Bills Set Sept. 17 Opener For Patriots Schedule 2026 — New Stadium Debut
The patriots schedule 2026 picture took shape Monday with the Bills set to open their new stadium against the Lions on Sept. 17. The game will be the first regular-season contest in the building and will launch Amazon's Thursday Night Football schedule.
Bills, Lions, Sept. 17
Josh Allen is set to play the home opener in the Bills' new stadium against Jared Goff and the Lions. The matchup lands in a national window, giving Buffalo's first regular-season game in the venue a prime stage rather than the Week 2 primetime slot the league has often used for new stadium debuts.
That timing also puts the Bills at the front of the league's Thursday night package. Joe Brady's team gets the first regular-season look at the stadium while the rest of the schedule remains to be released on Thursday.
Cowboys, Giants, NBC
The NFL announced three matchups on Monday as NBC, Fox and Prime Video made their upfront presentations to advertisers. Dallas will visit the Giants on Sept. 13 in the first NBC Sunday Night Football game of the season, and the Cowboys will host the Eagles on Fox on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26.
The Cowboys-Giants meeting is the eighth time in the past 15 years that the teams have opened against each other, and it will be the 15th time the matchup has been on NBC's Sunday night package. Dallas at New York in Week 1 also means neither team will be the visitor at Seattle on Wednesday night, Sept. 9.
Seattle's Sept. 9 Open
That leaves the defending champion Seahawks to unveil their Super Bowl banner and open the season on Wednesday night, Sept. 9, with several opponents still in play. Chicago, Arizona, Kansas City, the Chargers or a title-game rematch against New England were the remaining possibilities listed for Seattle's opener.
The league's first schedule drops usually carry more weight when they steer two stories at once: a debut venue and a national TV slot. Buffalo now has both, and Allen gets the first regular-season snap in the team's new home with the schedule still days from being fully unveiled.
