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October brings a different kind of pressure to the NFL season. Several weeks of game film provide more evidence of team strengths and weaknesses, while divisional results add more context to the standings. Prime-time games, international travel and evolving player availability also create storylines that extend beyond each team’s record, giving fans more to follow as the regular season moves deeper into its schedule.
This month also offers very different types of matchups. Seattle has a championship to defend against a familiar rival, Buffalo and Los Angeles put two established quarterbacks on opposite sidelines, and Dallas returns to Green Bay for a matchup carrying an added connection with former Cowboy Micah Parsons. The October schedule also includes a meeting between two young quarterbacks in Chicago before the NFL stages its first regular-season game in Paris.
1. 49ers vs. Seahawks
San Francisco visits Seattle at Lumen Field on October 11, renewing an NFC West rivalry against the defending Super Bowl champions. Seattle finished 14-3 last season before beating New England 29-13 in Super Bowl LX.
The teams also met during Seattle’s championship postseason run, giving both coaching staffs recent experience against the personnel and systems across the field. Divisional familiarity can give both teams greater awareness of personnel and scheme tendencies than they have against less familiar opponents.
Current FanDuel NFL odds provide another reference point for how expectations around both teams develop around the matchup. Seattle’s defense allowed the fewest points in the league during its championship season, so San Francisco will have to find ways to create space against a unit built around limiting easy scoring opportunities.
2. Bills vs. Rams
Buffalo travels to SoFi Stadium on October 12 for Monday Night Football. Josh Allen and Matthew Stafford bring very different quarterback styles into one of October’s strongest interconference matchups.
Allen can punish a defense when the original play breaks down, while Buffalo’s opening weeks also showed what the offense can produce within structure. The Bills started 2-0, with Allen accounting for five touchdowns in their Week 2 win over Detroit.
Stafford creates a different challenge. Los Angeles can use his timing and anticipation to attack before pressure reaches the pocket, while a receiving group featuring Davante Adams gives the Rams another way to stress coverage. His early-season production included four touchdown passes in Los Angeles’ Week 2 win over the Giants.
Buffalo’s front has to disrupt that timing without leaving easy openings behind it, while the Rams cannot afford to lose contain when Allen extends plays.
3. Cowboys vs. Packers
Dallas visits Lambeau Field on October 18, adding another chapter to a matchup between two of the NFL’s most recognizable franchises.
Micah Parsons adds another storyline to the matchup. The former Cowboy joined Green Bay before undergoing ACL reconstruction and meniscus work in December 2025. During his recovery, Parsons identified a mid-October return as a possibility, placing the Dallas matchup around the return window he discussed before the season.
His availability would change the tactical problem for Dallas. An active Parsons would give Green Bay a pass rusher familiar with several of the players and protections across from him, while the Cowboys would have to decide how much extra help to commit his way.
If he remains unavailable, Green Bay will need to create pressure without the defender expected to be one of its most disruptive pieces. Either scenario puts Dallas’ pass protection near the center of the matchup.
4. Patriots vs. Bears
New England travels to Soldier Field on October 22 for Thursday Night Football. Drake Maye and Caleb Williams enter their third NFL seasons with very different recent experiences.
Maye helped New England reach Super Bowl LX last season, but his first two games of 2026 produced mixed results. He threw for 386 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions during that opening stretch, including three interceptions against Seattle in Week 1.
Williams opened with 269 passing yards and two touchdowns against Carolina before Chicago’s offense managed only three points against Minnesota. He left that Week 2 loss with a hamstring injury, adding an availability question that will need to be reassessed closer to the matchup.
Fans can follow weekly NFL predictions and analysis for updates on how both quarterbacks and offenses are trending ahead of the game. If both quarterbacks are available, New England will look for cleaner decisions from Maye, while Chicago will need Williams to keep the offense moving when the first read disappears.
5. Steelers vs. Saints
Pittsburgh and New Orleans are scheduled to meet at Stade de France on October 25 in the NFL’s first regular-season game in Paris. The league has continued expanding its international schedule, but France has never previously hosted a regular-season matchup.
The teams also bring some shared history into the game. New Orleans leads the all-time series 9-8, while Pittsburgh won their most recent meeting 20-10 in 2022.
There is familiarity on the sidelines as well. Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy worked with Saints coach Kellen Moore in Dallas, where Moore served as McCarthy’s offensive coordinator from 2020 through 2022. McCarthy also spent five seasons as New Orleans’ offensive coordinator earlier in his career.
The international setting adds another challenge, with both teams adjusting their preparation and travel around a game played thousands of miles from their usual routine. They will also need to manage recovery, practice schedules and an unfamiliar game environment.
What These October Games Could Reveal
October provides a larger sample for assessing how teams are developing beyond their opening performances. These matchups put Seattle’s title defense, Buffalo’s performance against another notable opponent and the development of quarterbacks such as Maye and Williams into different competitive settings.
Across October, these games can provide additional evidence about teams that entered the month with different expectations and early-season results. Beyond the names involved, each matchup offers another opportunity to assess how well those teams sustain their strengths against different opponents and settings.
Content reflects information available as of 2026/09/22; subject to change.
