For just the fourth time in 75 years, the NFL will have a game on a Wednesday. And this one will open the season.
On Wednesday, the NFL announced that the 2026 season will kick off on Wednesday, September 9 with the Seattle Seahawks hosting an unspecified team. The game will be broadcast on NBC and Peacock at 8 p.m. ET.
It will be only the fourth NFL game since 1950 to be played on a Wednesday. Though all three of the previous games have been since 2012.
Fan Response
As you might expect, fans who have already grown tired of seeing NFL games on any days other than Sunday or Monday and the occasional Thursday are pretty annoyed that they have to give up yet another day of the week to watch their favorite league.
"Wednesday kickoff? NFL bending over for TV money while screwing players with a short week and fans with mid-week travel. Classic greed over tradition. Thursday was already bad enough," one user said dismissively.
"The NFL moving the Champs to Wednesday just created the biggest scheduling headache in the city's history," wrote another.
"This is so bad. The NFL is the most viewed because it’s also the most limited. You start putting games in every day of the week it’s going to get washed out very quickly. Leave it to Monday, Thursday, and Sunday. Stop this (expletive)," a third wrote.
© Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
As far as the options for the Seahawks' potential opponents go, there's a number of decent options. One of their division rivals, the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, Chicago Bears or Los Angeles Chargers could all bring in big ratings.
But the most likely option is a Super Bowl rematch between the Seahawks and the New England Patriots. New England is their spare inter-conference opponent for this year, and it seems inevitable that they'll square off in prime time at some point next season.
