The 2026 NFL regular season schedule was released last week. The latest YouTube video from Wolf Sports dives into how the schedule makers went all out this year. It starts with the holidays, which the NFL has leaned more and more into being associated with.
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In past years, the NFL seemingly hasn’t wanted to totally load up Thanksgiving and Christmas with the best matchups of the season. For 2026, they didn’t hold back. Thanksgiving includes Bears-Lions, Eagles-Cowboys, and Chiefs-Bills. Meanwhile, Christmas Day is three playoff rematches in Packers-Bears, Bills-Broncos, and Rams-Seahawks. You can’t ask for more.
Chiefs-Bills
That the highly anticipated showdown between Kansas City and Buffalo has moved from the typical 4:25 PM ET timeslot with Jim Nantz and Tony Romo to Thanksgiving Night on NBC says it all. The NFL is putting its biggest games in its biggest time slots. The final game on Thanksgiving might break a record in viewership for a regular season game.
Cold Weather
Not only are the matchups on the holidays great, but the locations are awesome. Thanksgiving sort of kicks off the holiday season, and that night game after the two traditional dome games in Detroit and Dallas comes in Buffalo. Black Friday is in Pittsburgh. Philly hosts Christmas Eve. The Christmas games are in Chicago, Denver, and Seattle. And even New Year’s Eve is in Cincinnati. It just feels right, rather than having these games in warm weather or in domes.
Watch the full video on YouTube, and subscribe to Wolf Sports on YouTube for more content like this.