The 2026 NFL preseason opened Thursday with the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, where the Carolina Panthers beat the Arizona Cardinals 33-30 on a Haynes King touchdown run with no time left.
That was a standalone exhibition, separate from the main preseason slate, and there is now a gap before the rest of the league takes the field.
The next preseason games do not kick off until Thursday, August 13, when Preseason Week 1 begins for all 32 teams.
Here is a full rundown of when preseason football returns, and what’s on the table for the first week of action.
When Does 2026 NFL Preseason Start?
The preseason technically began August 6 with the Hall of Fame Game, an extra exhibition reserved each year for two teams, this time the Panthers and Cardinals. Both franchises play four preseason games in 2026 instead of the standard three because of that assignment.
For the other 30 teams and for Carolina and Arizona’s remaining games, the preseason spans three weeks: Week 1 from August 13 to 15, Week 2 from August 20 to 23, and Week 3 from August 27 to 29.
Rosters get trimmed to the regular-season limit shortly after Week 3 wraps.
2026 NFL Preseason Week 1 Complete Schedule: Dates, Start Times, and TV Guide
Thursday, August 13
Detroit Lions at Cincinnati Bengals, 7 p.m. ET
Green Bay Packers at Pittsburgh Steelers, 7 p.m. ET
Indianapolis Colts at New England Patriots, 7:30 p.m. ET
Los Angeles Chargers at Houston Texans, 8 p.m. ET
Arizona Cardinals at Las Vegas Raiders, 8 p.m. ET
Tennessee Titans at San Francisco 49ers, 9 p.m. ET
Friday, August 14
Denver Broncos at Atlanta Falcons, 7 p.m. ET
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New York Jets, 7 p.m. ET
Miami Dolphins at Washington Commanders, 7 p.m. ET
Saturday, August 15
Carolina Panthers at Buffalo Bills, 1 p.m. ET
Cleveland Browns at Chicago Bears, 1 p.m. ET
Minnesota Vikings at New York Giants, 1 p.m. ET
Los Angeles Rams at Kansas City Chiefs, 4 p.m. ET
Jacksonville Jaguars at New Orleans Saints, 4 p.m. ET
Philadelphia Eagles at Baltimore Ravens, 7 p.m. ET
Dallas Cowboys at Seattle Seahawks, 8 p.m. ET
Most Week 1 games air on local broadcast affiliates, with select matchups also carried on NFL Network. Out-of-market coverage is available through NFL+ on mobile and tablet devices.
This preseason marks the sixth year under the NFL’s current three-game exhibition format.
The league cut preseason slates from four games to three back in 2021, the same offseason it expanded the regular season from 16 to 17 games, a trade-off designed to reduce injury risk for veterans while still giving coaches enough live look at their rosters before final cuts.
Once Week 3 wraps on August 29, all 32 teams turn their attention to the regular season opener on Wednesday, September 9, when the Seattle Seahawks host the New England Patriots at Lumen Field in a rematch of Super Bowl LX.
It will be the NFL’s first Wednesday season opener since 2012, giving this year’s preseason stretch an unusually compressed runway into Week 1 of the real thing.
Arizona and Carolina both appear twice in this stretch, a direct result of their Hall of Fame Game assignment. Expect starters to see limited or no snaps in most Week 1 matchups, as coaches use the extended window to evaluate depth, undrafted rookies, and players competing for the back end of the 53-man roster.
