Football is back! The 107th season of NFL competition kicks off in the Pacific Northwest tonight (Wednesday), starting out on the road to Super Bowl LXI in Los Angeles from the place where the Lombardi Trophy currently resides.

The opening slate of games doesn’t have many bigger than the first on the docket, as the New England Patriots travel to Seattle to face the very team that denied them glory in Santa Clara nary seven months ago, but the week also includes the first ever regular season game ‘down under’ as the San Francisco 49ers take on the Los Angeles Rams in one of three juicy divisional games airing in primetime. There are also games involving playoff teams from the 2025 campaign, and two — in Pittsburgh and Las Vegas — where both teams have new faces at the helm.

Last season, 73 games were decided by three-or-fewer points, a number tied for the most such games in a season in NFL history with 2018 and 2022, while there were 72 games with a game-winning score in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime, the second-most in a season all-time, and approximately 70 percent of all games were within one score at some point of the fourth quarter.

Let’s hope 2026 gets off to as exciting a start.

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GAME OF THE WEEK

New England Patriots @ Seattle Seahawks

The 2026 NFL season kicks off in the exact way 2025 ended, with the Seattle Seahawks taking on the New England Patriots. This is the third Week 1 game in NFL history that features the match-up from the previous season’s Super Bowl, and the first since the 2016 clash between the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers.

The Patriots came off second best in February, but will look to strike an early blow as they aim to build on a wildly successful first season under head coach Mike Vrabel. The Patriots, with MVP runner-up Drake Maye at quarterback, led the AFC with 379.4 yards of offense per game in 2025. Maye led the NFL in completion rate (72.0) and passer rating (113.5) last season, also tossing 31 touchdowns along with 4,394 yards.

The Patriots bolstered their receiving roster this offseason by trading for A.J. Brown and signing Romeo Doubs in free agency. Brown is one of five players in NFL history with at least 1,000 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in six of his first seven NFL seasons. Doubs has played the Seahawks once in his career, but scored two touchdowns for the Packers in that game.

The Patriots also have one of the best cornerbacks around in Christian Gonzalez, who was locked in contract negotiations until game week, despite 10 pass break-ups and a career-high 69 tackles a year ago. Having put pen to paper to become the highest-paid CB in league history, expect Gonzalez to play with abandon.

The Super Bowl champion Seahawks were no slouches themselves offensively in 2025, ranking third in scoring offense and sixth in total offense in their first season with Sam Darnold at the helm. Darnold became the fourth quarterback in NFL history to win a Super Bowl in his first season with a team, joining Tom Brady (Super Bowl LV with Tampa Bay), Trent Dilfer (Super Bowl XXXV with Baltimore) and Matthew Stafford (Super Bowl LVI with the Los Angeles Rams).

His favourite weapon, wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, had a season for the ages in 2025. He led the NFL with a career-high and Seahawks franchise-record 1,793 receiving yards, was fourth overall with 119 receptions and tied for sixth with 10 TD catches. Not too shabby, right?

The Seahawks will be looking for more from their ground game, which tied for 10^th a year ago, but will be without Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker who left for the Kansas City Chiefs in free agency. Instead, Seattle spent their first-round draft pick on running back Jadarian Price, who should make his NFL bow against the Patriots.

If there’s on thing the Seahawks don’t lack its defensive stars, with emerging names at all levels of their D. Defensive tackle Byron Murphy is coming off two sacks against the Patriots in February and cornerback Devon Witherspoon off a 72-tackle, seven-interception 2025 campaign that led to him resetting the CB market until being surpassed by Gonzalez.

PREDICTION

The Seahawks claim their fifth straight regular season win over the Patriots and start their title defence with a W.

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WELL WORTH A WATCH

San Francisco 49ers @ Los Angeles Rams

(Melbourne, Australia)

Any meeting between these two NFC powerhouses is guaranteed to attract viewers, but this one is even more so, as it comes from the historic Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia. This is the first-ever NFL regular season game Down Under, with Melbourne is all set to become the ninth city to host an International Series game outside of the United States.

