Is there a Thursday night football game tonight? XFL schedule, TV channels for Week 1
The 2023 XFL season is about to begin, and football fans around the world are excited for the latest spring startup league.
There’s usually a six-month gap from the end of the Super Bowl to the start of the NFL preseason, where live football games are hard to find. The USFL narrowed that gap last year, and in 2023 the XFL is making sure there will be no gap at all.
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The XFL’s season begins less than a week after the Chiefs won Super Bowl 57, leaving fans little time to familiarize themselves with the league’s rosters, rules and broadcast schedule for 2023.
That will surely leave fans with an important question. Will the XFL play Thursday nights and will they do so this week?
Here’s what you should know about the XFL’s Thursday night football schedule, as well as the league’s full schedule for its first week of play.
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Is there a football game tonight on Thursday night?
It will NOT to be a Thursday night game to start the XFL’s 2023 season. While the league plays occasional games on Thursday, it plans to start its season on Saturday, February 18 at 3:00 p.m. ET.
In fact, this will be the seventh consecutive week that no professional football game has been broadcast on a Thursday night. The last was played on December 29, 2022 when the Cowboys defeated the exhausted Titans led by Joshua Dobbs 27-13.
The XFL will soon change that, offering fans an occasional Thursday night oasis in the middle of the NFL’s six-month offseason.
MORE: Full schedule, dates, times for 2023 XFL games
XFL Schedule Week 1
In the opening week of the XFL season, four games will be played over a two-day period. Here’s a look at the matchups taking place on Saturday and Sunday.
week 1
Saturday February 18th
| Game | Kick off time (ET) | TV channel | Live broadcast |
| Vegas Vipers at Arlington Renegades | 3 pm | ABC | ESPN+, fuboTV |
| Orlando Guardians with the Houston Roughnecks | 8:30 p.m | ESPN/FX | ESPN+, fuboTV |
Sunday February 19th
| Game | Kick off time (ET) | TV channel | Live broadcast |
| St Louis Battlehawks at San Antonio Brahmas | 3 pm | ABC | ESPN+, fuboTV |
| Seattle Sea Dragons at DC Defenders | 8 p.m | ESPN | ESPN+, fuboTV |
Click here for the full 10-week schedule for the 2023 XFL season.
XFL Thursday Night Football Schedule 2023
The XFL plans to broadcast two Thursday night games during its 2023 season, both involving the Seattle Sea Dragons. They are as follows:
| Week | Date | Match | Kick off time (ET) | channel | Live broadcast |
| 2 | February 23 | St.Louis BattleHawks at Seattle Sea Dragons | 9 p.m. ET | fx | ESPN+, fuboTV |
| 5 | March 16th | Houston Roughnecks with the Seattle Sea Dragons | 9 p.m. ET | fx | ESPN+, fuboTV |
It’s not clear if the XFL will move any of their other games to Thursdays during the season. However, the league will have at least one Monday night game. It’s scheduled for week 6.