At long, long last, the first official for-realsies week of the NFL's 2026 football season is here! With preseason now in the rearview, the league's 32 teams are now taking the first steps down the road to Super Bowl LXI with Week 1, with 16 games set to go down across four different days. And fans have plenty of ways to watch and stream them all, potentially for free, and/or without additional fees. The best way to stream from anywhere is with NordVPN.
This year's NFL Kickoff Game is a Super Bowl LX rematch, in which the New England Patriots will be taking on the Seattle Seahawks. Read to on to find out how to watch that game and other Week 1 contests.
How To Watch And Stream The NFL Kickoff Game
- START TIME: Wednesday, September 9, at 8:20 p.m.
- HOW TO WATCH: The game is airing linearly on NBC for those with YouTubeTV, DirecTV, Hulu + Live TV, Fubo, Sling, or your preferred cable/satellite service.
- HOW TO STREAM: Peacock is the official streaming platform to find the first game of the season. Use NordVPN if you're a U.S. resident currently traveling or working out of the country.
How To Stream The NFL's Week 1 Melbourne Game
- START TIME: Thursday, September 10, at 8:20 p.m. ET
- HOW TO STREAM: The first internationally set NFL game, between the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams, is taking place at the MGC in Melbourne, Australia, and it will be the first game of the year streaming exclusively on Netflix.
Where To Watch The Rest Of The NFL's Week 1 Games
For all that we love mid-week football, everybody knows the majority of the weekly games happen on Sundays. Here's the full Week 1 schedule, as well as where to watch and stream games here in the U.S. (The one-stop shop for most pro football needs is the NFL Sunday Ticket, available via YouTubeTV or through YouTube as a standalone.)
Date |
Teams Playing |
Where To Watch |
|---|---|---|
Wed, Sept. 9 |
New England Patriots at Seattle Seahawks |
NBC/Peacock (8:20 p.m. ET) |
Thurs., Sept. 10 |
San Francisco 49ers at Los Angeles Rams (In Melbourne, Australia) |
Netflix (8:35 p.m. ET) |
Sunday, Sept. 13 |
Atlanta Falcons at Pittsburgh Steelers |
Fox / Fox One (1 p.m. ET) |
Sunday, Sept. 13 |
Baltimore Ravens at Indianapolis Colts |
CBS / Paramount+ (1 p.m. ET) |
Sunday, Sept. 13 |
Buffalo Bills at Houston Texans |
CBS / Paramount+ (1 p.m. ET) |
Sunday, Sept. 13 |
Chicago Bears at Carolina Panthers |
Fox / Fox One (1 p.m. ET) |
Sunday, Sept. 13 |
Cleveland Browns at Jacksonville Jaguars |
CBS / Paramount+ (1 p.m. ET) |
Sunday, Sept. 13 |
New Orleans Saints at Detroit Lions |
Fox / Fox One (1 p.m. ET) |
Sunday, Sept. 13 |
New York Jets at Tennessee Titans |
CBS / Paramount+ (1 p.m. ET) |
Sunday, Sept. 13 |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Cincinnati Bengals |
Fox / Fox One (1 p.m. ET) |
Sunday, Sept. 13 |
Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Chargers |
CBS / Paramount+(4:25 p.m. ET) |
Sunday, Sept. 13 |
Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings |
Fox / Fox One(4:25 p.m. ET) |
Sunday, Sept. 13 |
Miami Dolphins at Las Vegas Raiders |
CBS / Paramount+(4:25 p.m. ET) |
Sunday, Sept. 13 |
Washington Commanders at Philadelphia Eagles |
Fox / Fox One(4:25 p.m. ET) |
Sunday, Sept. 13 |
Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants |
NBC/Peacock (8:20 p.m. ET) |
Monday, Sept. 14 |
Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs |
ABC/ESPN (8:15 p.m. ET) |
How To Watch NFL Games Outside The U.S. For Free
Location |
Platform & Coverage |
Platform & Coverage |
|---|---|---|
Australia |
DAZN- Most live games, with some blackout restrictions applying. |
7Plus - Thursday Night Football, 2 live games each Sunday |
Ireland |
Sky Sports - More than half of the season's games |
Virgin Media PLAY and Virgin Media channels - 1 game every Sunday, 3 playoff games + Super Bowl |
New Zealand |
TVNZ+ - 3 live games per week |
DUKE - 1 live game each week |
UK |
Sky Sports - More than half of the season's games |
5 - 2 live games every Sunday |
For those currently in the U.S. who are from abroad, or for U.S. citizens currently outside of the country, use a VPN to connect to your streaming or TV service, with NordVPN being our top pick.
Step-By-Step For How To Use A VPN:
1. Choose your ideal VPN and install – our go-to recommendation for unblocking is NordVPN, which is as low as $3.99 a month with its 2-year plan.
2. Connect to a server – For most NFL-friendly platforms, for example, you'll want to connect to a server based in the U.S..
3. Go to the stream you wish to access - Head to whichever platform you're subscribed to (or otherwise) and log in to start streaming.
As the NFL's 2026-2027 season rolls on, games will become available to stream on major platforms such as Prime Video and Twitch, while the ESPN app will stream all ESPN-produced telecasts. And Netflix will once again join in the fun for NFL streaming on Christmas Day.
