Rest assured, when you log in for Thursday night’s game between the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos on Amazon Prime, you’re in the right place – not getting high-definition NFL Films clips of John Elway trying to beat Kenny Easley in coverage.
But what could be the best game of Week 6 of the 2026 season is certainly going to have a retro vibe calling back the 1970s, ‘80s and 90s, when the Broncos and Seahawks were AFC West rivals. That’s because both clubs will be donning glorious throwback uniforms – vintage looks a good subset of both fan bases would like to see restored as these teams’ primary looks. (This is probably a good time to remind them neither team won a Super Bowl in these classic threads, but details, details.)
The pleasing visual
will probably serve – definitely serve in this football fashionista’s opinion – as this season’s top uniform matchup. And, lest you take issue with my Elway-Easley scene setter, yes, Denver’s throwbacks are technically a callback to the pre-Elway 1977 team, the first in Broncos history to reach the Super Bowl (they were blown out by the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl 12). Seattle’s are specifically tied to the 1990s, after the career of Easley, a Hall of Fame safety, had ended.
The @Seahawks and @Broncos will both be wearing their throwback uniforms on TNF 🔥@SEAvsDEN – Thursday 8:15pm ET on Prime Video
— NFL (@NFL) October 13, 2026
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/UkCOsxYgpq
But, hey, 2026 basically looks like 1986 – and kudos to the NFL for allowing both teams to wear their vibrant home jerseys. Also, take heart, 12s, Seattle’s new ownership has already announced it will be bringing back throwback white roadies in 2027. The Broncos need not concern themselves there as they enter their Week 6 matchup with a 5-0 record since introducing the “Mile High Collection” throwbacks in 2024.
But Broncos-Seahawks isn’t the only game worth tuning into this season purely for the football aesthetics. Here are nine other games you should take a look at – literally – this season:
Oct. 25, 2026: Miami Dolphins at New York Jets
Two teams likely to be drafting very early next spring will (basically) throw it back to their Super Bowl glory years – glory year in the Jets’ case. And, no, these throwbacks aren’t exacting replicas of what these teams wore in the 1960s and ‘70s, but close enough. Notably, this matchup marks the 40th anniversary of New York’s 51-45 overtime defeat of the Dolphins in the Meadowlands, one of the most exciting games in NFL history, though the Jets wore the forerunners of their current unis in that game, when Ken O’Brien outdueled Dan Marino in a game that featured nearly 1,100 yards of total offense.
Nov. 8, 2026: New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles
Similar to Seahawks-Broncos, these teams will meet in throwbacks from the NFL’s golden age of uniforms – the late 1970s into the 1990s – and, arguably, the golden age of the NFC East … though no one cared about the (St. Louis) Cardinals then, either, and that was long before the Eagles finally won their first Super Bowl. Regardless, few unis beat Philly in silver and Kelly Green, and the block “GIANTS” logo and road uniforms that actually have blue (imagine!) elements are also winners.
Nov. 15, 2026: San Francisco 49ers at Dallas Cowboys
Speaking of classic rivalries, this pairing will take you back to 1994, perhaps the peak of the rivalry between the Niners and “America’s Team.” That year was also the NFL’s 75th anniversary, and the 49ers celebrated by wearing throwbacks from the 1950s, which had distinctive drop shadowing to the jersey numbers. Wearing those threads, San Francisco went on to win its fifth – and most recent – Super Bowl while ending the three-peat bid of the 1990s Dallas dynasty. The Cowboys will generally sport their classic home look for this game but will add a red centerline stripe to their helmets. Originally used for a red, white and blue effect during the 1976 season to celebrate America’s bicentennial, the Cowboys now wear the red stripe once annually to celebrate the league’s “Salute to Service” program, which celebrates veterans, and the club’s own celebration of Medal of Honor recipients close to Veterans Day.
