Sean McVay Leads Rams Schedule 2026 Opener in Melbourne
The rams schedule 2026 opens with a long trip and a familiar opponent. Los Angeles will start the season against the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne, Australia, on Sept. 10, a Thursday night in the United States and the morning of Sept. 11 in Melbourne.
That opener gives Sean McVay’s team an immediate spotlight before it ever plays a game at home. The Rams also drew the maximum six prime-time appearances on their 17-game schedule, two more than last season.
Melbourne Cricket Ground opener
The Rams will travel about 8,000 air miles to play at Melbourne Cricket Ground, making the season’s first game the farthest one on the slate. McVay opens against Kyle Shanahan, who remains the 49ers coach and his mentor.
The timing is unusual even by NFL standards. The game lands on Thursday night in the United States, but it will be played on Friday morning local time in Melbourne, which gives the Rams an opening-week assignment that looks nothing like a normal home-and-away start.
Six prime-time Rams games
Los Angeles earned six prime-time games on the 17-game schedule. The Rams will be on Sunday Night Football against the Denver Broncos, on Monday Night Football against the New York Giants and Buffalo Bills, and on Thursday Night Football against the Kansas City Chiefs.
They also get the Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving eve. That mix keeps the Rams on national stages through the fall, and it gives the team more exposure than the four prime-time appearances it had last season.
Seattle closes the road map
The first meeting with the Seahawks comes in Week 16 on Christmas night in Seattle. The teams meet again in the regular-season finale at SoFi Stadium on a date to be determined, giving the division race a late-season finish line with two games against the same opponent.
Los Angeles enters the schedule off a 12-5 season and an NFC championship game loss to Seattle. The Rams’ 2026 slate also includes six division games in the NFC West, plus matchups with teams from the NFC East, AFC West, NFC North, NFC South and AFC East.
After Australia, the Rams come home to the New York Giants on Sept. 21, then face Denver on the road on Sept. 27 and Philadelphia on Oct. 4. Buffalo visits on Oct. 12, Arizona on Oct. 18 and Las Vegas on Oct. 25, so the first month already stacks road trips, division play and prime-time windows into one early-season stretch.
