Complete 2026 NFL Schedule: Every Team, Every Week, Every Bye
The NFL released its 2026 regular-season schedule on May 14, and it opens with a wrinkle nobody has seen in more than a decade: a Wednesday night kickoff.
The 18-week, 272-game season begins Wednesday, September 9, 2026, when the New England Patriots visit the Seattle Seahawks at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC — a Super Bowl LX rematch in the building where Seattle lifted the trophy. It ends Sunday, January 10, 2027, with a full slate of division games.
This is your complete guide to the 2026 season: the key dates, every team’s bye week, the international slate, the holiday games, and the flexible-scheduling rules that will reshape December before you get there.
Why the 2026 Season Starts on a Wednesday
The last Wednesday opener was in 2012, and the reason for this one is logistical rather than ceremonial.
The league wanted an international game in Australia during Week 1. Because of the time difference, an Australian kickoff lands on a Thursday in the United States — the slot the season opener normally occupies. Moving the opener to Wednesday cleared the runway.
Why not simply push the opener to Friday or Saturday? A 1961 federal law — the Sports Broadcasting Act — restricts NFL broadcasts on Friday nights and Saturdays during the high school football season, protecting prep programs from competing with the pros. That restriction runs through mid-December, which is also why you see almost no Saturday NFL games until Weeks 16, 17 and 18.
Week 1 wraps up on Monday, September 14, when the Denver Broncos visit the Kansas City Chiefs at 8:15 p.m. ET on ESPN.
2026 NFL Season: Key Dates at a Glance
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Season opener (Patriots at Seahawks, NBC) | Wed, Sept 9 |
| Week 1 Sunday slate | Sun, Sept 13 |
| Week 1 Monday nightcap (Broncos at Chiefs, ESPN) | Mon, Sept 14 |
| First bye weeks (Panthers, Chiefs) | Week 5, Oct 11 |
| Thanksgiving games | Thu, Nov 26 |
| Christmas games | Fri, Dec 25 |
| Final bye weeks (Cardinals, Cowboys) | Week 14, Dec 13 |
| Week 18 Saturday games | Sat, Jan 9, 2027 |
| Regular season ends | Sun, Jan 10, 2027 |
Week-by-Week: The 2026 Sunday Calendar
Every week except the first runs on the familiar Thursday–Sunday–Monday rhythm. Here are the anchor Sunday dates for all 18 weeks:
| Week | Sunday date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sept 13 | Wed opener Sept 9; Mon finale Sept 14 |
| 2 | Sept 20 | Thursday night returns Sept 17 |
| 3 | Sept 27 | |
| 4 | Oct 4 | |
| 5 | Oct 11 | Byes begin |
| 6 | Oct 18 | |
| 7 | Oct 25 | |
| 8 | Nov 1 | |
| 9 | Nov 8 | |
| 10 | Nov 15 | |
| 11 | Nov 22 | Six teams on bye — the season’s largest |
| 12 | Nov 29 | Thanksgiving Thu Nov 26; no byes |
| 13 | Dec 6 | |
| 14 | Dec 13 | Final byes |
| 15 | Dec 20 | |
| 16 | Dec 27 | Christmas slate Fri Dec 25; Saturday games return |
| 17 | Jan 3, 2027 | |
| 18 | Jan 10, 2027 | Sat Jan 9 tripleheader; all division games |
Every 2026 NFL Bye Week, by Week
Byes run from Week 5 through Week 14. There are no byes in Weeks 1–4, none in Week 12 — Thanksgiving week, when all 32 teams play — and none in Weeks 15–18.
