Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here.
The 2026 NFL schedule was officially released on Thursday night, exactly 118 days until the season kicks off with a Super Bowl rematch on Sept. 9.
With the dates of all of the upcoming matchups confirmed, everything is now in place for when football returns in September.
Key Takeaways
-
NFL teams released videos promoting their upcoming schedules.
-
The Los Angeles Chargers poked fun at a supposed affair involving an NFL coach and reporter.
-
1st-overall pick Fernando Mendoza starred in a play on the movie “Step Brothers.”
If the NFL schedule were a submarine, it would’ve been covered in screen doors.
Leaks throughout the day revealed what felt like half of the entire 2026 season, before the full schedules were released at 8 p.m. ET.
As is customary in the NFL, teams shared their upcoming opponents with in-house media designed to steal online attention. The Las Vegas Raiders succeeded in doing so with their reveal, which featured first-overall pick Fernando Mendoza bonding with his locker room mentor and veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins.
The Raiders faced stiff competition for the best schedule release in the AFC West, going up against the Los Angeles Chargers, who regularly produce the most-liked schedule release. They went digital with this year’s reveal, showcasing their opponents in the "Halo" video game.
The Tennessee Titans paid homage to their 2023 reveal, which is regarded as one of the best ever.
This year’s Titans’ reveal played on the success of the 2023 video, but rather than having fans guess logos, the Titans’ cameraman tracked down individuals who looked like members of their upcoming opponents.
Everybody loves to laugh. That's part of what made “The Simpsons” one of the most successful shows on television in its heyday.
The Indianapolis Colts, for their schedule reveal, created their own rendition of the cartoon's open. A quick three-and-a-half-minute cartoon with Bart Simpson and other popular characters revealed which teams the Colts would face during the upcoming season.
Matt Ryan, a former NFL MVP and the Atlanta Falcons’ current president of football, once yelled at a teammate to “Get f—ing set” during an NFL game in a legendary moment captured by the broadcasting network’s microphones.
The Falcons leaned into that joke and many others for their schedule release, which was filled with ESPN-style skits that aired in the early 2000s.
One of the biggest storylines of the NFL offseason was the supposed affair that occurred between New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel and former senior The Athletic reporter, Dianna Russini.
Reports on Thursday morning revealed that the NFL would not review teams’ schedule release videos for jokes about the Vrabel-Russini scandal.
The Chargers took advantage of that with an easter egg of a message from the New York Post, the outlet that published the photos of the pair kissing at a bar in 2020.
Trevor Lawrence is on a short list of NFL players with the most identifiable hair. For his Jacksonville Jaguars’ schedule release, he took a trip to the barber shop for a trim.
The Denver Broncos recruited former Super Bowl-winning quarterback Peyton Manning for their video, which included “To Catch a Bandwagon Fan,” a spoof of Chris Hansen’s “To Catch a Predator.”
Here’s a look at how the entire 2026 NFL schedule shapes up.
Sportsbooks have already published NFL odds for Week 1 and future standout games, including Thanksgiving and Christmas.
This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.