Both teams finished the 2025 regular season with 12-5 records, making them two of the three NFC West teams to claim a postseason berth. The 49ers beat the Eagles in the Wild Card round before receiving a severe 41-6 beatdown from the Seattle in the Divisional Round, while the Rams saw off the Carolina Panthers and the Chicago Bears before they too lost to the eventual Super Bowl champions.

The Rams will head into Melbourne as the preseason favourites to lift the Super Bowl at the end of the 2026 campaign. They are bringing back MVP Matthew Stafford and his two favourite receivers, Puka Nacua and Davante Adams, as well as reliable running back Kyren Williams. Nacua led the NFL with 129 receptions and ranked second with 1,715 yards last season. Williams has 3,695 rush yards since 2023.

They also have Myles Garrett on defense, having sent three draft picks and Jared Verse to the Cleveland Browns to secure the three-time Defensive Player of the Year. Garrett recorded 23 sacks with Cleveland in 2025, setting a new NFL single-season record but, as if that wasn’t enough, his arrival has tempted Aaron Donald out of retirement in a bid to help deliver a second Vince Lombardi Trophy for Sean McVay. Although he won’t be on the field in Australia, Donald still holds the Rams franchise record with 111 regular season sacks and won the Defensive Player of the Year award three times in his first go-round with the team. With Stafford and Garrett on board, it also marks the first time ever that the reigning Most Valuable Player and reigning Defensive Player of the Year began the season with the same team.

The 49ers, meanwhile, have endured something of a chaotic offseason, and will no doubt be looking forward to actually getting on with playing. Kyle Shanahan was involved in a serious car accident over the offseason, and his injuries were not the only ones suffered by members of the team. Wide receiver Ricky Pearsall is all but certain to miss most of the 2026 regular season. Nick Bosa, their own stud pass rusher, continues to miss practice time as he is rehabbing a knee injury he suffered last season, but at lest looks likely to play in the opener.

Newly-acquired wide receiver Mike Evans has also missed time during the preseason, but leads the NFL with 13,052 receiving yards since his rookie season in 2014. Do-it-all back Christian McCaffrey is coming off a heavy workload in 2025 and has been forced to sit out time in the summer, but led all running backs with 102 receptions, ranked second with 2,126 scrimmage yards and third with 17 scrimmage touchdowns a year ago.

PREDICTION
Rams send down an early season marker as they earn a W down under

Denver Broncos @ Kansas City Chiefs

A fierce clash between two AFC West rivals gets a primetime spot in Week 1, as the Denver Broncos travel to Arrowhead to take on the Kansas City Chiefs for Monday Night Football. The Broncos took the AFC West from the Chiefs in 2025, and Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid will want to prove it was a mere one-season blip.

The Broncos led the NFL with 68 sacks a year ago on their way to ranking second in total defense. Their offense wasn’t as dominant, as Bo Nix led his squad to 14^th in scoring offense, but the quarterback tossed 25 touchdowns, marking the second time he has achieved this feat in his short pro career. The team has since taken steps to improve the passing game by acquiring Jaylen Waddle from the Miami Dolphins after the receiver posted 373 receptions, 5,039 receiving yards and 26 scores while in South Beach.

The leaders on defense for the Broncos are edge rusher Nik Bonitto and cornerback Pat Surtain Jr, with Bonitto recording double digit sacks in his last two seasons and Surtain having 10 or more pass break-ups in his last five.

The Chiefs offense dropped to 21^st in scoring last season and 20^th in total output in a campaign where everything that could go wrong pretty much did. Patrick Mahomes, who missed the end of the season with injury, racked up 3,587 passing yards and 22 touchdowns a year ago, but no Chiefs receiver managed more than 851 receiving yards. That figure belonged to TE Travis Kelce, who needs just 45 receiving yards to move into second place all-time among tight ends. With his relationship with singer Taylor Swift now having moved into the marriage phase, it will be interesting to see if Kelce’s game changes at all.

In a bid to boost the explosive nature of the offense, the Chiefs splashed out on RB Kenneth Walker III, the reigning Super Bowl MVP, who totalled more than 1,700 yards from scrimmage for the Seahawks last year.

