The NFL annually signals its strongest discontent with teams undergoing reconstruction by not scheduling five franchises for any prime-time football exposure throughout the current season.
The lineup for this season consists of the New York Jets, Las Vegas Raiders, Miami Dolphins, Tennessee Titans, and Arizona Cardinals.
This marks the second consecutive year the Titans have been excluded from prime-time broadcasts, having also been omitted in 2025 alongside the Cleveland Browns and New Orleans Saints.
Curiously, this creates a situation where the previous two top NFL Draft selections—Cam Ward of the Titans and Fernando Mendoza of the Raiders—will have completed their inaugural professional seasons without any prime-time appearances. For Ward, this would also extend his prime-time absence to the initial two years of his career.
Although the league never explicitly states it, the exclusion from prime-time slots is frequently perceived as a directive to team owners regarding the need for their organizations to achieve a stable competitive level from one season to the next. The Jets, Raiders, Titans, and Cardinals each finished 3-14 in the previous season, occupying the bottom position in their respective divisions. The Dolphins stand out, having achieved a 7-10 record, but then proceeded to significantly restructure their roster this offseason after that average showing.
It’s noteworthy—though possibly not coincidental—that these particular teams have consistently represented five of the six lowest odds for winning the Super Bowl throughout a significant portion of the offseason, frequently with the Browns also ranking among the bottom six. While I would never imply that the NFL takes sports betting appeal into account when constructing its prime-time schedule, featuring what oddsmakers consider to be the weakest franchises undoubtedly hinders that supplementary revenue stream.
Below is a brief overview illustrating why these teams ultimately faced exclusion:
New York Jets
One could argue this reflects the NFL’s ongoing displeasure after allocating 11 combined prime-time, flex, or international matchups to the Jets in 2023 and 2024, only to witness the team decline to an 8-26 record across those two seasons. Honestly, it requires considerable provocation for the league to sideline a franchise from its primary media market, yet confidence in the Aaron Glenn and Geno Smith-helmed team seems low for the current season. Perhaps this outlook could shift in 2027 if the Jets underperform as anticipated and secure Arch Manning for their roster in 2027.
Las Vegas Raiders
Last season, the Raiders were granted three prime-time contests featuring head coach Pete Carroll, offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, and their new quarterback Geno Smith, hinting at potential excitement, especially with Ashton Jeanty, one of college football’s most thrilling running backs, joining the roster. However, the season devolved into internal coaching disputes and an abysmal offensive performance during an exceptionally disappointing campaign. The situation worsened towards the end of the season when the Raiders seemed to deactivate star edge rusher Maxx Crosby as they vied for the top draft pick. Even with Fernando Mendoza now involved and a restructured coaching staff, I suspect the league was disinclined to compensate the Raiders following their previous season’s poor showing.
Miami Dolphins
Last year, the Dolphins participated in six prime-time or international matchups but only achieved a 7-10 season, revealing a significant deterioration in their roster and quarterback situation. The subsequent overhaul—which saw the departure of general manager Chris Grier, head coach Mike McDaniel, and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (among numerous others)—extinguished any incentive to showcase the Dolphins this season. A reconstruction effort that appears to strip the team down to its fundamentals and divest almost all its prominent talent instills little hope for an unexpected successful season. There are repercussions for embarking on a restart that implies years before a truly competitive squad emerges, and this complete absence from prime-time slots is one such consequence.
Tennessee Titans
The Titans are currently experiencing an extreme drought in terms of NFL scheduling, having had only a single—just one!—prime-time broadcast stretching back to the 2024 season. Their most recent prime-time appearance was during Week 4 of that season against the Dolphins. Despite winning that particular game 31-12, the Titans concluded the season with an overall 3-14 record, resulting in no prime-time games for 2025. And when they once more finished 3-14 in 2025… this exemplifies the compounding negative impact of a poor NFL team, causing the league to completely exclude them again in 2026.
Even with the 2025 top overall draft pick, Cam Ward, his presence last season failed to inspire sufficient trust to grant the Titans, despite their entirely reshuffled coaching staff, a prime-time slot. As Ward candidly remarked about Tennessee’s on-field display at one juncture last season, “We’re terrible.” And presenting “terrible” football is not what the NFL prefers for a dedicated national broadcast, much less for the networks that invest heavily in producing prime-time content.
Arizona Cardinals
Following their climb from a 4-13 record in 2023 to a more respectable 8-9 in 2024, the NFL granted the Cardinals two prime-time appearances in 2025. However, the team subsequently suffered a severe decline, reverting to a dismal 3-14 standing. This unfortunate turn involved benching quarterback Kyler Murray for the majority of the season in favor of the rather unappealing Jacoby Brissett, who managed a 1-11 record across his 12 starts.
Indeed, despite extensive changes to their coaching staff, the fastest method to forfeit any chance at prime-time games is to rely on the previous season’s 1-11 journeyman quarterback—who seemingly serves as a temporary solution until the Cardinals can initiate a fresh start with a new young signal-caller. Even under optimal circumstances, the Cardinals, much like the Titans, present a challenge for national viewership. Regressing to a disorganized rebuilding phase with their head coach and (eventually) quarterback simplifies the NFL’s decision-making process, eliminating any incentive to feature the team in a prime-time slot.
