You’ve got the wings. The jersey is on. But then you realize you aren’t actually sure when the kickoff is happening. It happens to the best of us because the NFL has turned its schedule into a bit of a moving target.
If you are looking for the short answer for today, Saturday, January 17, 2026, the first Divisional Round playoff game between the Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos kicks off at 4:30 PM ET on CBS. Later tonight, the San Francisco 49ers take on the Seattle Seahawks at 8:00 PM ET on FOX.
But honestly, the "standard" NFL start time is becoming a thing of the past. Between international games in five different countries and the league's aggressive flex scheduling, you basically need a degree in logistics to keep up.
What Time Do the NFL Games Start on Sundays?
For the regular season, the rhythm is usually pretty consistent, but the playoffs throw a wrench in everything. On a typical Sunday, you have three main windows that define your day.
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The early window almost always starts at 1:00 PM ET. This is where the bulk of the action lives. If you’re a fan of a team on the East Coast or in the Midwest, this is likely your home. Then you have the late afternoon slot. These games usually start at either 4:05 PM ET or 4:25 PM ET.
Why the weird twenty-minute difference?
It’s all about the "doubleheader" network. If CBS or FOX has the rights to show two games in your market that day, the second game starts at 4:25 PM to allow the 1:00 PM games to wrap up. If they only have one game, they’ll often slide it into the 4:05 PM slot.
Then, of course, there is Sunday Night Football. Since the mid-2000s, NBC has owned this primetime slot, and the kickoff is almost universally set for 8:20 PM ET.
The 2026 Playoff Sunday Times
Since we are currently in the 2025-2026 postseason, the Sunday times for the Divisional Round (January 18) look a little different:
- Houston Texans at New England Patriots: 3:00 PM ET (ABC/ESPN)
- Los Angeles Rams at Chicago Bears: 6:30 PM ET (NBC/Peacock)
Why Kickoff Times Keep Changing
The NFL doesn't just set a schedule in May and walk away. They use something called Flexible Scheduling.
Basically, the league wants the best matchups in the windows where the most people are watching. Starting in Week 5, the NFL can move games from Sunday afternoon to Sunday night. In 2025, we even saw this extend to Monday Night Football and Thursday Night Football in the later weeks of the season.
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Take Week 14 of the 2025 season as a prime example. The league moved the Chicago vs. Green Bay game from 1:00 PM ET to 4:25 PM ET because the playoff implications were huge. They swapped it with the Cincinnati and Buffalo game. It’s a headache for fans traveling to the stadium, but it’s great for TV ratings.
International Games: The Morning Kickoffs
If you’re wondering why your phone is buzzing with scores at 9:30 AM on a Sunday, it’s because of the International Series. For the 2025 season, the NFL played games in:
- Sao Paulo, Brazil (A Friday night special!)
- London, UK (Tottenham Hotspur and Wembley Stadium)
- Munich/Berlin, Germany
- Madrid, Spain
- Dublin, Ireland
Most of these European games kick off at 9:30 AM ET. It’s essentially "Breakfast with the Blitz," and it has become a staple for die-hard fans who want twelve straight hours of football.
Primetime and Special Windows
Thursday Night Football on Prime Video has settled into a very specific groove with an 8:15 PM ET kickoff. This replaced the old system where games were scattered across different networks.
Monday Night Football is where it gets truly chaotic. Usually, the game starts at 8:15 PM ET. However, ESPN and ABC have started experimenting with "Doubleheaders." Sometimes you’ll have one game start at 7:15 PM ET on ABC and another start at 8:15 PM ET on ESPN. You end up flipping back and forth like crazy during the fourth quarter of the first game.
The Big Ones: Championship Sunday and Super Bowl LX
Looking ahead to the end of the 2026 season, the times are already locked in for the final big hurdles.
Championship Sunday (January 25, 2026) splits the day between the two conferences. The AFC Championship on CBS typically takes the early slot at 3:00 PM ET. The NFC Championship on FOX follows it up in the evening at 6:30 PM ET.
Then there’s the big show. Super Bowl LX is scheduled for Sunday, February 8, 2026, at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara. The official kickoff time is 6:30 PM ET on NBC.
Even though the "kickoff" is 6:30, we all know the actual ball doesn't hit the tee until closer to 6:40 PM after the national anthem and the coin toss.
Actionable Steps for Staying Updated
- Sync your calendar: The official NFL app allows you to sync your favorite team's schedule directly to your Google or Apple calendar. It updates automatically if a game gets "flexed" to a different time.
- Check the "Major" Networks: If it’s Sunday morning and you’re lost, check the local listings for CBS and FOX first. If a game isn't there, it's likely an "out-of-market" game that requires NFL Sunday Ticket (now on YouTube TV).
- Watch the 12-day window: For the regular season, the NFL usually announces "flex" changes 12 days in advance. If a game you’re interested in is between two winning teams, start checking for time changes two weeks out.
- Mind the Time Zones: Always remember that the NFL broadcasts everything in Eastern Time. If you’re in Los Angeles, that 1:00 PM ET "Early Window" means you’re watching football with your morning coffee at 10:00 AM.