American Football Schedule: This Week’s Games

How this american football schedule works

This page shows the NFL week at a glance. The dark panel at the top is today: the biggest game left today sits in the middle with its kick-off time, and the rest of today’s games are in the cards below. Under that, the rest of the week runs down a timeline, one day at a time.

The list fills itself. Once a day it checks a public sports database for new dates and changed kick-offs and refreshes the page. Finished games drop off on their own, about three and a half hours after kick-off.

Every time follows your device: Eastern time in New York, Pacific time in Los Angeles, UK time in London.

The NFL week, day by day

Most weeks of the regular season follow the same shape, which makes the american football schedule easy to plan around.

For a few weeks around the end of October and in March, the US and the UK change their clocks on different dates, so the gap is four hours instead of five. The list above always uses the right time for you.

The last week of the regular season is different: there are no Thursday or Monday games, and all the games are played on Saturday and Sunday so that the playoff places are decided at the same time. Many of those games have playoff places riding on them, which is why they are often moved into the prime-time slots.

Kick-off times are set in Eastern time

The NFL plans its american football schedule in Eastern time, wherever the game is played. A 1:00pm Eastern game in Chicago starts at noon local time, and a late game in Los Angeles or Seattle starts at 1:05pm or 1:25pm local time. That is why Sunday feels so different from city to city: West Coast fans can watch the early games before lunch, and East Coast fans finish the late games in the early evening. This page skips all of that maths and shows each kick-off in your own time zone, wherever you are watching from.

Which games count as big?

Every regular season game is on the list. The big ones, which also trigger the email alerts, are:

• Prime-time games: Thursday night, Sunday night and Monday night.
• International games: games in London, Germany and other cities outside the US.
• Heavyweight match-ups: games between two of the most-followed teams, like the Chiefs, Cowboys, Eagles, 49ers, Bills or Ravens.

How the NFL season works

The 32 teams are split into two conferences, the AFC and the NFC, and each conference has four divisions of four teams. Every team plays its three division rivals twice a season, which is why the same match-ups come back every year.

Thirty-two teams play a 17-game regular season over 18 weeks, from September to early January. Fourteen teams reach the playoffs, which run through January and end with the Super Bowl in February. Late in the season the league can move games to new slots, so a kick-off time can still change a week or two ahead.

Bye weeks, holidays and flex games

A few things make the american football schedule change shape from week to week:

• Bye weeks: every team has one week off during the season, so some weeks have fewer games.
• Thanksgiving: three games on the Thursday, from lunchtime to the evening, and a game on the Friday after.
• Christmas: games on Christmas Day in recent seasons, whatever day of the week it falls on.
• Flex games: later in the season the league can move a game into the Sunday night slot or another prime-time slot, usually about two weeks ahead.
• Saturday games: late in the season, after the college season ends, some games move to Saturday.

How long an NFL game lasts

A game has four 15-minute quarters, but the clock stops often, so a game usually takes a little over three hours from kick-off to the final whistle. Halftime lasts a little under 15 minutes in the regular season. If the score is level after four quarters, there is overtime: both teams now get a chance with the ball, a regular season overtime lasts up to 10 minutes, and a regular season game can still end in a tie. That is why this american football schedule keeps a game on the list for about three and a half hours after kick-off before it drops off.

The playoffs and the Super Bowl

Seven teams from each conference reach the playoffs. The top seed in each conference skips the first round. Then come the wild card round, the divisional round and the two conference championship games, and the season ends with the Super Bowl in February. Playoff games are spread over Saturday, Sunday and sometimes Monday, so the american football schedule on this page is the easiest way to see what is on each day.

Game alerts by email

Use the alerts box above, pick American football, and enter your email. On the morning of a big game day you get one short email with the kick-off times in your own time zone. Nothing else, and you can unsubscribe in one click.

The american football schedule in your time zone

NFL games are built for US evenings, so in the UK and Europe the night games land after midnight, and in Australia they fall on the next morning or afternoon. The international games are the easy ones for European fans. For the full season, see the official NFL schedule.

Setting up a big screen for game day? Our guides to IPTV in the USA and what IPTV is explain the basics.

American football schedule: common questions

What NFL games are on today?

The top of this page shows them, with kick-off times in your time zone. If today’s games are over, the top switches to the next game.

What time do NFL games start?

Sunday games usually start at 1:00pm or 4:05pm/4:25pm Eastern. Night games start at about 8:15pm Eastern on Thursday and Monday and 8:20pm on Sunday.

What time is Sunday night football in the UK?

Usually 1:20am on Monday morning UK time, and 12:20am for a couple of weeks in late October and March when the clocks change on different dates.

When is the next international game?

International games are marked as big games on the list. Games in London usually kick off at 2:30pm UK time on a Sunday.

How often is the american football schedule updated?

Once a day, every day. When the league flexes a game or changes a kick-off, the american football schedule on this page follows within a day.

Does the american football schedule include college football?

No. This american football schedule covers the NFL only, so college games are not on the list.

Which time zone does the american football schedule use?

Yours. The page reads your device’s time zone, so the american football schedule shows Eastern time in New York, Pacific time in Los Angeles and UK time in London.

Can I get an email when a big game is on?

Yes. Use the alerts box: one email on the morning of a big game day, and you can unsubscribe in one click.