2026 NFL schedule might include rare Wednesday game, possible Thanksgiving Eve matchup
The NFL is planning to take over Thanksgiving week
After starting the tradition of a Black Friday game in 2023, the NFL is exploring the possibility of adding another game to the schedule during Thanksgiving week. CBS Sports NFL Insider Jonathan Jones reports the NFL is considering playing a game on the night before Thanksgiving.
If the league follows through with the idea, that means the NFL would hold a game on Thanksgiving Eve, which falls on Wednesday, Nov. 25 this year. If this game happens, that means the NFL would have at least one game on the schedule for seven out of nine days starting on Wednesday of Thanksgiving week.
The schedule would look like this:
- Sunday (Nov. 22): Regular Sunday slate
- Monday (Nov. 23): One game
- Thanksgiving Eve (Nov. 25): One game
- Thanksgiving (Nov. 26): Three games
- Black Friday (Nov. 27): One or two games
- Saturday: No games
- Sunday (Nov. 29): Regular Sunday slate
- Monday (Nov. 30): One game
The NFL sought more ways to create slots on the schedule, which is one of the reasons why the Black Friday game came to be. There could be a second Black Friday coming in 2026. Back in December, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the league was considering the possibility of having a Black Friday doubleheader this year.
Adding a Wednesday game would almost be unprecedented. There have only been four Wednesday games in the NFL over the past 75 years.
- In 2012, the NFL's annual Thursday night opener in Week 1, which featured the Giants and Cowboys, was moved to Wednesday to avoid a conflict with then-President Barack Obama's speech at the Democratic National Convention.
- In 2020, a Steelers-Ravens game got postponed multiple times due to COVID and ended up playing on a Wednesday.
- In 2024, the NFL scheduled a Christmas doubleheader that was played on a Wednesday. That featured the Ravens facing the Texans and the Chiefs playing the Steelers.
For the Christmas games, the teams involved played on the Saturday before their Wednesday game, but that won't be an option here, because the NFL isn't allowed to hold Saturday games in November. If the league is going to hold a Wednesday game, it will likely have to feature two teams coming off a bye. The league could also hold a Thursday doubleheader the week before and have two of the four teams involved play each other on Thanksgiving Eve.
If the two teams involved do end up getting a bye before the Wednesday game, almost every team would volunteer to play, because it gives an extended break in November. If you got a bye, then a Wednesday game, then 10 days off until your next game, a team would only have to play once in a 21-day period, so it would almost be like getting two byes.
Although there have only been four Wednesday games in NFL history, there actually could be two this year. Besides the Thanksgiving Eve game, it's starting to look like there will also be a Wednesday game in Week 1. The Seahawks will likely be hosting a game on either Wednesday or Thursday of the opening week, with the Rams-49ers game in Australia falling on the other day.
