2016 NFL regular season schedule announced

2016 NFL regular season schedule announced

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

 

 

 

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