The calendar has turned to September, and yet again, another season of National Football League action is upon us. I have been making weekly NFL picks for about as long as I can remember: whether it was on paper with my dad, brother, and grandpa, or on a website like this one for most of the past decade.

2026 has brought me new challenges, namely, becoming a father, which has obviously impacted the amount of free time I have. My offseason work has always been sporadic, but this year, it was basically nothing: no preseason Power Rankings, no division-by-division predictions. I do hope to get a Preseason Power Ranking and overall standings prediction out this week, but I guess we’ll see how that goes.

From a birds-eye view, Week 1 of the 2026-27 NFL season is packed: four primetime games, and at least three of them are must-sees.

It all starts on Wednesday night (a new wrinkle this year due to the Australia game airing on Thursday Night Football in America) with the defending Super Bowl 60 champions, Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks, hosting Drake Maye and the New England Patriots in a rematch of Super Bowl 60.

On Thursday Night Football, American and other Western audiences are treated to an NFC West heavyweight bout: Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams will take on Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne, Australia, as the NFL expands to the continent for the first time. Interestingly, the game will take place on Friday morning local time. Also of note is the teams’ different approaches in tackling the potential jet lag: the 49ers arrived about a week ago to acclimate, while the Rams plan to arrive less than 28 hours before kickoff, a strategy that could get the Rams back home before jet lag even kicks in.

On Sunday and Monday Night Football, I’m treated to season openers for my two favorite teams: but hey, no bias here. The New York Giants host the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football at MetLife Stadium, where I worked for six years. By all accounts, I do think that Dak Prescott and the Cowboys are the better team and will have a better season than Jaxson Dart and the Giants. However, I’m putting the Cowboys on upset alert in Week 1, in John Harbaugh’s coaching debut for New York.

Finally, on Monday Night Football, the Kansas City Chiefs host the Denver Broncos, with both starting quarterbacks available to play coming off major injuries. The Broncos were the number one seed in the AFC last season, and nearly reached Super Bowl 60, but a Bo Nix ankle injury dealt the team a major blow prior to the AFC Championship Game. Perrenial Pro Bowler and NFL MVP candidate Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL near the end of a lost season for the Chiefs, but has bounced back in almost miraculous time. Monday night’s matchup at Arrowhead Stadium can not decide the AFC West in Week 1, but it will set the tone early: are the Broncos the next team up in the AFC West, set to dominate for years with Nix and Sean Payton, or are Mahomes, Andy Reid, and the Chiefs ready to reclaim the throne after a down year?

This is all without even getting in to Sunday’s 12 day games, but I will highlight the cream of the crop: Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills traveling to take on C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans.

If you’ve read this far, consider giving me a follow (Sakmann Sports on Twitter/X or on Facebook)  to keep up with what else I have to say about the NFL as the season unfolds! Read on for my 2026-27 NFL Week 1 Picks.

Picks Record

None! It’s a new year.

Last year I went 171-100-1 (63% win rate) during the regular season, and 8-5 during the playoffs.

Wednesday Night Football Season Opener

(NBC Sports)

New England Patriots (0-0) at Seattle Seahawks (0-0): Seahawks win 24-16

Thursday Night Football

(NFL)

San Francisco 49ers (0-0) vs. Los Angeles Rams (0-0) in Melbourne, Australia: 49ers win 30-20

Sunday Day Games

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-0) at Cincinnati Bengals (0-0): Bengals win 33-30

New Orleans Saints (0-0) at Detroit Lions (0-0): Lions win 27-17

New York Jets (0-0) at Tennessee Titans (0-0): Titans win 13-10

Baltimore Ravens (0-0) at Indianapolis Colts (0-0): Ravens win 33-17

Atlanta Falcons (0-0) at Pittsburgh Steelers (0-0): Steelers win 24-17

Chicago Bears (0-0) at Carolina Panthers (0-0): Panthers win 30-24

Cleveland Browns (0-0) at Jacksonville Jaguars (0-0): Jaguars win 24-12

Buffalo Bills (0-0) at Houston Texans (0-0): Bills win 27-24

Miami Dolphins (0-0) at Las Vegas Raiders (0-0): Dolphins win 16-10

Green Bay Packers (0-0) at Minnesota Vikings (0-0): Vikings win 23-17

Washington Commanders (0-0) at Philadelphia Eagles (0-0): Eagles win 36-18

Arizona Cardinals (0-0) at Los Angeles Chargers (0-0): Chargers win 27-10

Sunday Night Football

(NFL)

Dallas Cowboys (0-0) at New York Giants (0-0): Giants win 24-21

Monday Night Football

Credit: Pro Football Rumors (Bo Nix), KCUR (Patrick Mahomes)

Denver Broncos (0-0) at Kansas City Chiefs (0-0): Broncos win 17-16

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Header Photo Credit: Pro Football Rumors (Bo Nix), KCUR (Patrick Mahomes)

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