CBS Sports unveils 2026 NFL television schedule following record viewership season
CBS Sports has announced its 2026 “NFL on CBS” broadcast schedule, marking the network’s 67th year of NFL coverage with a lineup of more than 100 regular-season games and a full slate of postseason matchups.
As the primary television home of the American Football Conference (AFC), the network’s schedule features heavy placement of the conference’s top teams and quarterbacks. The schedule release follows a historic viewership year in which CBS delivered the NFL’s top overall package, averaging 21.252 million viewers. All scheduled games will broadcast on the CBS Television Network and stream live for local markets on Paramount+.
The network’s 4:25 p.m. ET national game window, which averaged nearly 26 million viewers last season, will feature 10 Sunday doubleheader windows. The back-to-back Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs will appear four times in this premium window, while the Dallas Cowboys are scheduled for two appearances.
The 4:25 p.m. ET national window begins in Week 1 with a matchup between the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings. Other featured games in the late afternoon slot include the Baltimore Ravens facing the Cowboys in Rio de Janeiro (Week 3), the Chiefs at the Denver Broncos (Week 8), the Pittsburgh Steelers at the Philadelphia Eagles (Week 11), the Buffalo Bills at the New England Patriots (Week 13), the Cowboys at the Los Angeles Rams (Week 15), and the San Francisco 49ers at the Chiefs (Week 16).
A blockbuster Week 15 slate includes two national game windows. CBS Sports will broadcast an exclusive national primetime game on Saturday, Dec. 19, at 8:20 p.m. ET, featuring the Bills hosting the Chicago Bears. The following afternoon, the network will carry the Cowboys at the Rams at 4:25 p.m. ET, anchored by an early 1:00 p.m. ET AFC North rivalry game between the Steelers and the Ravens.
The network’s holiday coverage includes a Thanksgiving Day divisional matchup featuring the Detroit Lions hosting the Bears. The two franchises have combined to win the NFC North in each of the past three seasons, with Chicago winning the division title last year and Detroit taking the previous two.
As the primary AFC broadcaster, CBS will feature the Chiefs, Bills, Patriots, and Steelers up to nine times each, while the Ravens and Broncos are scheduled for up to 10 appearances. The network’s NFC inventory includes three appearances each by the 49ers, Bears, and Lions, and two appearances each by the Seattle Seahawks, Cowboys, Eagles, and Rams.
The early 1:00 p.m. ET and 4:05 p.m. ET regional windows will feature key matchups throughout the season, including Bills-Texans (Week 1), Steelers-Patriots (Week 2), Bengals-Steelers (Week 3), Patriots-Bills (Week 4), Broncos-Chargers (Week 5), Panthers-Eagles (Week 6), Bengals-Ravens (Week 7), Ravens-Bills (Week 8), Chiefs-Falcons (Week 10), Ravens-Texans (Week 12), and Texans-Commanders (Week 14).
The “NFL on CBS” postseason broadcast schedule will conclude with coverage of a Wild Card playoff game, a Divisional playoff game, and the AFC Championship Game.
