If the NFL is trying to increase its status as America's most popular sport, it certainly did that with the upcoming 2026 schedule. The regular season slate is filled with marquee matchups between some of the league's best teams and players. The league took full advantage of the holiday season with one game before Thanksgiving, three games on Turkey Day, a Black Friday game, a Christmas Eve game, a triple-header on Christmas and even a New York Eve bash.
As you can imagine, each holiday game is a can't-miss. The schedule also includes several possible conference championship and Super Bowl previews. Not surprisingly, a good portion of those games include the Rams, the team widely considered the front-runner to win the Super Bowl.
Before it can do that, however, Los Angeles will have to endure a challenging regular-season slate that will undoubtedly test its championship mettle. Three Rams contests were included in the following list of games that will define the 2026 NFL regular season. Among the notable contests that missed the cut were Eagles at Bears (Week 3), Broncos at 49ers (Week 4), Rams at Eagles (Week 4), Cowboys at Packers (Week 6), Patriots at Bears (Week 7), Bears at Seahawks (Week 8), Chiefs at Rams (Week 13), Bears at Rams (Week 15), and Broncos at Patriots (Week 17).
For the first time, the NFL's regular season will start on a Wednesday night. Fittingly, this historic occasion will feature the two teams that played in last year's Super Bowl. Rest assured that Lumen Field will be rocking as the Seahawks officially begin their title defense.
The Patriots, however, will surely be determined not to give the 12s much to cheer about once the ball is kicked off. This game could go a long way in shaping how the season plays out for both teams. Specifically, it'll be interesting to see how Seattle's offense and running game fare with rookie Jadarian Price starting in place of Kenneth Walker III, the MVP of Seattle's 29-13 win over the Patriots in Super Bowl LX.
Walker III signed with Kansas City during free agency. For the Patriots, the focus will undoubtedly be protecting Drake Maye, who was under siege throughout New England's Super Bowl loss to Seattle. A prime-time showdown between the two teams that were a game away from playing in last year's Super Bowl.
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