The NFL announced its 17-week, 256-game regular-season schedule for 2016, which kicks off on Thursday night, September 8 in Denver and concludes on Sunday, January 1 with 16 division games.
The season begins with the NFL’s annual primetime kickoff game. The opener on September 8 on NBC (8:30 PM ET) will spotlight the defending champion Denver Broncos hosting the Carolina Panthers in a Super Bowl 50 rematch at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. It marks the first Super Bowl rematch played on Kickoff Weekend since 1970 (Kansas City-Minnesota).
Week 1 is a FOX national weekend with the key doubleheader game on Sunday, September 11 (4:25 PM ET) featuring the New York Giants at the Dallas Cowboys in a clash between NFC East rivals. Among the highlights in the 1:00 PM ET window on Kickoff Weekend showcases the New York Jets at home on September 11 hosting the Cincinnati Bengals on CBS.
NBC’s Sunday Night Football gets underway on September 11 when the Arizona Cardinals host the New England Patriots (8:30 PM ET) at University of Phoenix Stadium. Both clubs advanced to the Conference Championship Game last season.
Kickoff Weekend concludes on Monday, September 12 with an ESPN Monday Night Football doubleheader. The Washington Redskins will host the Pittsburgh Steelers (7:10 PM ET) in the first game followed by the return of the Los Angeles Rams, who visit the San Francisco 49ers in the nightcap (10:20 PM ET).
ESPN will televise one game each Monday night in Weeks 2-16. There will be no Monday night game on the final regular-season weekend (Week 17) to provide more flexibility for the scheduling of the opening weekend of the NFL playoffs.
A select number of games will be “cross-flexed,” moving between CBS and FOX to bring potentially under-distributed games to wider audiences. Some of those contests were announced today, including the Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions (12:30 PM ET, CBS) on Thanksgiving Day and the Philadelphia Eagles at Seattle Seahawks (4:25 PM ET, CBS) in Week 11 (Sunday, November 20). Other “cross-flexed” games will be decided during the season.
The regular season will conclude with Week 17 on Sunday, January 1. For the seventh consecutive year, all 16 games scheduled for Week 17 are division contests, enhancing the potential for more games with playoff ramifications. Additionally, over the final three weeks there are 33 division games, tied for the most in NFL history.
Other highlights of the schedule:
In Week 2, the Rams will return home to Los Angeles when they host the Seattle Seahawks at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Sunday afternoon (4:05 PM ET, FOX). That night in primetime (8:30 PM ET, NBC), the Minnesota Vikings will open their new home – U.S. Bank Stadium – when they host the rival Green Bay Packers.
On Monday night, September 26, the New Orleans Saints will host the Atlanta Falcons at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The game will commemorate the 10th anniversary of the reopening of the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina when the Saints defeated the Falcons 23-3 on Monday night, September 25, 2006.
Thanksgiving will feature a tripleheader on Thursday, November 24. The first game will send the Minnesota Vikings to Detroit to face the Lions (12:30 PM ET, CBS). The late afternoon game will feature the Washington Redskins visiting the Dallas Cowboys (4:30 PM ET, FOX). The holiday concludes with the Indianapolis Colts hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers on NBC (8:30 PM ET).
In Week 16, the majority of games will be played on Saturday, December 24 due to the Christmas holiday, highlighted by a primetime matchup on NFL Network between the Cincinnati Bengals visiting the Houston Texans (8:25 PM ET). There will be two games played on Christmas – the Pittsburgh Steelers hosting the Baltimore Ravens on NFL Network (4:30 PM ET) followed by the Denver Broncos visiting the Kansas City Chiefs on NBC (8:30 PM ET).
