NBC Sports’ weekly primetime NFL showcase, Sunday Night Football, has been the top-rated program on broadcast TV for a staggering 15 years, but it’s not the only part of the SNF experience. Every week during the NFL season, football fans sit down early to catch Football Night in America, NBC and Peacock’s best-in-the-business pregame show.
How to Watch
Watch Sunday Night Football on NBC and streaming on Peacock.
That’s because Football Night in America is much more than a quick lead-in to the game. It’s a massive production unto itself, airing for 80 minutes in the lead-up to each SNF game. It’s not just a preview of the night’s action, but a look at the state of the entire league at that moment. Even if you can only watch one football game on Sundays, and it’s Sunday Night Football, if you tune into Football Night in America you’ll feel like you caught a whole week’s worth of football action. So, ahead of the show’s return, let’s take a quick look at what to expect for the 2026 NFL season.
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How to watch Football Night in America
Though it won’t return to regular weekly programming until September, Football Night in America actually returns this week with a special edition to commemorate the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Game. You can catch the pregame show August 6 at 7 p.m. ET on NBC, and streaming simultaneously on Peacock.
For the regular season, though there are occasional scheduling changes, Football Night in America airs Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock, ahead of Sunday Night Football‘s kickoff at 8:20 p.m. ET each Sunday.
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Who’s on the Football Night in America broadcast team?
Because it’s a show focused as much on the league at large as it is on Sunday night’s game, Football Night in America features a staff of experts from around the NFL, analyzing highlights, previewing key storylines, looking at player performances, and much more.
In 2026, the show will once again be hosted by NBC Sports’ Maria Taylor, with analysis from former NFL quarterback and head coach Jason Garrett, three-time Super Bowl winner Devin McCourty, and Pro Football Talk creator Mike Florio.
Then there’s this year’s new addition. NBC Sports announced back in the spring that Mike Tomlin, Super Bowl-winning former head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, would join Football Night in America as a new analyst this season, adding another key voice to the show’s flow of insight and entertainment.
Sunday Night Football returns September 9 with a special Wednesday edition that kicks off the entire NFL season, as the Seattle Seahawks host the New England Patriots in a Super Bowl rematch. That’s followed by the regular Sunday Night game on September 13, as the Dallas Cowboys visit the New York Giants in primetime.