Week 5 (Oct 11): Carolina Panthers, Kansas City Chiefs
Week 6 (Oct 18): Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings
Week 7 (Oct 25): Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Chargers, Washington Commanders
Week 8 (Nov 1): Houston Texans, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers
Week 9 (Nov 8): Pittsburgh Steelers, Tennessee Titans
Week 10 (Nov 15): Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Philadelphia Eagles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 11 (Nov 22): Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks
Week 12 (Nov 29): None
Week 13 (Dec 6): Baltimore Ravens, Indianapolis Colts, Las Vegas Raiders, New York Jets
Week 14 (Dec 13): Arizona Cardinals, Dallas Cowboys
Every 2026 NFL Bye Week, by Team
| Team | Bye | Team | Bye |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona Cardinals | Week 14 | Los Angeles Rams | Week 11 |
| Atlanta Falcons | Week 11 | Miami Dolphins | Week 6 |
| Baltimore Ravens | Week 13 | Minnesota Vikings | Week 6 |
| Buffalo Bills | Week 7 | New England Patriots | Week 11 |
| Carolina Panthers | Week 5 | New Orleans Saints | Week 8 |
| Chicago Bears | Week 10 | New York Giants | Week 8 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | Week 6 | New York Jets | Week 13 |
| Cleveland Browns | Week 11 | Philadelphia Eagles | Week 10 |
| Dallas Cowboys | Week 14 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Week 9 |
| Denver Broncos | Week 10 | San Francisco 49ers | Week 8 |
| Detroit Lions | Week 6 | Seattle Seahawks | Week 11 |
| Green Bay Packers | Week 11 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Week 10 |
| Houston Texans | Week 8 | Tennessee Titans | Week 9 |
| Indianapolis Colts | Week 13 | Washington Commanders | Week 7 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | Week 7 | ||
| Kansas City Chiefs | Week 5 | ||
| Las Vegas Raiders | Week 13 | ||
| Los Angeles Chargers | Week 7 |
What the Bye Distribution Means for Fantasy Managers
Week 11 is the problem week. Six teams are off — Atlanta, Cleveland, Green Bay, the Rams, New England and Seattle — which is the largest single-week bye cluster of the season and a genuine roster-construction trap.
Consider the overlap: A.J. Brown and Drake Maye (New England), Jaxon Smith-Njigba (Seattle), Drake London and Bijan Robinson (Atlanta), Kyren Williams and Puka Nacua (the Rams), Josh Jacobs and Tucker Kraft (Green Bay), Quinshon Judkins (Cleveland). If you draft from that pool without tracking byes, you can end up starting three replacement-level players in the same week your league’s playoff seeding is being decided.
Weeks 6, 7, 8, 10 and 13 each have four teams off, which is manageable. Weeks 5, 9 and 14 have only two apiece — those are the light weeks. And because nobody rests in Week 12, Thanksgiving week is the one guaranteed full-strength slate of the back half.
For a full breakdown of who to draft around these byes, see our 2026 top 200 rankings.
Rematches: The League Leaned Into Last Season
The 2026 slate features 13 Super Bowl rematches and 12 rematches from the 2025 postseason. Three carry real weight:
- Super Bowl LX rematch: Patriots at Seahawks, Week 1 — the season opener.
- AFC Championship rematch: Broncos at Patriots, Week 17. Denver went 14-3 and hosted the title game before its offense managed just seven points.
- NFC Championship rematch: Rams and Seahawks meet twice down the stretch, in Week 16 and again in Week 18.
Scheduling the Super Bowl rematch as the opener and both conference title rematches in the final three weeks is deliberate. The league front-loaded its best story and saved the rest for when the standings matter most.
International Games in 2026
The 2026 international slate visits four cities: Melbourne, Rio de Janeiro, Paris and Madrid. The Melbourne game is the one that reshaped the calendar — it’s the Australian fixture that pushed the season opener to Wednesday.
International games kick off at unusual hours for US audiences, typically in the 9:30 a.m. ET window. For fantasy managers, that means lineups lock earlier than usual those weeks.
Thanksgiving and Christmas 2026
Thanksgiving falls on Thursday, November 26, inside Week 12 — which is precisely why no team has a bye that week. FOX carries one of the day’s matchups. In a notable primetime draw, the Chiefs visit the Bills on Thanksgiving night at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC.
Christmas falls on a Friday in 2026 — December 25, landing inside Week 16. Netflix returns with Christmas coverage, and FOX airs a matchup as well. The Friday date is a scheduling gift: unlike 2024’s Wednesday Christmas, a Friday holiday slots cleanly against the weekend.
The December Catch: Weeks 16, 17 and 18 Aren’t Fully Set
This is the part most schedule pages bury, and it matters most to anyone planning travel or a watch party.
Four matchups in Week 16 and four in Week 17 are designated as flexible — the opponents are locked, but the day and kickoff time are not.
