Carolina Panthers schedule: NFL officially announces full 2026 slate

For the first time since 2017, the Carolina Panthers made the NFL playoffs. Still, they finished with a losing record at 8-9 but won the division. Plenty in Carolina still feel as if there is room for improvement going into 2026. Now, exactly how the journey over an 18-week slate looks has been revealed. Opponents for the 2026 season have been known for quite some time. As usual, the Panthers are set to play six games against NFC South opponents. A first-place finish in the division last year means matchups vs. other first-place teams in the NFC also take place. Carolina will then face two other divisions, the AFC North and NFC North. To make it 17 games, another team from the AFC is thrown in there. This season, the Denver Broncos get the honor. A jam-packed schedule for sure, you can check out the full thing here. Week 1: vs. Chicago Bears (1 p.m. ET, FOX) Week 2: at Atlanta Falcons (1 p.m. ET, FOX) Week 3: at Cleveland Browns (1 p.m. ET, FOX) Week 4: vs. Detroit Lions (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC) – Sunday Night Football Week 5: BYE WEEK Week 6: at Philadelphia Eagles (1 p.m. ET, CBS) Week 7: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1 p.m. ET, FOX) Week 8: at Green Bay Packers (8:15 p.m. ET, Amazon) – Thursday Night Football Week 9: vs. Denver Broncos (1 p.m. ET, CBS) Week 10: at New Orleans Saints (1 p.m. ET, FOX) Week 11: vs. Baltimore Ravens (1 p.m. ET, FOX) Week 12: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8:15 p.m ET, ESPN) – Monday Night Football Week 13: at Minnesota Vikings (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS) Week 14: vs. New Orleans Saints (1 p.m. ET, CBS) Week 15: vs. Cincinnati Bengals (1 p.m. ET, FOX) Week 16: at Pittsburgh Steelers (TBD) Week 17: vs. Seattle Seahawks (1 p.m. ET, FOX) Week 18: vs. Atlanta Falcons (TBD) The Panthers find themselves in prime time on three occasions this season. For comparison, only one such game came in 2025. All three standalone networks — Amazon, ESPN, and NBC — will broadcast a Panthers game. Interestingly enough, just one of them will be a divisional battle. Still, over half of the kickoffs will come at 1 p.m. ET. As you can see in the schedule, two of the times have yet to be determined. There is a possibility of playing the game on a Saturday instead of Sunday.