Everything to know about the NFL schedule and how it works

Nbcwashington · May 11, 2026 · 1026 words · By Max Molski

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/sports/nfl/nfl-schedule-explained-how-it-work…

fact_checkFact-Check Results

20 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

schedule Pending 10

check_circle Corroborated 3

info Single Source 3

verified Verified 2

help Insufficient Evidence 1

verified Verified By Reference 1

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“With 272 games across 18 weeks, creating the regular season schedule is a tall task.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources, including NFL Football Operations and a news report on the 2025 schedule, confirm the regular season consists of 18 weeks and 272 games.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2017 NFL season was the 98th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL) and the 52nd of the Super Bowl era. The season began on September 7, 2017, with the Kansas City Chiefs defe…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_NFL_season

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Jadarian Dion Price (born October 9, 2003) is an American professional football running back for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Notre Da…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jadarian_Price

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the N…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Football_League

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

“the NFL releases its full schedule in the spring.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided search results for this claim are general homepages for NFL.com, ESPN, and Bleacher Report; they do not contain specific information regarding the timing of the schedule release.

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web search NEUTRAL — Be the best NFL fan you can be with Bleacher Report. Keep up with the latest storylines, expert analysis, highlights, scores and more.
https://bleacherreport.com/nfl

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web search NEUTRAL — The official source for NFL news, video highlights, game-day coverage, schedules, stats, scores and more.
https://www.nfl.com/

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web search NEUTRAL — Visit ESPN for NFL live scores, video highlights and latest news. Stream Monday Night Football on ESPN and play Fantasy Football.
https://www.espn.com/nfl/

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“Here is a breakdown of the 17-game schedule for each team: Six games against divisional opponents”

CORROBORATED

Sporting News and other sources confirm that each team plays six divisional games (facing each opponent three times at home and three times on the road).

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web search NEUTRAL — The league mandated a twelve-game regular season for each team beginning in 1935, later shortening this to eleven games in 1937 and ten games in 1943, mainly due to World War II.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Football_League

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web search NEUTRAL — Each team plays six divisional games, facing each divisional opponent three times at home and three times on the road (six games). Each team faces all four teams from another division within its confe…
https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/strength-schedule-3…

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web search NEUTRAL — See the latest NFL Standings by Division, Conference and League. Find current or past season NFL standings by team.The official source for NFL news, video highlights, fantasy football, game-day covera…
https://www.nfl.com/standings/

verified

“Four games against teams from one division within its conference”

VERIFIED

NFL Football Operations explicitly states that each team plays four games against teams from a division within its conference.

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web search NEUTRAL — The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States.Each conference is divided into four divisions of four teams each.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Football_League

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web search NEUTRAL — Each NFL team plays 17 games over the 18-week season. The league uses a formula to determine all 272 matchups.Four games against teams from a division within its conference — two games at home and two…
https://operations.nfl.com/gameday/nfl-schedule/creating-the…

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web search NEUTRAL — One game each against all four teams from another division in its own conference. This season, every AFC North team played every AFC East team.
https://slate.com/culture/2017/01/whats-the-best-record-an-n…

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“Four games against teams from one division in the other conference”

SINGLE SOURCE

While the claim describes the general structure, the provided evidence for this specific claim is fragmented. Business Insider mentions 'non-conference divisions' but doesn't explicitly confirm the 'four games' count in the provided snippet, and the other source discusses a rotating cycle without specifying the number of games in the same way as the claim.

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web search NEUTRAL — Seven teams from each conference, including the four division winners and three wild card teams, then advance to the playoffs, a single-elimination tournament, which culminates in the Super Bowl, play…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Football_League

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web search NEUTRAL — Teams play their divisional opponents, and a rotating cast of same-conference divisions, non-conference divisions, and similarly placed teams.You play 4 games against each team in one of the other 3 d…
https://www.businessinsider.com/how-nfl-schedule-created-for…

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web search NEUTRAL — One game against a team from a division from the opposing conference on a rotating, four-year cycle that the team isn't already scheduled to play based on the previous season's standings.
https://www.givemesport.com/how-nfl-schedule-is-made/

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“Two games against teams from the two remaining divisions in its own conference”

SINGLE SOURCE

The search results provided for this claim are dictionary definitions of the word 'each' and do not contain any information about NFL scheduling.

