There has been no official announcement yet, but the 2026 NFL schedule is set to release next Wednesday or Thursday—and broadcast partners are expected to reveal some big-time games earlier in the week. The league obviously has endless combinations when it comes to putting the schedule together, and I thought it’d be fun to take a shot at “predicting” matchups for key dates on the calendar.
Kickoff game
Bears @ Seahawks
One of the few things we do know at this point is that the Seahawks will be hosting the first game of the season on Wednesday, September 9—so there are seven opponents that are a possibility (the Rams and 49ers can’t be chosen because they play the next day in Australia). The Bears seem like the clear choice with a top defensive head coach in Mike Macdonald taking on a top offensive head coach in Ben Johnson. For those anticipating a Super Bowl rematch, I’d say that is more likely to be a Sunday Night Football matchup later in the fall.
Halloween (Oct. 29, TNF)
Saints @ Ravens
Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, so the Thursday Night Football matchup in Week 8 is the closest we’ll get to a game on the holiday. Baltimore taking on either the Browns or Bengals as a divisional opponent would also be a great option, but New Orleans finished strong in 2025 and could be a fresher matchup with all the talent added around Tyler Shough this offseason. Also, it’d be a nice spotlight opportunity for the Saints after zero primetime games scheduled for them last year.
Thanksgiving Eve
Bills @ Packers
The NFL is loading up on Thanksgiving week by adding a game on Thanksgiving Eve (and it sounds like a second matchup on Black Friday), so look for this one to be a marquee matchup between two contenders. Buffalo has become arguably the league’s biggest draw in recent years, and Lambeau Field feels like the ideal location to host the inaugural game on Thanksgiving Eve.
Thanksgiving
Giants @ Lions
New York again being out of playoff contention before Halloween would make this a disappointing selection, but I could see the NFL wanting to place them here with the hopes they’ll be on the upswing under John Harbuagh. The play style of Harbaugh teams would make this a fun one versus the Lions—who despite their recent success have continued to struggle on Thanksgiving with a 1-8 record over the past nine years.
Eagles @ Cowboys
Eagles-Cowboys might be a game that stands on its own rather than being played on Thanksgiving, but it’s been over a decade since Philadelphia played on the holiday (a 45-14 blowout to the Lions)—and maybe Dallas will think it’s their time to get some revenge for the 33-10 loss to the Eagles the year prior. After Chiefs-Cowboys set the all-time regular season viewership record, I like the chances of the classic NFC East rivalry being selected to try to top it.
Rams @ Broncos
Denver will almost certainly be featured in at least one of these key games, but Christmas might be less likely after they beat the Chiefs on Christmas Night last year. Instead, we could see the Broncos host the Rams in a potential Super Bowl preview on Thanksgiving Night, and NBC might be taking last year’s SNF thriller versus Washington on Thanksgiving weekend into consideration for Bo Nix and company being featured.
Black Friday
Ravens @ Colts
The Colts were a legitimate contender before Daniel Jones went down last season, and Black Friday is a good spot for them to get the spotlight. It’s worth noting that Daniel Jones had success versus Baltimore in the past with a 24-20 win as a member of the Giants back in 2022, and it’d be awesome to see Derrick Henry and Jonathan Taylor share the field again as former AFC South opponents.
Jaguars @ Bengals
I have some questions about Jacksonville this year with Travis Etienne Jr. and Devin Lloyd gone, but they are looking to build on a playoff berth in 2025, while Cincinnati added Dexter Lawrence II to vault them back into the Super Bowl picture. After hitting the road last year on Thanksgiving (with Joe Burrow returning to lead a primetime win over the Ravens), maybe the Bengals will get a chance to host the first Black Friday nightcap.
Christmas Eve
Patriots @ Chiefs
The Chiefs figure to factor in somewhere on the holiday schedule, and their desire to play every year on Christmas—which was shut down by the league despite headlining again in 2025—gets an off ramp here by pushing them instead to December 24. New England having a Super Bowl hangover would be the concern, but they have frequently played on Christmas Eve, and I expect the NFL will schedule them with the expectation that they’ll be a top team in 2026.
Christmas Day
Bengals @ Texans
Christmas Day is probably the toughest slate to put together, as there is a balance between wanting all teams that will be in contention—but not totally loading it up (for example, Chiefs-Bills is probably a lock to get a late-afternoon window on CBS once again). Houston might be too good defensively to take a step back, and the Bengals mostly need to have Joe Burrow stay healthy.
Seahawks @ Eagles
I’m interested to see how much respect the defending champion Seahawks get this year in terms of their standalone games, but heading to Philadelphia on Christmas Day for a battle between the last two Super Bowl winners would be exciting. With all the talent on both sides of the ball for each team, Seahawks-Eagles should be a strong option for either Christmas or Thanksgiving week.
Bears @ Bills
FOX is set to have the primetime matchup on Christmas Night, and my guess is that Bears-Bills will be right at the top of their wish list. Last year, Chicago came through with some of the most memorable moments of the season, and the first ever matchup between Caleb Williams and Josh Allen would be the perfect way to end the best day of the year.