Exciting News for NFL Fans

Are you excited about some football?

Well, get ready for a Wednesday night party! The NFL has officially announced that the 2026 season will kick off on Wednesday, September 9. The Seattle Seahawks will raise their Super Bowl banner at Lumen Field, which is pretty cool, right?

But, amidst all this, the first regular-season game from Australia will happen the very next night, featuring the Los Angeles Rams against the San Francisco 49ers.

To get you in the mood for “Wednesday Night Football,” we’ve put together a ranking of potential opponents for the Seahawks on that night. Just a heads-up, the Rams and 49ers are not included here since they’ll be playing the following evening.

So, we know Seattle will play on Wednesday.

The action picks up the next day with a matchup between the Rams and 49ers down in Australia. That game is set to start around 10:30 a.m. local time in Melbourne, aligning with prime-time Thursday night action back in the States.

Interestingly, the NFL might begin the season featuring two NFC West showdowns, potentially sending the Arizona Cardinals up to Lumen Field. But with a new head coach and Kyler Murray’s absence, that matchup might not hold as much appeal, especially considering other viable choices.

The Dallas Cowboys always grab attention, it seems.

However, they played in last season’s kickoff against the Philadelphia Eagles, featuring a Super Bowl flag ceremony for their rivals. The league tends to shy away from repeating teams in consecutive seasons, after all.

While it’s great to see Jerry Jones in the spotlight, it’s tough to picture the Cowboys fitting into this opening night scenario.

In a typical year, playing the Kansas City Chiefs for the season opener would make a lot of sense.

But 2026 is shaping up to be quite different.

Sure, Travis Kelce is back for the new season, but will he be ready for Week 1 after that ACL injury? The league might still put Kansas City in the opener, but if Mahomes is healthy, who knows what kind of ratings that game might draw?

If Mahomes isn’t ready, though, maybe we’ll see a show from Justin Fields instead.

This game might be best saved for later, particularly if Mahomes returns for a prime-time matchup.

Meanwhile, the New York Giants, coming off a rough 4-13 finish, hold the No. 5 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft and will start the season under a new head coach.

Now, usually, that wouldn’t make for a thrilling opener against the Super Bowl champions.

However, with John Harbaugh at the helm, that changes the dynamics quite a bit.

There may well be better options out there for Seattle’s opening game, but this matchup will certainly be compelling.

And yes, this could be a Super Bowl rematch, a path the NFL has explored before. The last time it happened was at the start of the 2016 season, when the Denver Broncos faced the Carolina Panthers after their Super Bowl showdown.

But is a rematch really what the league and fans want?

Consider the potential clash of Mike McDaniel and Justin Herbert against Mike McDonald and Seattle’s defense. That’s an intriguing thought, and it makes one wonder if this should be on the shortlist.

Yet there is likely another matchup that the league has its sights set on for the kickoff.

A Super Bowl LX rematch may not have the pull they expect.

What about a potential NFC playoff preview? A game that could even set the stage for the NFC Championship Game?

The Chicago Bears might just be the best option for the 2026 season opener in Seattle. Ben Johnson versus Mike McDonald. Caleb Williams facing off against Seattle’s formidable defense. Two likely NFC division champions. The winner of that game could really rise in the NFC conversation—maybe even climb the power rankings by the following Monday morning.