Week 16: Two of the four designated games will be played Saturday at 4:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. ET on NFL Network. The rest land on Thursday night (8:15 p.m.), Sunday afternoon (1:00 or 4:25 p.m.), Sunday night (8:20 p.m.) or Monday night (8:15 p.m.). Final assignments come no later than immediately after Week 14.
Week 17: Two of the four will be played Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBC and 8:00 p.m. ET on Peacock, with the remainder in the usual windows. Assignments come no later than immediately after Week 15.
Week 18: The entire week is unassigned until Week 17 concludes. Three games go Saturday, January 9 — 1:00 p.m. ET on Netflix, then 4:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN/ABC — with the other 13 on Sunday, January 10. All 16 Week 18 games are division matchups, a format the league uses to maximize the number of games with playoff stakes.
Practical translation: if your team has a designated Week 16 or 17 game, do not book flights until mid-December.
Sample Team Schedule: Kansas City Chiefs
Here is one full team slate to show the format, verified against the league’s official listing:
| Week | Date | Opponent | Time (ET) | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mon, Sept 14 | vs Broncos | 8:15 PM | ESPN |
| 2 | Sun, Sept 20 | vs Colts | 8:20 PM | NBC |
| 3 | Sun, Sept 27 | @ Dolphins | 1:00 PM | CBS |
| 4 | Sun, Oct 4 | @ Raiders | 4:25 PM | CBS |
| 5 | — | BYE | — | — |
| 6 | Sun, Oct 18 | vs Chargers | 4:25 PM | CBS |
| 7 | Sun, Oct 25 | @ Seahawks | 8:20 PM | NBC |
| 8 | Sun, Nov 1 | @ Broncos | 4:25 PM | CBS |
| 9 | Sun, Nov 8 | vs Jets | 1:00 PM | CBS |
| 10 | Sun, Nov 15 | @ Falcons | 1:00 PM | CBS |
| 11 | Sun, Nov 22 | vs Cardinals | 1:00 PM | CBS |
| 12 | Thu, Nov 26 | @ Bills | 8:20 PM | NBC |
| 13 | Thu, Dec 3 | @ Rams | 8:15 PM | Prime |
| 14 | Sun, Dec 13 | @ Bengals | 4:25 PM | FOX |
| 15 | Mon, Dec 21 | vs Patriots | 8:15 PM | ESPN |
| 16 | Sun, Dec 27 | vs 49ers | 4:25 PM | CBS |
| 17 | TBD | @ Chargers | TBD | TBD |
| 18 | TBD | vs Raiders | TBD | TBD |
Note the Week 17 and Week 18 entries — opponent confirmed, timing pending. That pattern repeats across all 32 teams.
How the 17th Game Works in 2026
Each team plays 17 games: six against division rivals (home and away), four against a division in its own conference, four against a division in the other conference, and two against same-conference teams that finished in the same divisional position the prior year.
The 17th game pairs teams from opposite conferences that finished in the same standing within their divisions last season. Because home field for that game alternates by conference, the NFC hosts all 17th games in 2026.
FAQ
When does the 2026 NFL season start? Wednesday, September 9, 2026, with the Patriots at the Seahawks at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC.
Why is the 2026 opener on a Wednesday? To accommodate an international game in Australia on Thursday. The Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 blocks Friday and Saturday broadcasts during high school football season, so Wednesday was the only option.
When does the 2026 NFL regular season end? Sunday, January 10, 2027. Three games are played Saturday, January 9. All 16 Week 18 games are division matchups.
Which week has the most teams on bye? Week 11, with six: Atlanta, Cleveland, Green Bay, the Rams, New England and Seattle.
Are any teams on bye during Thanksgiving week? No. All 32 teams play in Week 12.
How many games are in the 2026 NFL season? 272 regular-season games across 18 weeks, with each team playing 17.
Why are some December games listed as TBD? Four games each in Weeks 16 and 17 are flexibly scheduled, and all of Week 18 is unassigned until Week 17 finishes. Opponents are set; kickoff times are not.
This page is updated as flexible-scheduling assignments are announced. Bookmark it and check back in December, when Weeks 16 through 18 are finalized.
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