The 2026 NFL preseason begins Thursday, Aug. 6, at 8 p.m. ET with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, giving fans the first live look at rosters before games start to count in the regular season.
Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals will meet in the opener at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. The matchup also gives those two teams an extra preseason game, making them the only clubs in the source schedule to play four instead of the usual three.
How the preseason is laid out
After the Hall of Fame Game, Preseason Week 1 runs Thursday, Aug. 13 through Saturday, Aug. 15, with all 32 teams in action. Preseason Week 2 follows from Thursday, Aug. 20 through Sunday, Aug. 23 and includes two nationally televised games. Preseason Week 3 closes things out from Thursday, Aug. 27 through Saturday, Aug. 29 before rosters are trimmed.
Since 2021, each NFL team has played three preseason games, a change tied to the regular season expanding from 16 to 17 games that same year. The Hall of Fame Game remains the exception, and it is the first dateable event on the 2026 NFL preseason schedule.
How fans can watch
Most preseason games are expected to be shown on local affiliates rather than national windows. Some games will also appear across national platforms including NBC, FOX, CBS,, NFL Network, Peacock, Prime Video and NFL+, depending on the matchup and schedule.
For fans searching for NFL games today, the key takeaway is simple: the preseason starts Aug. 6, and the Hall of Fame Game sets the tone for the first stretch of football before the regular season arrives.
