NFL Bye Weeks 2026: Schedule, Teams & Free Printable PDF
The NFL bye weeks 2026 schedule is locked in. Byes run from Week 5 through Week 14, and Week 12 is the only week in that stretch where all 32 teams play. Below you get the week by week list, every team sorted A to Z, the exact dates and a free printable PDF.
Each club plays 17 games and takes one week off inside the 18 week regular season, which opens Wednesday, September 9, 2026 and ends Sunday, January 10, 2027.
What is an NFL Bye Week?
A bye week is the one scheduled week off every team gets during the regular season. No game, no result. It stretches 17 games across 18 weeks and doubles the normal gap between kickoffs from seven days to 14.
Under the collective bargaining agreement, players are guaranteed at least four consecutive days off during the bye. Coaches use what is left to get injured starters back, self scout the first half of the season and install new looks. For fans and fantasy managers, the bye week schedule decides which Sundays your team is simply not on TV.
NFL Bye Weeks 2026: Week by Week Schedule
Ten weeks carry byes. Week 11 is the heaviest with six teams off, and Week 12 is the only gap.
| WEEK | DATES | TEAMS ON BYE | COUNT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 5 | Oct 8 to 12 | Panthers, Chiefs | 2 |
| Week 6 | Oct 15 to 19 | Bengals, Lions, Dolphins, Vikings | 4 |
| Week 7 | Oct 22 to 26 | Bills, Jaguars, Chargers, Commanders | 4 |
| Week 8 | Oct 29 to Nov 2 | Texans, Saints, Giants, 49ers | 4 |
| Week 9 | Nov 5 to 9 | Steelers, Titans | 2 |
| Week 10 | Nov 12 to 16 | Bears, Broncos, Eagles, Buccaneers | 4 |
| Week 11 | Nov 19 to 23 | Falcons, Browns, Packers, Rams, Patriots, Seahawks | 6 |
| Week 12 | Wed Nov 25 to 30 | No teams on bye (Thanksgiving week) | 0 |
| Week 13 | Dec 3 to 7 | Ravens, Colts, Raiders, Jets | 4 |
| Week 14 | Dec 10 to 14 | Cardinals, Cowboys | 2 |
Every bye above is checked against the official NFL bye week release. Want the rest of the calendar? Our full 2026 NFL schedule has kickoff times and TV channels for all 272 games.
2026 NFL Bye Weeks by Team (A to Z)
Find your team, note the date, plan around it.
| TEAM | BYE WEEK | DATE (SUNDAY) |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona Cardinals | Week 14 | Dec 13 |
| Atlanta Falcons | Week 11 | Nov 22 |
| Baltimore Ravens | Week 13 | Dec 6 |
| Buffalo Bills | Week 7 | Oct 25 |
| Carolina Panthers | Week 5 | Oct 11 |
| Chicago Bears | Week 10 | Nov 15 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | Week 6 | Oct 18 |
| Cleveland Browns | Week 11 | Nov 22 |
| Dallas Cowboys | Week 14 | Dec 13 |
| Denver Broncos | Week 10 | Nov 15 |
| Detroit Lions | Week 6 | Oct 18 |
| Green Bay Packers | Week 11 | Nov 22 |
| Houston Texans | Week 8 | Nov 1 |
| Indianapolis Colts | Week 13 | Dec 6 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | Week 7 | Oct 25 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | Week 5 | Oct 11 |
| Las Vegas Raiders | Week 13 | Dec 6 |
| Los Angeles Chargers | Week 7 | Oct 25 |
| Los Angeles Rams | Week 11 | Nov 22 |
| Miami Dolphins | Week 6 | Oct 18 |
| Minnesota Vikings | Week 6 | Oct 18 |
| New England Patriots | Week 11 | Nov 22 |
| New Orleans Saints | Week 8 | Nov 1 |
| New York Giants | Week 8 | Nov 1 |
| New York Jets | Week 13 | Dec 6 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | Week 10 | Nov 15 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | Week 9 | Nov 8 |
| San Francisco 49ers | Week 8 | Nov 1 |
| Seattle Seahawks | Week 11 | Nov 22 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Week 10 | Nov 15 |
| Tennessee Titans | Week 9 | Nov 8 |
| Washington Commanders | Week 7 | Oct 25 |
Printable NFL Bye Weeks 2026 Schedule (Free PDF)
One page, both tables, no signup. Print it in landscape on US Letter or A4 with scaling set to fit the page, then pin it next to your fantasy football draft board.
Want the whole season on one sheet? Grab the printable NFL schedule grid or the free NFL playoff bracket.
Why Week 12 Has No Byes in 2026
Week 12 is Thanksgiving week, and the league keeps all 32 clubs available for a holiday slate that now runs five days.
- Wed, Nov 25: Packers at Rams, the first Thanksgiving Eve game, 8:00 PM ET on Netflix
- Thu, Nov 26: Bears at Lions (1:00 PM ET, CBS), Eagles at Cowboys (4:30 PM ET, FOX), Chiefs at Bills (8:20 PM ET, NBC)
- Fri, Nov 27: Black Friday game, Broncos at Steelers, 3:00 PM ET on Prime Video
- Sun and Mon, Nov 29 to 30: the rest of the Week 12 slate
Green Bay and Los Angeles were handed Week 11 byes so both arrive at that Wednesday kickoff rested. Detroit and Dallas, the traditional Thanksgiving hosts, take Week 6 and Week 14 off instead.
