the Chiefs en route to an AFC title game appearance and AFC West crown. Kansas City lost its one-score magic and cratered to a 6-11 record after making three straight Super Bowls and five of the last six.
For the Chiefs, the biggest question is the health of Patrick Mahomes. The two-time MVP is ready to go for Week 1 after tearing his ACL late last year, but how will he look? Making matters more difficult is he faces a Denver defense that was one of the best in football last year. K.C.'s offense has regressed in recent years, and to give the run game a boost, the team signed reigning Super Bowl MVP running back Kenneth Walker III in free agency. In the pass game, the usual suspects of Travis Kelce, Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy will lead the way. The good news for the Chiefs is even in a down year, they had a top-10 defense.
The Broncos also have an injury question mark at quarterback as Bo Nix broke his ankle in the Divisional Round and missed Denver’s loss to New England in the AFC title game. Had Nix played, how would the Super Bowl have been impacted? He’s ready to go for Week 1, but like Mahomes, he has a tough test in his first game back. Denver’s offense has a new face in Jaylen Waddle to be another top option in the pass game alongside Courtland Sutton, but the biggest news offensively is that head coach Sean Payton gave up play-calling duties to OC Davis Webb. Defensively, the Broncos are loaded from top to bottom, with the headliner being cornerback Patrick Surtain.
This is a tough one to pick. I think Denver is in a better situation right now, but I expect a nice bounceback year from Kansas City. My gut reaction was to pick the Broncos, but this is a toss-up really, and as such, I’ll back the home team.
Pick: Chiefs