May 12, 2026, 08:18 AM ET
The Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs will square off Sept. 14 in the first “Monday Night Football” game of the coming season.
The Broncos wrested the AFC West title from the Chiefs last season, ending Kansas City’s nine-year streak atop the division.
The site of the game will be known when the NFL unveils the complete 2026 regular-season schedule Thursday.
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Another unknown is whether Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes will be available for the game. The two-time NFL MVP tore the ACL and LCL in his left knee on Dec. 14 in the final minutes of a loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. He has stated his goal is to be ready for Kansas City’s 2026 season opener.
Broncos quarterback Bo Nix is expected to be ready for training camp after breaking a bone in his right ankle on Jan. 18 during the AFC playoffs. Nix did not play in Denver’s season-ending loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game.
A trio of games announced Monday came as NBC, Fox and Prime Video made their upfront presentations to advertisers. More matchups will be revealed in the coming days.
The Dallas Cowboys were part of two of the unveilings Monday — both against NFC East rivals. The Cowboys will visit the New York Giants in the first NBC “Sunday Night Football” game of the season on Sept. 13, and they will host the Philadelphia Eagles on Thanksgiving (Nov. 26) on Fox.
The Buffalo Bills‘ first regular-season game in their new stadium will be against the Detroit Lions on Sept. 17 and will kick off Amazon Prime Video’s “Thursday Night Football” schedule.
The Denver-Kansas City and Dallas-New York Week 1 matchups also mean none of those teams will be the visitor at Seattle on Wednesday, Sept. 9, when the defending champion Seahawks unveil their Super Bowl banner and kick off the season. Chicago, Arizona, the Chargers or a title-game rematch against New England are the remaining possibilities.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.