The 2026 NFL preseason wraps up with Week 3, running Thursday, August 27 through Saturday, August 29 — the last audition before every team cuts from 90 players to 53 by 6 PM ET on Sunday, August 30. Because the regular season opens on a Wednesday this year (September 9), the finale and the cutdown are both about two days earlier than usual, which means teams go from their last exhibition to a finished roster in barely 24 hours.
Don’t expect starters. Week 3 is the backups’ week: coaches rest anyone with a locked roster spot and give the final reps to rookies, practice-squad candidates, and veterans on the bubble. That makes it the most consequential week for the bottom of the roster and the least watchable for stars — but it’s also where the last few surprise 53-man decisions get made. Two games are national: Patriots at Browns on Prime Video Thursday and Bengals at Eagles on CBS Friday.
The full 16-game slate with kickoffs and networks is below, plus the key dates that follow. Take a look, then we’ll get into what happens after the last whistle.
NFL PRESEASON 2026
Preseason Week 3 Schedule and TV Guide
The final 16 exhibition games, Thursday, Aug. 27 through Saturday, Aug. 29
NATIONAL TV
2 games
Prime Video Thu, CBS Fri
FINALE
Bears-Titans
Sat, 6 PM ET
CUTDOWN
Aug 30
90 to 53 by 6 PM ET
OPENER
Sept 9
Patriots at Seahawks
2026 preseason Week 3 schedule
All times Eastern; local stations carry every game in-market
| Date |
Matchup |
Kickoff (ET) |
TV / Stream |
Note |
| Thu, Aug 27 |
Steelers at Bills |
7:00 PM |
NFL Network |
|
| Thu, Aug 27 |
Patriots at Browns |
8:00 PM |
Prime Video |
National |
| Thu, Aug 27 |
49ers at Raiders |
8:00 PM |
ESPN App |
|
| Thu, Aug 27 |
Rams at Chargers |
10:00 PM |
NFL Network |
L.A. crosstown |
| Fri, Aug 28 |
Commanders at Ravens |
6:00 PM |
NFL Network |
Beltway |
| Fri, Aug 28 |
Falcons at Dolphins |
7:00 PM |
Local |
|
| Fri, Aug 28 |
Texans at Panthers |
7:00 PM |
Local |
Panthers’ 4th preseason game |
| Fri, Aug 28 |
Giants at Jets |
7:30 PM |
Local |
MetLife rivalry |
| Fri, Aug 28 |
Buccaneers at Jaguars |
7:30 PM |
Local |
Florida |
| Fri, Aug 28 |
Saints at Cowboys |
8:00 PM |
ESPN App |
|
| Fri, Aug 28 |
Cardinals at Packers |
8:00 PM |
Local |
Cardinals’ 4th preseason game |
| Fri, Aug 28 |
Seahawks at Chiefs |
8:00 PM |
ESPN App |
|
| Fri, Aug 28 |
Bengals at Eagles |
8:00 PM |
CBS |
National |
| Fri, Aug 28 |
Vikings at Broncos |
9:00 PM |
NFL Network |
|
| Sat, Aug 29 |
Lions at Colts |
1:00 PM |
NFL Network |
|
| Sat, Aug 29 |
Bears at Titans |
6:00 PM |
NFL Network |
Final preseason game of 2026 |
Per the NFL’s preseason schedule release, updated Aug. 18, 2026.
What comes next
The 11 days from the last exhibition to the opener
| Date |
Event |
| Sat, Aug 29, 6:00 PM ET |
Final preseason game: Bears at Titans |
| Sun, Aug 30, 6:00 PM ET |
Rosters cut from 90 to 53 — a single cutdown, two days earlier than recent years |
| Mon, Aug 31, 1:00 PM ET |
Waiver claims processed; practice squads (16 players) begin forming |
| Wed, Sept 9, 8:20 PM ET |
Regular season opener: Patriots at Seahawks, NBC / Peacock |
WEEK 3 NOTES
Backups’ week
Most teams sit their starters entirely in the finale; the snaps go to players fighting for the last five or six roster spots.
Streaming the national games
Prime Video’s game requires an Amazon Prime subscription; CBS’s game is on Paramount+ and free over the air with an antenna.
Local rivalries on purpose
The league stacks the finale with short-travel pairings — Rams-Chargers, Giants-Jets, Bucs-Jags, Commanders-Ravens — to limit travel before cut day.
What Cut Day Looks Like This Year
With the finale ending Saturday evening and the deadline hitting Sunday at 6 PM ET, front offices are working overnight. Expect the transaction wire to explode Sunday afternoon: roughly 1,100 players league-wide are released or waived in that window, waiver claims process Monday at 1 PM ET, and 16-man practice squads fill within hours. Vested veterans (four-plus accrued seasons) become free agents immediately; everyone else passes through waivers first, where claim priority runs in reverse order of the previous season’s standings.
The Bottom Line
Preseason Week 3 is less about the games and more about what they decide. Watch the two national windows if you want football — Patriots-Browns on Prime Thursday, Bengals-Eagles on CBS Friday — and watch the transaction wire Sunday if you want to know who made your team. Then it’s an 11-day sprint to Patriots-Seahawks on Wednesday, September 9. For the roster mechanics behind cut weekend, see our guides to practice squad pay and the PUP list, and for what the drafted rookies who survive are earning, the 2026 rookie contract scale.
