Thursday Night Football schedule
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
The 49ers and Rams play in Melbourne on Sept. 10 at 8:35 p.m. ET, streamed on.
It is the NFL's first regular-season game in Australia and the only Thursday game.
Background
The 2026 NFL season opened Wednesday, Sept. 9, with a Super Bowl LX rematch between the Seahawks and Patriots on NBC and Peacock, which Seattle won 13-10. The first Thursday game of the season is a Week 1 NFC West matchup between the 49ers and Rams, played in Melbourne, Australia — the NFL's first regular-season game in the country. Because of the time-zone difference, the game kicks off Friday morning locally but airs Thursday night in U.S. time zones. Amazon Prime Video's Thursday Night Football package does not begin until Week 2 on Sept. 17, so this opener streams on Netflix instead.
How it unfolded
- Sep 9, 2026The NFL season opens with the Seahawks beating the Patriots 13-10 in a Super Bowl LX rematch on NBC and Peacock.
- Sep 10, 2026The 49ers and Rams kick off in Melbourne at 8:35 p.m. ET (10:35 a.m. Friday local time), the NFL's first regular-season game in Australia, streaming on Netflix.
- Sep 17, 2026Amazon Prime Video's Thursday Night Football package begins in Week 2.
Who’s saying what
- Analysts
- The Week 1 game is framed as a loaded NFC West rematch between two teams that reshaped their rosters in the offseason.
- Caution
- Coverage notes the game is not the traditional Thursday Night Football format, since it airs on Netflix rather than Amazon Prime Video.