Happy Sunday, folks! If you’re settling in and wondering whether there’s a Sunday Night Football playoff game tonight, you’re not alone. The NFL calendar can get tricky at this stage of the season, especially as the league hits its business end and the focus slowly shifts toward what comes next.
Is There a Sunday Night Football Tonight?
NFL fans settling in on Sunday night, Feb. 1, 2026, will notice something unusual: no Sunday Night Football. That empty feeling is by design. The 2025–26 NFL season wraps up before February, with the league clearing the runway for Super Bowl LX between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks a week later on Feb. 8.
NBC isn’t leaving viewers hanging, though. Instead of football, the network pivots to Sunday Night Basketball, airing an NBA doubleheader featuring Lakers vs. Knicks, followed by Thunder vs. Nuggets. It’s a star-heavy slate meant to keep casual and hardcore fans engaged during the NFL’s quietest weekend.
Earlier in the day, soccer fans get their fix as well. NBC and Peacock will carry Tottenham Hotspur vs. Manchester City at 11:30 a.m. ET, a Premier League matchup with title and top-four implications baked in. For fans who normally build Sundays around kickoff windows, it’s an easy transition into a different kind of high-stakes viewing.
Meanwhile, in New England, football won’t feel absent at all. The Patriots are hosting a Super Bowl sendoff rally at Gillette Stadium on Sunday morning before the team departs for Santa Clara. It’s free to attend, though tickets are required and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis via Patriots.com and team social channels.
The rally begins at 9:30 a.m. ET, with head coach Mike Vrabel, team ownership, and Patriots alumni addressing the crowd. The event leans heavily into pageantry, featuring performances by the Dropkick Murphys and appearances from the Patriots cheerleaders, giving fans one last in-person moment before Super Bowl week officially begins.
Fans can arrive early, too. Parking lots open at 8 a.m., gates at 9 a.m., and buses are scheduled to depart for the airport at 11:30 a.m. Bud Light is also getting involved, offering prizes and Super Bowl ticket giveaways to the first 300 eligible fans who check in at its plaza stand.
For those not in Foxboro, the rally will be livestreamed on the Patriots’ website, making it easy to stay plugged into the Super Bowl buildup. Between a packed morning of football pageantry, a Premier League showdown, and a prime-time NBA doubleheader, NFL fans won’t be left staring at an empty screen even without Sunday Night Football.
