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.
1920s and 1930s
Canceling games was far more common in the 1920s and early 1930s, in the founding years of the league. When a team did not want to play a game, they could cancel without any punishment or penalty.
After league schedules were standardized in 1933, cancellations were effectively banned; thus, teams would have to forfeit the game or postpone if a cancellation was due to issues outside the team's control. The last unpunished cancellation of a regular season NFL game was a November 17, 1935, contest between the Boston Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles at Philadelphia, which was canceled due to driving rain and snow that left the field unplayable.
There have been no forfeits in the league's history; a 1921 game between the Rochester Jeffersons and the Washington Senators is occasionally listed as a forfeit, but because of the lax cancellation rules of the time and uncertainty over which team (if either) was at fault for the game not being played, the game is listed in modern records as a cancellation.
While several games were removed from the schedules of the NFL teams of the early 1940s, the issues (namely, World War II, the exodus of marquee talent to the war effort, and restrictions on usage of resources) were already foreseen by the start of the 1942 season, meaning the league was able to issue shortened schedules without having to cancel any scheduled contests.
1974 players' strike The 1974 College All-Star Game, an exhibition game that pitted the most recent Super Bowl champion (Miami Dolphins) against a team composed entirely of rookies, was canceled as a result of a players’ strike. The strike was resolved before any further games were canceled; the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, along with the rest of the 1974 NFL season, went on as scheduled, although at least one game was held with the Denver Broncos using a squad of rookie replacement players.
1982 players' strike
In 1982, players began a 57-day strike following the completion of Week 2 of the regular season. As a result of the impasse, games were simply canceled until a settlement was reached (ultimately, Weeks 3 to 10). Upon reaching that settlement, the NFL announced that Weeks 11 to 16 would be played as scheduled, and the games originally scheduled for Week 3 of the season would be played following the completion of the resumed regular season as a new Week 17, with the playoffs pushed back one week. Later, the NFL decided to use the final week 17 to hold various intra-division games from canceled Weeks 3 to 10 instead of merely playing the Week 3 games. This was done to increase attendance and to allow some teams to balance out home and away games, to the extent possible (either five home and four away, or four home and five away). Because the 1982 shortened season would include only nine regular season contests for each team, the NFL announced that the three divisions in each of the two conferences would be eliminated for the purpose of determining playoff qualifications, and the regular season would be followed by an expansion of the playoffs from 10 to 16 teams. With this, each conference had 14 teams competing for 8 playoff spots, with division standings being disregarded in favor of overall conference standings. Each of the first three rounds of the playoffs was pushed back one week in order to make room for the new week 17, which was originally scheduled as the Wild Card weekend. This was possible because there was an idle week between the Conference Championship games and the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl and Pro Bowl were held as originally scheduled.
1982 games lost Note: Some of the games originally scheduled for Weeks 3 to 10, listed below, were rescheduled to a new, final Week 17.
Week 3 – September 26 DayVisiting TeamHome TeamThursdayUrena, Ivan; Pro Football Schedules: A Complete Historical Guide from 1933 to the Present, p. 222 AtlantaKansas CitySundayBuffaloHoustonSundayChicagoSan FranciscoSundayDenverNew OrleansSundayL.A. RamsPhiladelphiaSundayMiamiGreen BaySundayN.Y. GiantsPittsburghSundayN.Y. JetsBaltimoreSundaySeattleNew EnglandSundayTampa BayDetroitMondayCincinnatiCleveland
Week 4– October 3 DayVisiting TeamHome TeamSundayBaltimoreDetroitSundayClevelandWashingtonSundayHoustonN.Y. JetsSundayKansas CitySeattleSundayL.A. RamsSt. LouisSundayMiamiCincinnatiSundayMinnesotaChicagoSundayNew EnglandBuffaloSundayNew OrleansL.A. RaidersSundayN.Y. GiantsDallasSundayPhiladelphiaGreen BaySundayPittsburghDenverSundaySan DiegoAtlantaMondaySan FranciscoTampa Bay