The NFL will continue its International Series of regular-season games with three games being played in London and the league’s return to Mexico City. On Sunday, October 2, the Jacksonville Jaguars will host the Indianapolis Colts at London’s Wembley Stadium (9:30 AM ET, CBS). In the first-ever NFL game at Twickenham Stadium, the Los Angeles Rams will host the New York Giants on Sunday, October 23 (9:30 AM ET, NFLN). The following week, the Cincinnati Bengals will host the Washington Redskins at Wembley on Sunday, October 30 (9:30 AM ET, FOX). The NFL will return to Mexico City on Monday, November 21 (8:30 PM ET, ESPN) when the Oakland Raiders host the Houston Texans in the first-ever Monday Night Football game to be played outside the United States.
This season, the NFL will use a “Tri-Cast” distribution model of broadcast (CBS/NBC), cable (NFL Network) and digital (Twitter) for 10 Thursday Night Football games. CBS and NBC will each broadcast five Thursday Night Football games which will be simulcast on NFL Network and streamed to a global audience across devices for free on Twitter. CBS will start in Week 2 (Thursday, September 15) with the Buffalo Bills hosting the New York Jets (8:25 PM ET) and NBC’s package begins in Week 11 (Thursday, November 17) with the New Orleans Saints visiting the Carolina Panthers (8:25 PM ET). Additionally, NFL Network will also exclusively televise an eight-game schedule comprised of four Thursday Night Football games, two late-season Saturday contests, a Sunday morning London matchup and a Christmas Day game.
The NFL’s 32 teams will each play 16 games over 17 weeks. Byes will begin in Week 4 and end in Week 13. “Flexible scheduling” will be used in Weeks 10-15 and 17. Additionally, in Weeks 5-9, flexible scheduling may be used in no more than two weeks. In Weeks 5-15, the schedule lists the games tentatively set for Sunday Night Football on NBC. Only Sunday afternoon games are eligible to be moved to Sunday night, in which case the tentatively scheduled Sunday night game would be moved to an afternoon start time. Flexible scheduling will not be applied to games airing on Thursday, Saturday or Monday nights. A flexible scheduling move would be announced at least 12 days before the game. For Week 17, the Sunday night game will be announced no later than six days prior to January 1. The schedule does not list a Sunday night game in Week 17, but an afternoon game with playoff implications will be moved to that time slot. Flexible scheduling ensures quality matchups in all Sunday time slots in those weeks and gives “surprise” teams a chance to play their way into prime time.
The playoffs will include four division winners and two wild cards from each conference. The playoffs begin with Wild Card Weekend on Saturday and Sunday, January 7-8. The two division winners with the best records in each conference will earn first-round byes.
Wild Card Weekend winners join the top two division champions in each conference in the Divisional Playoffs on Saturday and Sunday, January 14-15. The AFC and NFC Championship Games will be played on Sunday, January 22. The winners meet two weeks later on Sunday, February 5 in Super Bowl LI at Houston’s NRG Stadium (FOX).
The NFL is the only sports league that presents all regular-season and postseason games on free, over-the-air television in local markets. All postseason games are televised nationally.
Westwood One will broadcast on radio all NFL primetime games, the three Thanksgiving Day games and the entire NFL playoffs.
For ticket information, fans may visit www.nfl.com/tickets.
