2026 NFL Week 8 schedule: Games, kickoff times, byes and top storylines

The 2026 NFL regular season is approaching its halfway point, and we get a juicy Week 8 slate with 14 games. With only four teams on bye and no international games, it’s a loaded 1 p.m. ET slate with eight matchups, including a potential showdown between a pair of MVP quarterbacks. 

Here's everything you need to know about the 2026 NFL Week 8 schedule, including kickoff times, teams on bye and five of the biggest storylines to watch.

2026 NFL Week 8 schedule

Here's the complete NFL Week 8 schedule, with all kickoff times listed in Eastern Time. Click any matchup to browse tickets for that game on SeatGeek.

Four teams have a bye in Week 8: the Texans, Saints, Giants and 49ers.

Biggest storylines to watch in NFL Week 8

There's plenty to unpack across the Week 8 schedule, so here’s what stands out the most heading into the week.

Ravens vs. Bills

One of the biggest questions heading into Week 8 is whether Lamar Jackson will be healthy enough to face fellow MVP quarterback Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills.

Jackson suffered an ankle injury against the Tennessee Titans on October 4, with backup Tyler Huntley running the offense in his stead.

There's some encouraging news for Ravens fans, though. Jackson returned to practice on October 21 for the first time since the injury and participated on a limited basis again the following day.

Even if Jackson returns, how much the ankle affects his mobility will be worth watching. His ability to escape pressure and extend plays is a huge part of what makes Baltimore's offense so difficult to defend.

There's also some recent history between these quarterbacks. Allen holds a 4-3 record against Jackson in their seven head-to-head starts, including two playoff victories. Their most recent meeting was an absolute thriller in September 2025, when Buffalo erased a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat Baltimore 41-40. The Ravens will be looking for some revenge, especially after the Bills also eliminated them from the playoffs earlier that year.

If Jackson is back, this is the best quarterback duel of Week 8. But regardless of who's under center, the Ravens need every win they can get in a crowded AFC North race where no team has a losing record.

Vikings vs. Lions

The NFC North is another one of the NFL's most competitive divisions, and this matchup is especially important for the Detroit Lions as they try to gain ground on the first-place Minnesota Vikings.

It's also one of the most interesting contrasts of styles on the Week 8 schedule.

Detroit's offense has been among the NFL's most explosive units, with Jared Goff leading an attack featuring Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown and plenty of other weapons. The Lions can beat opponents through the air or on the ground, making them particularly difficult to defend when they're finding a rhythm.

But Minnesota's defense presents a completely different challenge.

Under defensive coordinator Brian Flores, the Vikings have developed one of the league's most aggressive defensive schemes, regularly blitzing and disguising coverages to confuse opposing quarterbacks.

Minnesota swept the Lions in their two meetings during the 2025 season, including a narrow 27-24 victory at Ford Field. The Vikings also forced six turnovers in their Christmas Day rematch, winning 23-10 and officially eliminating Detroit from playoff contention.

For the Lions, this is an opportunity to get some revenge while closing the gap in the NFC North standings. But first, they'll have to figure out a defense that had their number twice last season.

Chiefs vs. Broncos

The AFC West has belonged to the Kansas City Chiefs for most of the past decade, but the Denver Broncos finally ended their rival's nine-year run of division titles in 2025.

Now the battle for AFC West supremacy is heating up again, with Kansas City and Denver occupying the top two spots in the division standings heading into their Week 8 rematch.

Kansas City already made quite a statement against Denver in the season opener, cruising to a 31-10 victory at Arrowhead Stadium with Kenneth Walker rushing for 173 yards and scoring two touchdowns (one through the air) in his Kansas City debut. 

For Denver, much of the attention will be on quarterback Bo Nix, who has struggled mightily this campaign after suffering a season-ending ankle injury during last year's playoff run.

The Broncos reached the AFC Championship Game last season, but their offense hasn't looked nearly as dangerous in 2026. Nix has struggled to push the ball downfield, and Denver has relied heavily on its defense to keep games within reach.

After getting thoroughly outplayed in Week 1, can the Broncos get things going on offense and flip the script in the rematch?

Falcons vs. Buccaneers

We love a good revenge game in the NFL, and this is one of the best on the entire 2026 schedule.

When the Atlanta Falcons hired Kevin Stefanski as their new head coach in January, Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield didn't exactly send a congratulatory message.

Instead, Mayfield took to social media to express his frustration with how his time in Cleveland ended, saying he was still waiting to hear from Stefanski after the Browns traded him in 2022. He also made it clear he was looking forward to facing his former coach twice a year.

The two had some success together in Cleveland, leading the Browns to their first playoff victory in 26 years during the 2020 season. But things went downhill in 2021 as Mayfield battled a shoulder injury, and Cleveland eventually traded him to Carolina after acquiring Deshaun Watson.

Mayfield has since revived his career in Tampa Bay, while Stefanski is getting a fresh start in Atlanta after six seasons with the Browns.

Mayfield returns against the Carolina Panthers in Week 7 after missing three games with a dislocated thumb on his throwing hand. 

Mayfield has since downplayed the personal rivalry with Stefanski, but it's hard to ignore the history between them. Add in the fact that a win here would mean a ton in the wide-open NFC South, and this reunion has plenty riding on it beyond bragging rights.

Bears vs. Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks haven't had the smoothest start to their Super Bowl defense, and things aren't getting any easier with the Chicago Bears coming to town for Monday Night Football.

Seattle has struggled to find the same consistency that helped it win last season's championship, especially with the departures of offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and running back Kenneth Walker. A difficult stretch of the schedule isn't doing the Seahawks any favors either.

The coaching battle between two of the sport’s brightest minds might be the most fascinating part of this game.

Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald is one of the NFL's top defensive gurus, having built the dominant unit that helped carry the Seahawks to a Super Bowl title. On the opposite sideline, Chicago head coach Ben Johnson is widely regarded as one of the league's most creative offensive coaches, having transformed Detroit's offense before taking over the Bears.

There's also a fun connection between the starting quarterbacks, who both played their college football at USC.

Sam Darnold was selected third overall in the 2018 NFL Draft and bounced around the league before reviving his career in Minnesota and leading Seattle to a championship. Caleb Williams went first overall in 2024 and has already become one of the league’s most electrifying talents under center. 

With the 12s making Lumen Field one of the loudest places in football, this is the kind of Monday night atmosphere that's hard to beat.