FOX Sports has released the 2026 NFL preseason Week 2 schedule, a 16-game slate that runs from Thursday, Aug. 20 through Sunday, Aug. 23 and ends with Seattle visiting Tennessee in a national FOX window. The Sunday night matchup will air at 8 p.m. ET on FOX and FOX One.
That timing is why fans are searching now. The schedule is set for a full preseason weekend, with select games also slated for or NFL Network and the rest carried by participating teams' local affiliates. FOX One will also stream the FOX game and more, giving viewers another way to follow a stretch of games that matters for evaluation but does not count toward a team's regular-season record.
The week comes as preseason competition shifts into a deeper look at rookies, new additions and position battles before the games start to matter in the standings. Most teams will play three preseason games in 2026, while the Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals each play four because they already took part in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 6. That exception leaves their calendar longer than the rest, but it does not change the basic preseason rule: the games are for sorting out the roster, not for building the record.
For fans, the useful part is the structure. Thursday, Aug. 20 starts the week, Sunday night brings the national FOX showcase, and the preseason then closes with Week 3 from Aug. 27-29. The only unresolved piece is the one that usually matters most on a crowded weekend: which local affiliate carries which matchup, and how the remaining games are split once the national windows are accounted for.
