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The 2026 NFL schedule has been revealed, and there's a ton of information to digest in terms of the dates and times all 32 teams are playing their 17 regular-season games over 18 weeks.
Although most games will still kick off at 1 p.m. ET on Sundays from early September to early January ahead of the playoffs leading up to Super Bowl 61 next Feb. in Los Angeles, there are typical wrinkles with plenty of matchups outside of that window, from nights to holidays to international games.
Here are the fast facts you need to know, all in one place:
MORE: Full 2026 NFL schedule featuring dates, times and networks for every game
NFL 2026 schedule fast facts
When does the NFL season start?
The NFL season kicks off on Wednesday night, Sept. 9, picking up where it left off on Sunday, Feb. 8, as the Patriots will travel to the Seahawks in an immediate Super Bowl 60 rematch. New England will need to relive the misery of a brutal 29-13 loss in a hostile environment as Seattle celebrates its championship for "The 12s."
Here's looking at all the other season-opening matchups on the Week 1 schedule:
Thursday, Sept. 10
8:35 p.m. ET, Netflix (in Melbourne, Australia)
- 49ers at Rams
Sunday, Sept. 13
1 p.m. ET
- Falcons at Steelers (Fox)
- Ravens at Colts (CBS)
- Bills at Texans (CBS)
- Bears at Panthers (Fox)
- Browns at Jaguars (CBS)
- Saints at Lions (Fox)
- Jets at Titans (CBS)
- Buccaneers at Bengals (Fox)
4:25 p.m. ET
- Cardinals at Rams (CBS)
- Packers at Vikings (CBS)
- Dolphins at Raiders (Fox)
- Commanders at Eagles (Fox)
8:20 p.m. ET
- Cowboys at Giants (NBC)
Monday, Sept. 14
8:15 p.m. ET
- Broncos at Chiefs (ESPN/ABC)
Who plays in the most prime-time games?
The Rams and Bills leading the league with seven each is a bit of a surprise, as they edged the half-dozen total of the Chiefs, Cowboys, Seahawks and Packers. It's also odd the reigning AFC champion Patriots and rising NFC power Bears settled for a tie for third with five.
The Rams will play the 49ers, Giants, Broncos and Bills after 8 p.m. ET in four of their first five games. Then they wait until after the Week 11 bye to play the Packers, Chiefs and Seahawks at night. The Bills also play the Lions, Vikings, Chiefs, Packers and Bears at night and have a Christmas late-afternoon tilt at the Broncos.
MORE: What are the best QB matchups on the 2026 NFL schedule?
Who plays in the least prime-time games?
The Cardinals, Dolphins, Jets, Titans and Raiders are five of the six teams with the worst consensus odds to win Super Bowl 61. None of those teams will be playing under the lights during the 2026 season, barring a shocking development in late flex scheduling. Somehow the Browns got one night game, a Week 4 Thursday home battle vs. the Steelers. The Saints should have gotten more marquee love, but they will settle for hosting a Week 4 Monday nighter against the Falcons.
Who plays in the most international games?
The NFL is playing an unprecedented nine regular-season games outside of the United States, with seven foreign countries represented: Australia, Brazil, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Germany and Mexico.
Three of the games will be in London (Week 4, Week 5, Week 6), while the others are in Melbourne (Week 1), Rio de Janeiro (Week 3), Paris (Week 7), Madrid (Week 9), Munich (Week 10) and Mexico City (Week 11). That means for half of the weeks on the 18-week schedule, there will be two teams in an overseas matchup.
The 49ers go to Australia and Mexico, while the Jaguars play in London twice. Incredibly, 16 of the league's 32 teams (also half) will be preparing for a game far from home.
MORE: Early 2026 win total and NFL playoff predictions
Who plays the most Sunday night games?
The Cowboys have three appearances on NBC's "SNF" package, Week 1 at the Giants, Week 8 at the Packers and Week 16 vs. the Jaguars. They edge out the Eagles (2), Patriots (2), 49ers (2), Steelers (2), Packers (2), Lions (2) and Vikings (2)
Who plays the most Monday night games?
The Eagles and Chiefs lead a sizable group with the high of two appearances on MNF on ESPN/ABC. The Bills and Rams each have two, including one each against each other.
Who plays the most Thursday night games?
The Packers, Patriots, Ravens, Texans, Steelers, Broncos each have two appearances on TNF, the midweek package on Amazon Prime Video. The Broncos-Steelers game in Week 12 is really the "Black Friday" extension of this on the day after Thanksgiving.
Who plays in the Thanksgiving games?
Thanksgiving in 2026 arrives on Thursday, Nov. 26. The NFL again features a special tripleheader of action:
- Bears at Lions (1 p.m. ET, CBS)
- Eagles at Cowboys (4:30 p.m. ET, Fox)
- Chiefs at Bills (8:20 p.m. ET)
MORE: Every NFL team's strength of schedule in 2026
Who plays in the Christmas Day games?
Not to let Thanksgiving have all the holiday fun, Friday Dec. 25 looks like it's keeping up with a new tradition:
- Packers at Bears (1 p.m. ET, Netflix)
- Bills at Broncos (4:30 p.m. ET, Netflix)
- Rams at Seahawks (8:15 p.m. ET, Fox)
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