The 2026 NFL season will showcase a full slate of Thursday Night Football games, with the action spread across weeks two through seventeen. Amazon Prime Video has secured the rights to broadcast the majority of these mid‑week contests, while Netflix will stream the season‑opening international fixture from Melbourne.
The first game of the campaign will see the San Francisco 49ers take on the Los Angeles Rams on a Thursday night in front of an Australian audience, a partnership that marks Netflix’s entry into live sports programming. The matchup is scheduled for the early weeks of the season and will be aired live from Highmark Stadium in Buffalo when the Detroit Lions host the Buffalo Bills.
International Opener in Melbourne
The season’s first Thursday night game will be streamed live on Netflix from Melbourne, Australia, marking the first time the league has opened its schedule with a game broadcast outside the United States.
Subsequent weeks will feature a parade of high‑profile pairings. In Week 3, the Atlanta Falcons travel to Green Bay to meet the Packers, while the Pittsburgh Steelers head to Cleveland for a showdown with the Browns. Dallas will host Tampa Bay in Week 5, and the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks will test their mettle against the Broncos in Denver during Week 6.
The schedule also highlights several marquee rivalries and storylines. Week 7 pits the New England Patriots against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field, a clash that will spotlight the emergence of young quarterbacks Drake Maye and Caleb Williams. A Thanksgiving Thursday night game in Week 12 will pit the Kansas City Chiefs against the Buffalo Bills, broadcast on NBC from Highmark Stadium.
Later in the season, the Chiefs will meet Matthew Stafford’s Rams in Los Angeles in Week 13, and the Minnesota Vikings will visit New England in Week 14. The final week of the regular season will see the Baltimore Ravens host the Cincinnati Bengals, rounding out a year that promises playoff‑impacting contests and international exposure.