Prime Video's Thursday Night Football opener for the 2026 NFL season will also serve as the first game at a new stadium.
Amazon announced during its upfront presentation on Monday night that the Week 2 game on September 17 between the Detroit Lions and Buffalo Bills will air on Prime Video's Thursday Night Football.
Along with being a strong NFL matchup featuring two Super Bowl LXI contenders, the game carries extra significance as it will be the first-ever event at the Bills' new Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York.
Charissa Thompson, Ryan Fitzpatrick, and Andrew Whitworth revealed the news at Amazon's upfront presentation in New York City. They will be joined by Richard Sherman and Tony Gonzalez for TNF on Prime pregame and postgame shows, which travel to a different location each week. The combination of Bills Mafia and the stadium opening should create an electric atmosphere around the Prime Video set in Orchard Park on September 17.
As Fitzpatrick noted during the presentation, the previous matchup between the Bills and Lions ended with Josh Allen leading Buffalo to a 48-42 shootout win in Detroit on December 15, 2024.
Play-by-play announcer Al Michaels and color commentator Kirk Herbstreit will return to call Thursday Night Football games for Prime Video in 2026.
The 2026 NFL season will begin with the defending champion Seattle Seahawks hosting an unknown opponent on Wednesday, September 9, on NBC. That will be followed by the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers playing the first-ever NFL game in Australia on Thursday, September 11 at 8:35 p.m. ET, aired by Netflix.
Details of the 2026 NFL schedule continue to emerge, with the full schedule set to be released on Thursday, May 14.