'Sunday Night Football' on NBC and Peacock Unveils 2026 Schedule

The 2026 schedule for NBC Sunday Night Football, America’s No. 1 primetime show for an unprecedented 15 consecutive years, showcases high-profile matchups featuring the biggest stars, best storylines, and epic rivalries – including the “Rivalry of the Decade” featuring Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs at Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills on Thanksgiving night, and the Dallas Cowboys at the Green Bay Packers on Oct. 18.

It all begins with the NFL’s season opener as the New England Patriots visit the champion Seattle Seahawks in a Super Bowl LX rematch on Wednesday, Sept. 9 on NBC, Peacock, and Telemundo. Patriots-Seahawks in NFL Kickoff ’26 marks the 21^st consecutive NFL season opener on NBC.

In addition, it is the first Super Bowl rematch in the NFL Kickoff Game in a decade (Broncos beat Panthers 21-20 in 2016 in Denver, following a win over Carolina in Super Bowl 50) and only the third Week 1 Super Bowl rematch all-time (Vikings defeated Chiefs 27-10 in Minnesota, following a loss to Kansas City in Super Bowl IV).

NBC Sports’ blockbuster 2026 NFL schedule features six meetings of 2025 playoff teams – four of which are postseason rematches – plus premier matchups at key points in the season.

In the first ever Thanksgiving game in Buffalo, the “rivalry of the decade” continues as the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills meet in primetime on NBC, Peacock, and Telemundo. Highlights of the recent Chiefs-Bills series (since 2020):

• Thanksgiving night marks 11^th meeting between the teams in the decade (regular season + playoffs)
• Each club has won five games
• Six of the 10 matchups since 2020 have been decided by one score
• Patrick Mahomes passed for 2,715 yards and 19 touchdowns
• Josh Allen passed for 2,573 yards and 20 touchdowns

Peacock will once again stream all NBC NFL games, including the playoffs, and the Football Night in America studio show. The exclusive Peacock Sunday Night Football Final returns with expanded postgame coverage following SNF each week. Peacock will be the exclusive national home of an NFL Week 17 game in primetime on Saturday, Jan. 2, 2027, immediately following an NFL game at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. NBC stations in competing team cities will also broadcast the Peacock exclusive game.

The SNF announce team of Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth, Melissa Stark and rules analyst Terry McAulay return for their fifth season together.

Highlights of the 2026 NBC Sunday Night Football schedule:

• NBCUniversal’s NFL schedule this season features three appearances by the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys, plus two apiece by numerous ’25 NFL Playoff teams including the Super Bowl-champion Seattle Seahawks, AFC champion New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills, Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, and San Francisco 49ers.
   
• The Sept. 13 season opener of Sunday Night Football features Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys visiting Jaxson Dart and the New York Giants, in John Harbaugh’s head coaching debut with New York. The Sunday night opener marks the 15^th time the Cowboys face the Giants in NBC’s Sunday Night Football package – the second-most played matchup on NBC’s SNF (Cowboys-Eagles, 17).
   
• Super Bowl-winning head coaches Sean McVay and Sean Payton meet in Week 3, as McVay’s Los Angeles Rams, led by ’25 AP NFL MVP Matthew Stafford, visit Payton’s Denver Broncos on Sept. 27 in a matchup of teams which played in the 2025 NFC and AFC Championship Games, respectively.
   
• The Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers, storied rivals who have met nine times in the playoffs (second most all-time) including the “Ice Bowl,” play at Lambeau Field on Oct. 18.
   
• The season’s second month concludes Oct. 25 with a matchup of teams that have won three of the past four Super Bowls, as Sam Darnold and the Seahawks host Mahomes and the Chiefs. New Chiefs running back Kenneth Walker, who rushed for 135 yards for Seattle in their Super Bowl win in February, becomes the first Super Bowl MVP to face his former team the following season.
   
