List of canceled and rescheduled NFL games
Updated: 5/24/2026, 6:51:23 PM Wikipedia source
The following is a list of games that have been canceled and rescheduled by the National Football League (NFL) since 1933. While canceling games was extremely common prior to this date, since that year, the NFL has only canceled regular season games four times, two of them for labor disputes between the league and the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA). Seven weeks of regular season games were canceled in 1982 and one week of regular season games was canceled in 1987. A contest between the Boston Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles on November 17, 1935, was canceled due to weather, and a 2022–23 Week 17 contest between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals was suspended and eventually canceled outright following a critical in-game medical emergency to defensive back Damar Hamlin. Preseason contests have seen comparatively more cancellations, since the games do not count in the standings. Two of these games, the 1974 Chicago College All-Star Game and the 2011 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, were canceled because of off-season labor stoppages that were resolved prior to the start of the rest of the preseason. Three games were canceled as the result of unsafe playing fields: a 1995 NFL preseason game between the San Diego Chargers and the Houston Oilers, a 2001 preseason game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Philadelphia Eagles, and the 2016 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game. Two preseason games in 2017 and 2021 were canceled for weather. At least one other announced game was discarded before it was officially placed on the schedule. The proposed China Bowl exhibition was to have been played in August 2007 but was postponed indefinitely before the 2007 schedule was released, with all plans for the game formally canceled before December 2008. The league has run into other instances in which a game cannot realistically be played on its scheduled date, including weather-related rainouts and conflicts with college football or Major League Baseball over the use of shared stadiums. Unlike baseball, the NFL generally plays through even the coldest and most precipitous of weather unless such weather makes the stadium unusable or it becomes unsafe for spectators to attend the match. In such cases where a game cannot be played on its scheduled date, especially in the regular season, the league has the options of rescheduling the contest to any available day and, if the stadium cannot be used, relocating the contest to the opponent's stadium or a neutral site (usually another nearby NFL stadium or a suitably sized modern college football venue). Until the January 14, 2024, Steelers–Bills wild card playoff game, such measures have not been necessary for any individual game in the playoffs.
Tables
| Day | Visiting Team | Home Team |
| Thursday | Atlanta | Kansas City |
| Sunday | Buffalo | Houston |
| Sunday | Chicago | San Francisco |
| Sunday | Denver | New Orleans |
| Sunday | L . Rams | Philadelphia |
| Sunday | Miami | Green Bay |
| Sunday | N . Giants | Pittsburgh |
| Sunday | N . Jets | Baltimore |
| Sunday | Seattle | New England |
| Sunday | Tampa Bay | Detroit |
| Monday | Cincinnati | Cleveland |
| Day | Visiting Team | Home Team |
| Sunday | Baltimore | Detroit |
| Sunday | Cleveland | Washington |
| Sunday | Houston | N . Jets |
| Sunday | Kansas City | Seattle |
| Sunday | L . Rams | St. Louis |
| Sunday | Miami | Cincinnati |
| Sunday | Minnesota | Chicago |
| Sunday | New England | Buffalo |
| Sunday | New Orleans | L . Raiders |
| Sunday | N . Giants | Dallas |
| Sunday | Philadelphia | Green Bay |
| Sunday | Pittsburgh | Denver |
| Sunday | San Diego | Atlanta |
| Monday | San Francisco | Tampa Bay |
| Day | Visiting Team | Home Team |
| Sunday | Atlanta | L . Rams |
| Sunday | Buffalo | Baltimore |
| Sunday | Cincinnati | New England |
| Sunday | Cleveland | L . Raiders |
| Sunday | Denver | N . Jets |
| Sunday | Detroit | Miami |
| Sunday | Green Bay | Chicago |
| Sunday | Houston | Kansas City |
| Sunday | Minnesota | Tampa Bay |
| Sunday | San Francisco | New Orleans |
| Sunday | Seattle | San Diego |
| Sunday | St. Louis | N . Giants |
| Sunday | Washington | Dallas |
| Monday | Philadelphia | Pittsburgh |
| Day | Visiting Team | Home Team |
| Sunday | Atlanta | Detroit |
| Sunday | Baltimore | Cleveland |
| Sunday | Chicago | St. Louis |
| Sunday | Cincinnati | N . Giants |
| Sunday | Dallas | Philadelphia |
| Sunday | Denver | Houston |
| Sunday | Kansas City | San Diego |
| Sunday | L . Raiders | Seattle |
| Sunday | New England | Miami |
| Sunday | New Orleans | Minnesota |
| Sunday | Pittsburgh | Washington |
| Sunday | Tampa Bay | Green Bay |
| Monday | Buffalo | N . Jets |
| Day | Visiting Team | Home Team |
| Sunday | Dallas | Cincinnati |
| Sunday | Detroit | Buffalo |
| Sunday | Green Bay | Minnesota |
| Sunday | L . Raiders | Denver |
| Sunday | New Orleans | L . Rams |
| Sunday | St. Louis | New England |
| Sunday | San Diego | Seattle |
| Sunday | San Francisco | Atlanta |
| Sunday | Tampa Bay | Chicago |
| Sunday | Washington | Houston |
| Monday | N . Giants | Philadelphia |
References
- This was the first scheduled regular season meeting between the Falcons and Chiefs since 1972, and only the second in hi
- This was the first scheduled meeting between the Giants and Steelers since 1976, and the two teams actually next oppose
- This was the first scheduled regular season meeting between the Eagles and the Packers since 1979. The two teams next me
- These two teams had previously met in 1979, and did not meet again until the 1988 NFL season.
- This was this franchise's first scheduled regular season game against the Giants since 1977, and first ever road game. T
- The Lions and Bills had last played in 1979 and would not play another regular season game against each other until 1991
- This was the first scheduled regular season meeting of the Raiders and the Colts since 1975, when the Raiders were based
- This was the first scheduled regular season meeting of the Colts and the Cardinals in St. Louis since 1978, when the Col
- This was the first scheduled regular season game between the Dolphins and the Giants since the Dolphins’ 1972 perfect se
- UPIhttps://www.upi.com/Archives/1995/08/19/Oilers-game-cancelled-by-faulty-turf/1242808804800/
- SFgatehttp://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/Sues-over-canceled-game-at-Astrodome-Houston-s-3119873.php
- USA Todayhttp://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/nfl/games/2001-08-13-canceled.htm
- ESPNhttp://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/17241245/hall-fame-game-canceled-due-poor-field-conditions-tom-benson-stadium
- The Coffin Cornerhttps://web.archive.org/web/20101014211941/http://profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/22-05-865.pdf
- Urena, Ivan; Pro Football Schedules: A Complete Historical Guide from 1933 to the Present, p. 222 ISBN 0786473517
- Urena; Pro Football Schedules, p. 17
- "Ravens-Eagles canceled," St. Petersburg (FL) Times, Wednesday 15 August 2001. Retrieved 25 June 2025.https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2001/08/15/ravens-eagles-canceled/
- The New York Timeshttps://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/14/sports/nfl-roundup-eagles-turf-unsafe-for-ravens-game.html?sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1
- "With nation mourning JFK, NFL games were played"https://web.archive.org/web/20150210031617/http://www.chicagobears.com/news/article-1/With-nation-mourning-JFK-NFL-games-were-played/513e0cda-040b-4b5f-9569-993ff8b6725f
- "1963 season: Bears tie Steelers 17–17"https://web.archive.org/web/20141103093324/http://www.chicagobears.com/news/article-1/1963-season-Bears-tie-Steelers-17-17/b5cff230-ad0f-4581-9516-ff6559438fe8