Despite their offensive issues, the Chiefs were still a top ten defense in 2025. Chris Jones led the way with 7.0 sacks, while linebacker Chris Bolton posted his fourth career season with at least 100 tackles, finishing with 154.

PREDICTION
The Chiefs strike an important blow in the early season race for AFC dominance and pick up the 18^th Week 1 victory of Andy Reid’s career.

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ALSO ON

New Orleans Saints @ Detroit Lions
The Lions are looking to return to the summit of the NFC North, while the Saints are looking to contend in a topsy-turvy NFC South. Will the Lions start the new season with a roar, or will the Saints go marching into 2026 with a road win?

Baltimore Ravens @ Indianapolis Colts
It’s always a significant event when the Colts face down the city they abandoned, but can their offense return to the form it showed before Daniel Jones went out with an Achilles tear in 2025, or will a revamped Ravens under new head coach Jesse Minter strike a blow in this clash between two teams looking to return to the playoffs in 2026?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Cincinnati Bengals
Two high-powered offenses face off in a clash between two former first overall picks. Can the Bengals start the season hot, or will the Baker Mayfield-led Bucs open the campaign feeling dangerous after his unexpected contract extension?

Cleveland Browns @ Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars are looking to build on a promising season under head coach Liam Coen. The Browns are looking to salvage something, anything, out of the Deshaun Watson trade that has hamstrung the franchise for half a decade. Can the Jags start their season with a win, or will the Dawg Pound have reason to bark?

New York Jets @ Tennessee Titans
Robert Salah starts his head coaching reign against a) his former employer and b) a team formerly known as the Titans. Can Cam Ward start his second season with a win, or will the second coming of Geno Smith spark something for the Jets?

Buffalo Bills @ Houston Texans
The Bills and Texans are set to meet in Houston for the third consecutive year, with Houston winning both previous meetings. Can the nastiest defense in football support an offense that hasn’t looked great recently, or will Josh Allen will his side to victory in Joe Brady’s first game as head coach?

Atlanta Falcons @ Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers and the Falcons are both under new management, but both teams are coming into the season with the long-term answer at quarterback likely not on the 2026 rosters. Can the reunion of Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers spark the Steelers, or will whichever lefty quarterback the Falcons opt for get the Kevin Stefanski era off to a winning start? (Hint: It’s Tua – Ed.)

Chicago Bears @ Carolina Panthers
The Panthers and Bears each won division titles last season after finishing last or tied for last in their division in 2024. Will Bryce Young finally start to deliver the goods that were promised when he was taken first overall in 2023, or will the first overall pick in the 2024 Draft (Caleb Williams) seize the day?

Green Bay Packers @ Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings are starting over at quarterback again, while the Packers roster is missing several of its biggest names for one reason or another. Can the Kyler Murray era get off to a winning start, or is this the beginning of the season where Jordan Love and his troops finally put it all together?

Miami Dolphins @ Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders have a new head coach and a new franchise saviour at quarterback, though Fernando Mendoza will ride the bench to start the season. The Dolphins have a new head coach and a placeholder at quarterback looking to prove he is worthy of being a long-term starter. Who will come out on top in this clash of the new guys?

Arizona Cardinals @ Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers are looking to put all the promise they have shown in the last two seasons into play as the AFC West looks stronger than it has for years. The Cardinals are coming into another season where success probably means not picking first overall in April 2027. Will Justin Herbert start the season with a win, or can Jacoby Brisset help spring an upset?

Philadelphia Eagles @ Washington Commanders
The Eagles are looking to bounce back from a disjointed offensive season in 2025 while still boasting a fearsome defensive unit. The Commanders are hoping that Jayden Daniels can get back to full health and re-energise a franchise that showed some promise in his rookie season. Will the Birds fly high, or can the Commanders strike an early season blow?

Dallas Cowboys @ New York Giants
The NFC East division rivals meet for the 12th time on Kickoff Weekend and the seventh Week 1 meeting in primetime. The Giants are starting again at head coach, while the Cowboys are hoping their defense can help their explosive offense recapture the division from the Eagles. Can the Harbaugh era get off to a winning start, or will the Cowboys win an 11^th kickoff weekend clash with Big Blue?