• On Sunday, Nov. 22, the Minnesota Vikings face the San Francisco 49ers at Estadio Banorte in Mexico City in the first-ever international Sunday Night Football game.
   
• NBC Sports’ post-Thanksgiving Sunday Night Football slate features three 2025 playoff rematches as Drake Maye and the New England Patriots visit Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers on Nov. 29. One week later, on Dec. 6, the Pittsburgh Steelers look to avenge their AFC Wild Card loss to the Houston Texans at Acrisure Stadium. Texans-Steelers marks new NBC Football Night in America analyst Mike Tomlin’s return to Pittsburgh, where he won nearly 70 percent of his home games (112-51-1; .686). In Week 17, Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles visit Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers, who knocked the defending champions out of the playoffs last season.
   
• On Dec. 13, Jordan Love and Josh Allen – two of only five quarterbacks to start playoff games in each of the last three seasons – meet for the first time as the Geen Bay Packers host the Buffalo Bills.

NBC Sports to Present 26 NFL Games in 2026

On NBC and Peacock, NBC Sports will present 22 regular-season games – 18 regular-season Sunday Night Football games, NFL Kickoff 2026, and the annual Thanksgiving night game and a late afternoon Week 17 game at 4:30 p.m. ET on Jan. 2, 2027, plus a primetime Week 17 Peacock exclusive game on Saturday, Jan. 2, 2027. NBC Sports will present three postseason games on NBC and Peacock – two Wild Card games, including one in primetime on Sunday night Jan. 17, and one Divisional Playoff game on the weekend of January 23-24. NBC and Peacock will also be home to the preseason-opening Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on Thursday, Aug. 6.

Telemundo Deportes to Present Entire NBC Sunday Night Football Schedule

Telemundo Deportes will again provide exclusive Spanish-language coverage of the entire NBC Sunday Night Football package and three playoff games across Telemundo/Universo and Peacock. Games will also be available on live stream via the Telemundo app.

NBCSPORTS.COM & NBC SPORTS APP TO LIVE STREAM ALL NBC NFL GAMES: NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app will stream all NBC games to desktops, mobile, tablets, and connected TVs via authentication, giving consumers additional value to their subscription service, and making high-quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. The full HD-quality video stream will come directly from NBC’s broadcasts.

SNF on Pace to Be Television’s No. 1 Primetime Show for Record 15th Consecutive Year

Sunday Night Football topped all primetime television series in the fall and is once again pacing to finish as primetime’s #1 TV show in all key metrics for an unprecedented 15^th consecutive year. NBC’s SNF extended its record for the most consecutive years atop the charts (since 1950), based on official live plus same day data provided by Nielsen.

Most Consecutive Years, #1 Ranked Show in Primetime, Since 1950
15 years in a row – Sunday Night Football (2011-12 through 2025-26)
6 years in a row – American Idol (2005-06 through 2010-11)
5 years in a row – The Cosby Show (1985-86 through 1989-90)…tied Cheers in ‘89-90
5 years in a row – All in the Family (1971-72 through 1975-76)
4 years in a row – Gunsmoke (1957-58 through 1960-61)

# NFL International Game in Mexico City
*Flex Week
** Thanksgiving Night Game

Flexible Scheduling

This season, “flexible scheduling” for NBC’s Sunday Night Football may be used up to twice between Weeks 5-10, and in the NFL’s discretion during Weeks 11-17. During these flex scheduling windows, the games initially scheduled for NBC Sunday Night Football are tentatively scheduled and subject to change. Only Sunday afternoon games (or those listed as TBD) are eligible to be moved to Sunday night, in which case the initially scheduled Sunday night game would be moved to Sunday afternoon. As in prior seasons, for Week 18, the final weekend of the season, the scheduling of the Saturday, Sunday afternoon, and the Sunday night games is not assigned. Specific dates, start times, and networks for Week 18 matchups will be determined and announced following the conclusion of Week 17. For more information about NFL Flexible Scheduling, please visit https://www.nfl.com/schedules/flexible-scheduling-procedures