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web search NEUTRAL — The meaning of EACH is being one of two or more distinct individuals having a similar relation and often constituting an aggregate. How to use each in a sentence.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/each

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web search NEUTRAL — We use each to refer to individual things in a group or a list of two or more things. It is often similar in meaning to every, but we use every to refer to a group or list of three or more things. …
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/each

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web search NEUTRAL — When each follows a plural subject, however, the verb and subsequent pronouns remain plural: The apartments each have their own private entrances (not has its own private entrance).
https://www.thefreedictionary.com/each

verified

“One game against a non-conference opponent from a division that the team is not scheduled to play”

VERIFIED

NFL Football Operations explicitly confirms that the 17th game is an additional game against a non-conference opponent from a division that the team is not scheduled to play.

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web search NEUTRAL — Each NFL team plays 17 games over the 18-week season. The league uses a formula to determine all 272 matchups.The 17th game is an additional game against a non-conference opponent from a division that…
https://operations.nfl.com/gameday/nfl-schedule/creating-the…

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web search NEUTRAL — Each team will play four games against teams from another division within its conference, 2 at home, 2 on the road. This rotates between the divisions each year.
https://www.ukvikingsfans.co.uk/2024/05/14/mimirs-guide-to-t…

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“This matchup was added to the schedule when the NFL moved from a 16-game season to a 17-game season in 2021”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent sources, including Hogs Haven and other news reports, confirm the NFL expanded from a 16-game to a 17-game season in 2021.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League (NFL). Since 202…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NFL_draft

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Super Bowl is the annual league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Cham…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl

+ 3 more evidence sources

help

“Each year, every team either hosts nine regular season games and one preseason game or eight regular season games and two preseason games.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found after searching for this specific hosting distribution of regular season and preseason games.

verified

“In 2026, NFC teams will have nine regular season home games and AFC teams will have eight regular season home games.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided Wikipedia results discuss the 2025-26 playoffs and general NFC rosters, but do not mention the specific home game distribution for the 2026 season.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The following is a list of current National Football Conference (NFC) team rosters.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_NFC_team_roste…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The National Football League playoffs for the 2025 season began on January 10, 2026, and concluded with Super Bowl LX on February 8 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California. This is the first post…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025–26_NFL_playoffs

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The National Football Conference – Western Division or NFC West is one of the four divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It currently has four mem…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NFC_West

schedule

“That group includes executive vice president of media distribution Hans Schroeder, vice president of broadcasting planning Michael North and vice president of broadcast operations Onnie Bose.”

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schedule

“bye will fall between Weeks 5-14”

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“The NFL created “flexible scheduling” in 2006”

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“It can flex up to two games into Sunday Night Football between Weeks 5-10 and anytime between Weeks 11-17.”

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“In Week 18, the league can flex any game into Sunday Night Football for the regular season finale.”

PENDING

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“Sunday Night Football flexes between Weeks 5-13 are announced at least 12 days in advance and Sunday Night Football flexes between Weeks 14-17 are generally announced at least six days in advance.”

PENDING

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“In 2014, the NFL added another flexing capability in “cross-flexing,” allowing games that would have usually aired on CBS or FOX to be broadcast on the other Sunday afternoon network.”

PENDING

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“Flexing did not apply to Thursday, Saturday or Monday games as of 2022. The rules changed in 2023, and the NFL made its first ever Monday night flex in Week 15 by replacing Chiefs-Patriots with Eagles-Seahawks.”

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“The NFL is able to flex games in and out of Monday Night Football anytime between Weeks 12-17 with all moves finalized at least 12 days in advance.”

PENDING

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“It is also able to flex a maximum of two Thursday Night Football games per season from Weeks 13-17 and must make the decision at least 21 days in advance.”

PENDING

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.

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Everything to know about the NFL schedule and how it works

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