NFL releases full 2026 schedule; Seahawks-Patriots open

The NFL released its full 2026 regular-season schedule on Thursday night, setting an 18-week, 272-game slate that begins on Wednesday, Sept. 9, with the Seattle Seahawks hosting the New England Patriots. The league said the season will end in Week 18 with 16 division games split across Saturday, Jan. 9, and Sunday, Jan. 10. CBS Sports published team-by-team schedules on Friday with dates, kickoff times, TV channels and streaming details for all 32 clubs. The release followed three days of staggered network announcements before the full schedule went live on NFL platforms. ### When does the season actually start, and where is the opener? Sept. 9 is the start date the NFL listed for the 2026 regular season, and the opener will be played in Seattle rather than New England. The league said the reigning Super Bowl champion Seahawks will host the Patriots in the annual kickoff game on Wednesday night. CBS Sports’ Seattle team page lists the game as Seahawks vs. (media.nfl.com) Patriots at 8:20 p.m. Eastern on NBC at Lumen Field. The same page shows Seattle opening at home before road games at Arizona on Sept. 20 and at Washington on Sept. 27. ### How big is the 2026 schedule? The NFL said the 2026 regular season contains 272 games over 18 weeks. That structure reflects the league’s current 17-game schedule for each of its 32 teams. (media.nfl.com) Jan. 10, 2027, is the final day of the regular season under the league’s release, with 13 games scheduled for Sunday after three Saturday games on Jan. 9. The NFL’s Football Operations site had said ahead of the release that the full schedule would be published at 8 p.m. (cbssports.com) Eastern on May 14. ### How many international games are on the calendar? May 13 was the date the NFL unveiled its international lineup, which the league called a record nine games across four continents, seven countries and eight stadiums. (media.nfl.com) The host markets listed by the NFL are Melbourne, Rio de Janeiro, London, Paris, Madrid, Munich and Mexico City. An NFL.com scheduling analysis published after the full release said the 2026 schedule spans eight different countries. (media.nfl.com) That piece focused on the travel, rest and prime-time effects created by the league’s global calendar. ### Where can fans find every team’s dates, times and TV windows? CBS Sports published a team-by-team schedule page on Friday that lists weekly opponents, game dates, kickoff times, TV channels and streaming information for all 32 franchises. (media.nfl.com) A separate CBS Sports page also posted the week-by-week schedule for all 272 games. NFL.com and NFL Football Operations also host the official schedule pages. (nfl.com) The league’s media release links to the regular-season schedule by week and by division, along with the preseason schedule. ### What had already been known before Thursday night’s full release? Jan. 5 was the date the NFL announced each team’s 2026 opponents under the league’s scheduling formula. (cbssports.com) That formula gives every team six division games, four games against another division within its conference, four against a division in the other conference, two same-place conference games and one interconference same-place game. (media.nfl.com) May 14 was the date the full calendar filled in the missing details — exact dates, kickoff windows and broadcast assignments. The next major schedule milestones are preseason games in August and the regular-season opener on Sept. 9 in Seattle between the Seahawks and Patriots. (media.nfl.com) (nfl.com)