2016 NFL SCHEDULE
(Games grouped by start times and listed alphabetically by home team)
WEEK 1
Thursday, September 08, 2016
Carolina Panthers at Denver Broncos
Sunday, September 11, 2016
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons
Buffalo Bills at Baltimore Ravens
Chicago Bears at Houston Texans
Green Bay Packers at Jacksonville Jaguars
San Diego Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs
Oakland Raiders at New Orleans Saints
Cincinnati Bengals at New York Jets
Cleveland Browns at Philadelphia Eagles
Minnesota Vikings at Tennessee Titans
Miami Dolphins at Seattle Seahawks
New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys
Detroit Lions at Indianapolis Colts
New England Patriots at Arizona Cardinals
Monday, September 12, 2016
Pittsburgh Steelers at Washington Redskins
Los Angeles Rams at San Francisco 49ers
WEEK 2
Thursday, September 15, 2016
New York Jets at Buffalo Bills
Sunday, September 18, 2016
San Francisco 49ers at Carolina Panthers
Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns
Tennessee Titans at Detroit Lions
Kansas City Chiefs at Houston Texans
Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots
New Orleans Saints at New York Giants
Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers
Dallas Cowboys at Washington Redskins
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Arizona Cardinals
Seattle Seahawks at Los Angeles Rams
Indianapolis Colts at Denver Broncos
Atlanta Falcons at Oakland Raiders
Jacksonville Jaguars at San Diego Chargers
Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings
Monday, September 19, 2016
Philadelphia Eagles at Chicago Bears
WEEK 3
Thursday, September 22, 2016
Houston Texans at New England Patriots
Sunday, September 25, 2016
Arizona Cardinals at Buffalo Bills
Minnesota Vikings at Carolina Panthers
Denver Broncos at Cincinnati Bengals
Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers
Baltimore Ravens at Jacksonville Jaguars
Cleveland Browns at Miami Dolphins
Washington Redskins at New York Giants
Oakland Raiders at Tennessee Titans
San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks
Los Angeles Rams at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
San Diego Chargers at Indianapolis Colts
New York Jets at Kansas City Chiefs
Pittsburgh Steelers at Philadelphia Eagles
Chicago Bears at Dallas Cowboys
Monday, September 26, 2016
Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints
WEEK 4
Thursday, September 29, 2016
Miami Dolphins at Cincinnati Bengals
Sunday, October 02, 2016
Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Jaguars (London)
Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons
Oakland Raiders at Baltimore Ravens
Detroit Lions at Chicago Bears
Tennessee Titans at Houston Texans
Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots
Seattle Seahawks at New York Jets
Cleveland Browns at Washington Redskins
Denver Broncos at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Los Angeles Rams at Arizona Cardinals
New Orleans Saints at San Diego Chargers
Dallas Cowboys at San Francisco 49ers
Kansas City Chiefs at Pittsburgh Steelers
Monday, October 03, 2016
New York Giants at Minnesota Vikings
Byes: Green Bay, Philadelphia
WEEK 5
Thursday, October 06, 2016
Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers
Sunday, October 09, 2016
Washington Redskins at Baltimore Ravens
New England Patriots at Cleveland Browns
Philadelphia Eagles at Detroit Lions
Chicago Bears at Indianapolis Colts
Tennessee Titans at Miami Dolphins
Houston Texans at Minnesota Vikings
New York Jets at Pittsburgh Steelers
Atlanta Falcons at Denver Broncos
Cincinnati Bengals at Dallas Cowboys
Buffalo Bills at Los Angeles Rams
San Diego Chargers at Oakland Raiders
New York Giants at Green Bay Packers *
Monday, October 10, 2016
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Carolina Panthers
Byes: Jacksonville, Kansas City, New Orleans, Seattle
WEEK 6
Thursday, October 13, 2016
Denver Broncos at San Diego Chargers
Sunday, October 16, 2016
San Francisco 49ers at Buffalo Bills
Jacksonville Jaguars at Chicago Bears
Los Angeles Rams at Detroit Lions
Pittsburgh Steelers at Miami Dolphins
Cincinnati Bengals at New England Patriots
Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints
Baltimore Ravens at New York Giants
Cleveland Browns at Tennessee Titans
Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Redskins
Kansas City Chiefs at Oakland Raiders
Dallas Cowboys at Green Bay Packers
Atlanta Falcons at Seattle Seahawks
Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans *
Monday, October 17, 2016
New York Jets at Arizona Cardinals
Byes: Minnesota, Tampa Bay
WEEK 7
Thursday, October 20, 2016
Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers
Sunday, October 23, 2016
New York Giants at Los Angeles Rams (London)
Cleveland Browns at Cincinnati Bengals
Washington Redskins at Detroit Lions
Oakland Raiders at Jacksonville Jaguars
New Orleans Saints at Kansas City Chiefs
Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins
Baltimore Ravens at New York Jets
Minnesota Vikings at Philadelphia Eagles
Indianapolis Colts at Tennessee Titans
San Diego Chargers at Atlanta Falcons
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at San Francisco 49ers
New England Patriots at Pittsburgh Steelers
Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals *
Monday, October 24, 2016
Houston Texans at Denver Broncos
Byes: Carolina, Dallas
WEEK 8
Thursday, October 27, 2016
Jacksonville Jaguars at Tennessee Titans
Sunday, October 30, 2016
Washington Redskins at Cincinnati Bengals (London)
Green Bay Packers at Atlanta Falcons
New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills
New York Jets at Cleveland Browns
Detroit Lions at Houston Texans
Kansas City Chiefs at Indianapolis Colts
Seattle Seahawks at New Orleans Saints
Oakland Raiders at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
San Diego Chargers at Denver Broncos
Arizona Cardinals at Carolina Panthers
Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys *
Monday, October 31, 2016
Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears
Byes: Baltimore, Los Angeles, Miami, NY Giants, Pittsburgh, San Francisco
WEEK 9
Thursday, November 03, 2016
Atlanta Falcons at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Sunday, November 06, 2016
Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens
Dallas Cowboys at Cleveland Browns
Jacksonville Jaguars at Kansas City Chiefs
New York Jets at Miami Dolphins
Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings
Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants
Carolina Panthers at Los Angeles Rams
New Orleans Saints at San Francisco 49ers
Indianapolis Colts at Green Bay Packers
Tennessee Titans at San Diego Chargers
Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders *
Monday, November 07, 2016
Buffalo Bills at Seattle Seahawks
Byes: Arizona, Chicago, Cincinnati, Houston, New England, Washington
WEEK 10
Thursday, November 10, 2016
Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens
Sunday, November 13, 2016
Kansas City Chiefs at Carolina Panthers
Houston Texans at Jacksonville Jaguars
Denver Broncos at New Orleans Saints
Los Angeles Rams at New York Jets
Atlanta Falcons at Philadelphia Eagles
Chicago Bears at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Green Bay Packers at Tennessee Titans
Minnesota Vikings at Washington Redskins
Miami Dolphins at San Diego Chargers
San Francisco 49ers at Arizona Cardinals
Dallas Cowboys at Pittsburgh Steelers
Seattle Seahawks at New England Patriots *
Monday, November 14, 2016
Cincinnati Bengals at New York Giants
Byes: Buffalo, Detroit, Indianapolis, Oakland
WEEK 11
Thursday, November 17, 2016
New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers
Sunday, November 20, 2016
Buffalo Bills at Cincinnati Bengals
Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns
Baltimore Ravens at Dallas Cowboys
Jacksonville Jaguars at Detroit Lions
Tennessee Titans at Indianapolis Colts
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Kansas City Chiefs
Arizona Cardinals at Minnesota Vikings
Chicago Bears at New York Giants
Miami Dolphins at Los Angeles Rams
New England Patriots at San Francisco 49ers
Philadelphia Eagles at Seattle Seahawks
Green Bay Packers at Washington Redskins *
Monday, November 21, 2016
Houston Texans at Oakland Raiders (Mexico City)
Byes: Atlanta, Denver, NY Jets, San Diego
WEEK 12
Thursday, November 24, 2016
Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions
Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys
Pittsburgh Steelers at Indianapolis Colts
Sunday, November 27, 2016
Arizona Cardinals at Atlanta Falcons
Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens
Jacksonville Jaguars at Buffalo Bills
Tennessee Titans at Chicago Bears
New York Giants at Cleveland Browns
San Diego Chargers at Houston Texans
San Francisco 49ers at Miami Dolphins
Los Angeles Rams at New Orleans Saints
Seattle Seahawks at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos
