Anticipation builds ahead of the full schedule release for the upcoming NFL season

The full 2026 NFL schedule will be released Thursday night, completing the list of 272 games over 18 weeks.

The season kicks off on Sept. 9 when the Seattle Seahawks raise their Super Bowl banner. It’ll be the second time the NFL season opens on a Wednesday — the Giants hosted the Cowboys on Sept. 5, 2012.

Several games already were announced, including a record nine international games across four continents. The San Francisco 49ers face the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne on Sept. 10 in the first international game of the season.

The Pittsburgh Steelers play the New Orleans Saints on Oct. 25 in Paris in the NFL’s first regular-season matchup in France.

Sixteen of the league’s 32 teams will play at least one of their 17 regular-season games outside the United States. The 49ers and Jacksonville Jaguars each have two international games. San Francisco also faces Minnesota in Mexico City in Week 11. The Jaguars have consecutive games in London in Weeks 5 and 6 against the Eagles and Texans. The Colts-Commanders also face off in London in Week 4.

The Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens go head-to-head in Rio de Janeiro in Week 3. The Bengals-Falcons are in Madrid in Week 8 and the Patriots-Lions play in Munich in Week 9.

Other highlights already announced include the Cowboys-Giants in the first Sunday night game and the Broncos-Chiefs in the first Monday night game.

The Packers-Rams are playing on Thanksgiving Eve and it’ll be the Lions-Bears and Eagles-Cowboys in two of the Thanksgiving Day games.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL