NFL schedule fans, rejoice. The complete 2026 NFL schedule will be released in its entirety tonight after a week’s worth of slow and steady announcements on select matchups.
The opener might be a doozy, with NFL insider Jordan Schultz reporting that the Seattle Seahawks will open their Super Bowl title defense against the team they beat to win it, the New England Patriots.
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Schultz also reported Wednesday that the Buffalo Bills hosting the Kansas City Chiefs will be the nightcap on Thanksgiving Day, rounding out a blockbuster 24 hours of games.
Also on Wednesday, Netflix revealed the matchup for the first Thanksgiving Eve game, and it’s a good one: Green Bay Packers at Los Angeles Rams.
And on Thursday, the NFL confirmed the Chicago Bears will play the Detroit Lions in one of the other Thanksgiving games.
Plus, the NFL released its full slate of international games for the upcoming season.
With the schedule release comes the onslaught of schedule release videos from each team (hopefully including another A+ release from the Los Angeles Chargers social media team) — and, of course, fans can officially start to plan their attendance schedules for the season.
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Start time: 8 p.m. ET
TV channels: NFL Network, ESPN2
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Follow along with Yahoo Sports for the latest news and live updates on the 2026 NFL schedule release.
Live3 updatesThu, May 14, 2026 at 5:30 AM PDT
Yahoo Sports Staff
The NFL is absolutely stacking the Thanksgiving slate this season, according to reports.
The Buffalo Bills will host the Kansas City Chiefs on NBC on Thanksgiving night, according to NFL insider Jordan Schultz. That comes after the Detroit Lions open the day hosting the Chicago Bears on CBS, also per Schultz, and the Dallas Cowboys host the Philadelphia Eagles on Fox, which was announced on Monday.
The NFL is also having a dedicated Thanksgiving Eve game for the first time ever, with the Green Bay Packers visiting the Los Angeles Rams on Netflix.
What does this leave for Week 12 Sunday?
Thu, May 14, 2026 at 5:11 AM PDT
Chris Cwik
Hours before the official unveiling of the full 2026 NFL schedule, the league decided to hit fans with one more surprise announcement.
The Chicago Bears will travel to play the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving in 2026.
Previously, the NFL confirmed the Dallas Cowboys would host the Philadelphia Eagles on Thanksgiving.
That leaves one more unannounced Thanksgiving game in 2026, though there are rumors it will involve the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs.
Thu, May 14, 2026 at 5:00 AM PDT
Kate Magdziuk
Though we’re still waiting on the actual NFL schedule, each team’s opponents have been set since the conclusion of the 2025-26 regular season.
Based on each team’s opponent win percentage from last season, the Cleveland Browns have the league’s easiest strength of schedule (.429 opponent win percentage).
The Chicago Bears have the league’s most challenging schedule with an opponent win percentage of .550.
Find out where your team falls in the league’s strength-of-schedule rankings.👇