2026 NFL Season Kicks Off Tonight with Seahawks-Patriots Super Bowl Rematch at Lumen Field, 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC

September 9, 2026

Sources: NBC Sports official preview and how-to-watch page; Yahoo Sports coverage of September 9 kickoff at 8:20 p.m. ET; NBC listing broadcast team Tirico, Collinsworth, Stark, Hartung, McAulay; NBC Sports and Seahawks.com on quarterback Sam Darnold entering second season with Seattle; Sports Illustrated article confirming Darnold is Seahawks quarterback in second year with team; Pro-Football-Reference.com showing Seahawks signed Darnold March 10, 2025; Yahoo on secondary changes Bryant to Chicago, Woolen to Philadelphia; NBC on Patriots offense around Drake Maye and A.J. Brown; Wikipedia 2026 NFL season page showing September 9 start and January 10 end; NBC on Sunday Night Football September 13 Cowboys-Giants.

The 2026 NFL regular season officially kicks off on Wednesday September 9 with a Super Bowl rematch between the defending champion Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots at Lumen Field in Seattle, airing at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC, Peacock, and Telemundo, according to NBC Sports, Yahoo Sports, and Wikipedia. NBC's coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET with the NFL Kickoff Special hosted by Maria Taylor, while the game broadcast team features Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth, Melissa Stark, Kaylee Hartung, and rules analyst Terry McAulay. This marks NBC Sports' 21st consecutive year opening the NFL season with the first regular season matchup. The Seahawks won Super Bowl LX and return key stars including quarterback Sam Darnold, who is entering his second season with Seattle after joining the team in March 2025, and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba alongside one of the league's top defenses, according to NBC Sports and the official Seahawks website. However, the secondary will be worth watching after safety Coby Bryant departed to Chicago and cornerback Riq Woolen signed with Philadelphia. The Patriots strengthened their offense around quarterback Drake Maye and wide receiver A.J. Brown. Seven months and a day after taking home the Lombardi Trophy, the Seahawks face their Super Bowl opponent in the season opener at home. The Wednesday night kickoff matters because it deviates from the traditional Thursday-after-Labor-Day scheduling, with the game occurring on September 9, two days after the September 7 Labor Day holiday. The matchup is one of the most anticipated games of the year regardless of timing, but making it the first game of the entire season sweetens the pot, according to NBC. The regular season is scheduled to run from September 9, 2026 through January 10, 2027, with Super Bowl LXI set for February 14, 2027 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. NBC Sports' Kickoff Weekend coverage continues on Sunday September 13 with the season debut of Sunday Night Footbal