Carolina Panthers at Oakland Raiders
New England Patriots at New York Jets *
Monday, November 28, 2016
Green Bay Packers at Philadelphia Eagles
WEEK 13
Thursday, December 01, 2016
Dallas Cowboys at Minnesota Vikings
Sunday, December 04, 2016
Kansas City Chiefs at Atlanta Falcons
Miami Dolphins at Baltimore Ravens
San Francisco 49ers at Chicago Bears
Philadelphia Eagles at Cincinnati Bengals
Houston Texans at Green Bay Packers
Denver Broncos at Jacksonville Jaguars
Los Angeles Rams at New England Patriots
Detroit Lions at New Orleans Saints
Buffalo Bills at Oakland Raiders
Washington Redskins at Arizona Cardinals
New York Giants at Pittsburgh Steelers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at San Diego Chargers
Carolina Panthers at Seattle Seahawks *
Monday, December 05, 2016
Indianapolis Colts at New York Jets
Byes: Cleveland, Tennessee
WEEK 14
Thursday, December 08, 2016
Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs
Sunday, December 11, 2016
Pittsburgh Steelers at Buffalo Bills
San Diego Chargers at Carolina Panthers
Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns
Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions
Houston Texans at Indianapolis Colts
Minnesota Vikings at Jacksonville Jaguars
Arizona Cardinals at Miami Dolphins
Washington Redskins at Philadelphia Eagles
New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Denver Broncos at Tennessee Titans
New York Jets at San Francisco 49ers
Seattle Seahawks at Green Bay Packers
Atlanta Falcons at Los Angeles Rams
Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants *
Monday, December 12, 2016
Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots
WEEK 15
Thursday, December 15, 2016
Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks
Saturday, December 17, 2016
Miami Dolphins at New York Jets
Sunday, December 18, 2016
Philadelphia Eagles at Baltimore Ravens
Cleveland Browns at Buffalo Bills
Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Dallas Cowboys
Jacksonville Jaguars at Houston Texans
Tennessee Titans at Kansas City Chiefs
Indianapolis Colts at Minnesota Vikings
Detroit Lions at New York Giants
New Orleans Saints at Arizona Cardinals
San Francisco 49ers at Atlanta Falcons
New England Patriots at Denver Broncos
Oakland Raiders at San Diego Chargers
Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals *
Monday, December 19, 2016
Carolina Panthers at Washington Redskins
WEEK 16
Thursday, December 22, 2016
New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles
Saturday, December 24, 2016
Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills
Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers
Washington Redskins at Chicago Bears
San Diego Chargers at Cleveland Browns
Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers
Tennessee Titans at Jacksonville Jaguars
New York Jets at New England Patriots
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints
Indianapolis Colts at Oakland Raiders
San Francisco 49ers at Los Angeles Rams
Arizona Cardinals at Seattle Seahawks
Cincinnati Bengals at Houston Texans
Sunday, December 25, 2016
Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers
Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs
Monday, December 26, 2016
Detroit Lions at Dallas Cowboys
WEEK 17
Sunday, January 01, 2017
New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons
Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals
Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions
Jacksonville Jaguars at Indianapolis Colts
New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins
Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings
Buffalo Bills at New York Jets
Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles
Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers
Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Houston Texans at Tennessee Titans
New York Giants at Washington Redskins
Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos
Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Rams
Kansas City Chiefs at San Diego Chargers
Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers
* – Sunday night games in Weeks 5-15 subject to change; Week 17 game TBD
POSTSEASON
AFC and NFC Wild Card Playoffs
Saturday, January 7 and Sunday, January 8, 2017
AFC and NFC Divisional Playoffs
Saturday, January 14 and Sunday, January 15, 2017
AFC and NFC Championship Games
Sunday, January 22, 2017
Super Bowl LI
Sunday, February 5, 2017