Week 5– October 10 DayVisiting TeamHome TeamSundayAtlantaL.A. RamsSundayBuffaloBaltimoreSundayCincinnatiNew EnglandSundayClevelandL.A. RaidersSundayDenverN.Y. JetsSundayDetroitMiamiSundayGreen BayChicagoSundayHoustonKansas CitySundayMinnesotaTampa BaySundaySan FranciscoNew OrleansSundaySeattleSan DiegoSundaySt. LouisN.Y. GiantsSundayWashingtonDallasMondayPhiladelphiaPittsburgh
Week 6 – October 17 DayVisiting TeamHome TeamSundayAtlantaDetroitSundayBaltimoreClevelandSundayChicagoSt. LouisSundayCincinnatiN.Y. GiantsSundayDallasPhiladelphiaSundayDenverHoustonSundayKansas CitySan DiegoSundayL.A. RaidersSeattleSundayNew EnglandMiamiSundayNew OrleansMinnesotaSundayPittsburghWashingtonSundayTampa BayGreen BayMondayBuffaloN.Y. Jets
Week 7 – October 24 DayVisiting TeamHome TeamSundayDallasCincinnatiSundayDetroitBuffaloSundayGreen BayMinnesotaSundayL.A. RaidersDenverSundayNew OrleansL.A. RamsSundaySt. LouisNew EnglandSundaySan DiegoSeattleSundaySan FranciscoAtlantaSundayTampa BayChicagoSundayWashingtonHoustonMondayN.Y. GiantsPhiladelphia
Week 8 – October 31 DayVisiting TeamHome TeamSundayBuffaloDenverSundayChicagoGreen BaySundayDallasN.Y. GiantsSundayHoustonClevelandSundayL.A. RamsSan DiegoSundayMiamiL.A. RaidersSundayNew EnglandN.Y. JetsSundayPhiladelphiaSt. LouisSundayPittsburghCincinnatiSundaySan FranciscoWashingtonSundaySeattleKansas CitySundayTampa BayBaltimoreMondayDetroitMinnesota
Week 9 – November 7 DayVisiting TeamHome TeamSundayAtlantaChicagoSundayBaltimoreNew EnglandSundayDetroitPhiladelphiaSundayGreen BayTampa BaySundayHoustonPittsburghSundayKansas CityL.A. RaidersSundayL.A. RamsNew OrleansSundayMinnesotaSan FranciscoSundayN.Y. GiantsClevelandSundayN.Y. JetsBuffaloSundaySt. LouisDallasSundayWashingtonCincinnatiMondaySan DiegoMiami
Week 10 – November 14 DayVisiting TeamHome TeamSundayClevelandMiamiSundayDallasSan FranciscoSundayDenverKansas CitySundayL.A. RaidersBaltimoreSundayMinnesotaWashingtonSundayNew OrleansSan DiegoSundayN.Y. GiantsL.A. RamsSundayN.Y. JetsPittsburghSundaySeattleSt. LouisMondayPhiladelphiaAtlanta
Games postponed to new Week 17 In order to ensure maximal attendance, and to balance out home and away games for each team, to the extent possible (either five home and four away, or four home and five away), the NFL made 12 of the 14 games in the final week of the rescheduled season (Week 17) select intra-division games that were picked from canceled Weeks 3 to 10, instead of merely playing out Week 3 games, as had originally been planned. This was the maximum number mathematically possible, since four of the six divisions at that time had an odd number of teams (the two games that were not intra-division were New York Jets at Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys at Minnesota Vikings). The New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles game originally scheduled for Week 7 on Monday was moved to Sunday, while the Dallas Cowboys at Minnesota Vikings game originally scheduled for Week 3 on Sunday was moved to Monday.
OrgDayVisiting TeamHome Team3SundaySt. LouisWashington3SundayL.A. RaidersSan Diego6SundayL.A. RamsSan Francisco7SundayClevelandPittsburgh7SundayMiamiBaltimore7SundayN.Y. JetsKansas City7SundayN.Y. GiantsPhiladelphia8SundayAtlantaNew Orleans9SundayDenverSeattle10SundayBuffaloNew England10SundayChicagoTampa Bay10SundayCincinnatiHouston10SundayGreen BayDetroit3MondayDallasMinnesota
1987 players' strike
In 1987, the players went on strike for a second time in-season, again following the second week of the campaign. However, unlike 1982, the owners took the bold step of using replacement players. After missing just one week of action, the NFL resumed with replacement players for Week 4. By the time Week 6 had rolled around, enough players had crossed the picket lines and forced an agreement to let the regular players play again. The canceled games of Week 3 were not made up, and the league counted the three weeks of game results featuring the replacement players as regular season games toward each team's final standings. By Week 7, the teams had all players back in action, with all teams completing a 15-game schedule. Also unlike 1982, there was no change to the playoff format that season.
1987 games lost
Week 3 – September 27 DayVisiting TeamHome TeamSundayAtlantaNew OrleansSundayBuffaloDallasSundayChicagoDetroitSundayCincinnatiL.A. RamsSundayGreen BayTampa BaySundayIndianapolisSt. LouisSunday MinnesotaKansas City SundayL.A. RaidersHoustonSundayNew EnglandWashingtonSundayUrena; Pro Football Schedules, p. 17N.Y. GiantsMiamiSundayN.Y. JetsPittsburghSundayPhiladelphiaSan FranciscoSundaySeattleSan DiegoMondayDenverCleveland
1995 preseason game in Houston