Do Teams Play Better After a Bye Week?
Less than the folklore suggests, and the evidence has moved. NFL researchers Michael Lopez and Thompson Bliss studied 5,679 games and found the bye was worth about 2.2 points per game before the 2011 collective bargaining agreement, then roughly 0.3 points after it, an effect statistically indistinguishable from zero. The old edge came from extra practice time, and the 2011 deal capped it.
Mike North, the NFL executive who builds the schedule, said in 2026 that rest disparity is not a thing and does not move expected win percentage. Teams holding a rest advantage went 27 and 27 across the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
So treat a bye as recovery for the roster, not a prediction tool. Backing teams off a bye has been a losing play against the spread since 2011.
What the 2026 Byes Mean for Fantasy Football
Bye week clustering is what wrecks lineups, not the byes themselves. Three weeks deserve attention on draft day.
- Week 11 is the danger zone. Six offenses go quiet at once, including the Packers, Rams, Falcons and Seahawks. Avoid stacking starters from that group.
- Week 12 is a free week. Nobody is off, so a bad Week 12 is a roster problem, not a schedule problem.
- Weeks 5 and 14 are thin. Only two teams rest in each, which makes waiver wire cover easy to find early and late.
Playoff timing works in your favor. Most leagues open their postseason in Week 15 and crown a champion in Week 17, so every 2026 bye clears before then. The Cardinals and Cowboys are the last teams back, returning in Week 15.
How the NFL Assigns Bye Weeks
Byes are not random, but there is no rule book that fixes them either. NFL Football Operations says schedule makers weigh byes and travel to protect competitive equity, work around the stadium conflicts clubs report each January, and give six broadcast partners the matchups they want.
Where the byes land is practice, not policy. Recent seasons have kept every bye between Week 5 and Week 14, and the league has never scheduled one later than Week 14 in a season with an even number of teams. Byes fell as early as Week 3 as recently as 2006 and Week 4 as recently as 2019, so the current window is a convention rather than a guarantee.
Long haul travel shows up clearly in 2026. With a record nine international games, three clubs get their break the week straight after playing abroad:
- Jacksonville Jaguars: host two London games in Weeks 5 and 6, then off in Week 7
- New Orleans Saints: host Pittsburgh in Paris in Week 7, off in Week 8
- New England Patriots: face Detroit in Munich in Week 10, off in Week 11
The San Francisco 49ers are the outlier. They play in Mexico City in Week 11 and get no recovery week at all, because their bye came back in Week 8 and Week 12 has none league wide. Houston, Pittsburgh and Atlanta each wait two weeks after their trip.
NFL Bye Weeks 2026 FAQs
When are the NFL bye weeks in 2026?
Byes run from Week 5 (Oct 8 to 12) through Week 14 (Dec 10 to 14). Week 12 is the only week inside that range with no teams off.
Which teams are on bye in Week 11 of 2026?
Six teams: Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks. It is the heaviest bye week of the season.
Why is there no bye week in Week 12 of the 2026 NFL season?
Week 12 is Thanksgiving week. The league keeps all 32 clubs available for a holiday slate that runs five days, starting with the first Thanksgiving Eve game on Wednesday, November 25.
Which teams have the earliest bye week in 2026?
The Carolina Panthers and Kansas City Chiefs are off in Week 5, the weekend of October 11. Both then play 13 straight weeks to close the regular season.
Which teams have the latest bye week in 2026?
The Arizona Cardinals and Dallas Cowboys wait until Week 14 in mid December, leaving only four games after the break.
How many bye weeks does each NFL team get?
One. Every club plays 17 games and takes a single week off inside the 18 week regular season, a format in place since 2021.
How many days off do players get during a bye week?
The collective bargaining agreement guarantees at least four consecutive days off. The gap between kickoffs stretches to 14 days, double a normal week.
Do NFL teams play better coming off a bye week?
Barely. NFL researchers found the bye was worth about 2.2 points per game before the 2011 labor deal and roughly 0.3 points since, which is statistically indistinguishable from zero. The league executive who builds the schedule has said rest disparity does not affect expected win percentage.
Which teams get a bye right after an international game in 2026?
Jacksonville, New Orleans and New England. The Jaguars host two London games in Weeks 5 and 6 then rest in Week 7, the Saints host Pittsburgh in Paris in Week 7 and are off in Week 8, and the Patriots meet Detroit in Munich in Week 10 before a Week 11 bye.
Where can I download a printable 2026 NFL bye week schedule?
The free one page PDF is linked in the printable section above. It lists every week, the dates and all 32 teams, and prints cleanly on US Letter or A4 in landscape.
When does the 2026 NFL season start and end?
The season opens Wednesday, September 9, 2026 with the Patriots at the Seahawks, and the regular season ends Sunday, January 10, 2027. Super Bowl LXI follows on February 14, 2027 at SoFi Stadium.
Final Thoughts
The NFL bye weeks 2026 schedule shapes ten weekends of the season, from the Panthers and Chiefs opening the run in Week 5 to the Cardinals and Cowboys closing it in Week 14. Save the printable, mark Week 11 on your fantasy calendar, and bookmark this page since we refresh it whenever the league moves a game.
