Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The NFL's 2026 schedule features a primetime-heavy slate but excludes five teams from national television entirely.
- Week 5 stands out with three highlighted matchups, including a Sunday night clash between two Super Bowl contenders.
- The Christmas tripleheader will feature a pivotal NFC West showdown that could shape the playoff picture.
The NFL Schedule is officially out and fans have started to make their travel and viewing plans for the season. The league has worked hard to put together an attractive schedule for fans, shutting out the five teams they perceive to be the worst (the Las Vegas Raiders, Arizona Cardinals, Tennessee Titans, New York Jets and Miami Dolphins) out of national television games entirely to put the spotlight on everyone else.
The result is a slate that is stacked with must-see matchups in primetime, on holidays, overseas and more. With so many must-watch games there is a lot of FOMO on the 2026 slate, but we have saved you some time and highlighted 10 of the most interesting matchups you won't want to miss.
10. Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys, Week 12
An Eagles-Cowboys showdown is always a noteworthy contest that networks love to fight for. The first matchup in Philadelphia will air in primetime on Monday Night Football, but we have tapped the Thanksgiving Day visit to Dallas as a contest that could have massive postseason implications.
The NFL is clearly pursuing record ratings from the middle Thanksgiving game, as we saw with last season's Chiefs-Cowboys clash on CBS. FOX is hoping that another highly entertaining Eagles-Cowboys showdown can top that number, especially if they are jousting for first place in the NFC East by the time Thanksgiving rolls around.
9. San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks, Week 5
Since the NFC West was a dominating force last season it shouldn't be shocking to see a slew of matchups involving their teams on the list. A postseason rematch between San Francisco and Seattle will be played twice but we are spotlighting the earlier meeting, which will come at Lumen Field in Week 5 and air on FOX in the late doubleheader window.
The rivalry between the 49ers and Seahawks always delivers, with both regular season meetings last year featuring tight games before Seattle blew out an injury-riddled San Francisco squad in the Divisional Round. Expect a lot of pent-up anger from the 49ers, who will look to return to the scene of the crime and avenge a 41-6 loss in this one.
8. Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers, Week 5
This is another compelling Week 5 playoff rematch between the Bears and Packers, who delivered one of the postseason's most memorable contests on Wild Card Weekend. Chicago pulled off a huge second half rally that had Green Bay fans calling for Matt LaFleur's job, but Week 5's trip to Lambeau Field offers the Packers a chance to settle the score a bit.
Ben Johnson's team enters this contest with the weight of expectations, now bearing the crown as the reigning NFC North Champions. It is a bit rare to see Chicago head to Lambeau with a reasonable expectation to win that game of late, so this could be a nice test to see if the Bears are more than a one-year wonder.
7. Buffalo Bills at Los Angeles Rams, Week 5
Week 5 is incredibly stacked, as this Bills-Rams Sunday night contest is our third straight game we are highlighting from the slate. These two powerhouses are true Super Bowl contenders and could meet again at SoFi Stadium on Valentine's Day if all goes well for them over the course of the year.
The highlight of this matchup is the quarterback duel between the last two MVPs, Buffalo's Josh Allen and Los Angeles' Matthew Stafford. Having the matchup here in Week 5 is also nice since it allows each team to get into the flow of the regular season before staging a very important contest.
6. New England Patriots at Seattle Seahawks, Week 1
Any time you can have a Super Bowl rematch on your schedule it belongs on this list. The NFL got lucky that New England was scheduled to go to Seattle as their 17th game opponent this season, taking advantage of that matchup to make the Patriots be on hand to watch the Seahawks raise their title banner in the league's kickoff game.
There is a bit of risk that this game turns ugly, especially given how dominant Seattle looked against New England in the Super Bowl. Playing that contest in Week 1, however, does mitigate that risk from a viewership perspective since football-starved fans will eagerly tune in to check out this game.
5. San Francisco 49ers as. Los Angeles Rams, Week 1
The only international game to crack the list is the NFL's first-ever Australia game, which will air on Thursday night in Week 1 on Netflix. The 49ers and Rams have played some tremendous games over the years as the coaching rivalry between Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay has led to some excellent contests, including a showdown in the 2021 NFC Championship Game.
The intrigue factor here comes from having the game played in Australia, which has a 17-hour time difference from California. Having such a pivotal divisional game be played overseas in front of a highly passionate crowd rates as must-see TV.
4. Denver Broncos at New England Patriots, Week 17
The NFL is making us wait a long time for the conference championship rematches, as evidenced by assigning Denver-New England to Week 17. The exact timing of the game is to be determined since the NFL put it in a pool of four games to be assigned to NBC or Peacock on that Saturday, but if both teams live up to expectations Broncos-Patriots will be in prime time.
There is definitely a feeling from Broncos fans that they didn't have a true shot to win that AFC title game after starting quarterback Bo Nix suffered a season-ending ankle injury in an overtime win against the Bills in the Divisional Round. Assuming health this far into a season is risky but it is one that could pay off with an epic standalone game on the first Saturday of January.
3. Kansas City Chiefs at Seattle Seahawks, Week 7
We don't have a ton of great player movement angles this season, but the most notable one involves the reigning Super Bowl MVP. The Seahawks didn't make much of an effort to retain Kenneth Walker III due to salary cap concerns and watched him walk for big bucks to the Kansas City Chiefs in free agency.
Walker will be back in town for Sunday Night Football in Week 7 as two of the last three Super Bowl champions square off at Lumen Field. It will be interesting to see how Walker is received by Seattle fans as he aims to make the Seahawks pay for letting him leave.
2. Kansas City Chiefs at Buffalo Bills, Week 12
CBS was not happy when they saw the release of the NFL Schedule, which saw them lose the seemingly annual Bills-Chiefs matchup to NBC. The NFL opted to put the heavyweight clash between Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes as the capper to Thanksgiving night, meaning football fans will need to make sure they have some coffee to counteract the food coma from holiday dinner.
This rivalry has been surprisingly one-sided in the regular season, with Buffalo winning five straight there while Kansas City has owned them in the postseason. This contest will take place at the Bills' new stadium, marking its signature contest of the season.
1. Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks, Week 16
The series between the Rams and Seahawks was incredibly tight last season, with all three meetings coming down to the wire, including the NFC Championship game. The NFL is banking on both teams being elite again as they waited until Week 16 to schedule a rematch in Seattle, with the game capping the Christmas tripleheader on FOX.
Claiming the stage on Christmas has been a new goal for Roger Goodell so the league has tried to stack marquee games on the holiday to counteract the NBA's historical hold on the holiday. Rams-Seahawks has the potential to deliver a pivotal result in the NFC playoff race and draw huge ratings if both teams are fighting for the NFC West crown.
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