Nov. 16, 2026: Los Angeles Chargers at Baltimore Ravens
The Bolts don’t win much, especially this year, but they’re royalty when it comes to football haberdashery. And they’ll face the Ravens for this Monday night affair, one when Baltimore will debut its new "Darkness Helmet,” a matte black lid with a forward-facing black and shaded Ravens logo with red eyes. Topping the team’s new black jersey and pants, it should look especially sinister as a new component to the team’s always impressive prime-time, pre-game hype show.
Nov. 25, 2026: Green Bay Packers at Los Angeles Rams
The league’s first-ever Thanksgiving Eve game will take you back to the 1960s … if they played games in a covered football cathedral like SoFi Stadium in the 1960s. But the Rams will debut their “Fearsome White” alternates, a new spin on the unis they wore in the 1960s and ‘70s when their “Fearsome Foursome” defensive line anchored the team. These threads feature mostly white jerseys and pants and, notably, white horns on the helmet. No yellow or gold (or “Sol”). Though the Rams occasionally used white horns after relocating to LA in 2016, they weirdly crowned their St. Louis-era uniforms. They haven’t worn anything approximating the Fearsome Whites since 1972.
Dec. 6, 2026: Los Angeles Chargers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Bolts experienced a rare uniform fail when they debuted their “Charger Power” alternates last season – the first time they’d worn gold jerseys (with gold pants) … in a game they lost to the Indianapolis Colts. Meant to celebrate the “Air Coryell” teams in San Diego, the “Charger Power” unis hit the road this year – with white pants this time, which are quite an improvement – while the Bucs will wear their original “Creamsicle” road uniforms at home, a selection (distinctive due to the "Florida Orange" jersey numbers) they had not used since 1976 before bringing them back in 2025 to celebrate the franchise’s 50th season.
The '76 Jersey! Back by popular demand this fall! pic.twitter.com/t4VcVkNuuv
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) July 22, 2026
Dec. 20, 2026: Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings
The Vikes will debut their Norse-inspired “Rivalries” uniforms in this game – and they might be the best alternates ever, at least in terms of a creative, fashion-forward perspective.
"(W)e had the freedom to explore different shades, tones and combinations. We could also develop entirely new number styles and wordmarks," said the team's senior creative director, Alicia Dreyer when the uniform was unveiled in August. "The added flexibility allowed us to more fully embrace the Viking identity and incorporate elements we had not previously been able to explore."
Also, per the Vikings, the "design was inspired by the textures of Viking armor; natural materials such as iron, wood and stone that connect both Minnesota and the ancient Viking world; and elements from Minnesota Vikings game-day rituals, including runestones, the Gjallarhorn and the Skol Drum."
Can’t wait to see them under the “Sunday Night Football” lights.
The embodiment of the North 😈https://t.co/h0zACZWDHy pic.twitter.com/E8HFxiiduE
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) August 25, 2026
Dec. 25, 2026: Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks
This highly anticipated Christmas matchup between the best teams from 2025 – and maybe 2026? – will also be the first game featuring both teams wearing their “Rivalries” uniforms. The Seahawks first wore their “High Decibel Zone” look – which the players love – in Week 16 last year, their memorable 38-37 overtime defeat of the Rams which helped Seattle secure the No. 1 playoff seed and helped launch their flight plan to victory in Super Bowl 60.
Christmas will be full of variety elsewhere, too. The Chicago Bears will wear their "Rivalries" uniforms for the first while hosting the archrival Green Bay Packers. And the Buffalo Bills will wear throwbacks from their 1990s Super Bowl teams against the Broncos, who are going with their "Summit White" helmet (with alternate navy jerseys) on a potentially snowy day.
Jan. 3, 2027: Kansas City Chiefs at Los Angeles Chargers
This currently projects as a near-meaningless Week 17 game. But looking at the Bolts is always fun, if not watching them play. They’ll don their all-navy “Super Chargers” alternates – the best of their many gorgeous looks, in my opinion, evoking memories of Junior Seau, LaDainian Tominson and, especially, the 1994 team which was the only one in club history to play in the Super Bowl – for this AFC West clash. Fun fact: the Chiefs are the only team in the league without any kind of alternate uniform … for now.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Glorious Seahawks vs. Broncos throwback uniform showdown is NFL's best this season
