The 2026 NFL schedule has arrived, presenting a holiday for those who love the game.
I won't spend the evening with green and red pens, marking up every schedule with projected wins and losses. But I will tell you which teams might have more manageable slates than others.
Each year, the playoff field includes teams who didn't advance to the postseason the year prior, illustrating the NFL's incredible parity while also underscoring how difficult it is to project winners and losers. At this time of year, all we have is what we learned from last season and how each of the 32 clubs changed during the spring.
Armed with this info, let's take a look at some of the most favorable schedules -- on paper -- entering the 2026 season.
- Strength of schedule: .429 (32nd)
- Prime-time games: 1
Among the things working in the Browns’ favor are the ninth-easiest home slate (.463) and the easiest road schedule (.399) based on their opponents’ 2025 winning percentage. While two road dates to start the campaign are challenging, the next month looks more appealing thanks to some home cooking. Carolina, Pittsburgh and Baltimore will visit the Forest City in the next four weeks, sandwiching a trip to face the Jets in Week 5. Home games against Houston, Las Vegas, Cincinnati and Atlanta fall in mid-November, a span that includes a Week 11 bye and a reunion with former head coach Kevin Stefanski (now HC of the Falcons) at what could be a pivotal juncture. Cleveland's schedule is among the more imbalanced in terms of extended road trips and homestands (three road games in a row in Weeks 7-9 followed by four straight home games in Weeks 10-14) and includes a tough final month with trips to play the Giants, Ravens and Bengals. If they can weather the three consecutive road games, the Browns should like how the slate turns near December.
Week 1: at Jaguars
Week 2: at Buccaneers
Week 3: Panthers
Week 4: Steelers (TNF)
Week 5: at Jets
Week 6: Ravens
Week 7: at Titans
Week 8: at Steelers
Week 9: at Saints
Week 10: Texans
Week 11: BYE
Week 12: Raiders
Week 13: Bengals
Week 14: Falcons
Week 15: at Giants
Week 16: at Ravens
Week 17: Colts
Week 18: at Bengals (TBD)
- Strength of schedule: .512 (15th)
- Prime-time games: 4
After opening the season with a prime-time date against the rival Chiefs in Kansas City, the Broncos will be happy to host most of their strongest non-division opponents in Denver. The Jaguars, Rams, Seahawks and Bills are all due to visit the Mile High City. The Broncos’ schedule is remarkably balanced, with no more than two road games in consecutive weeks. If they can use their home-field advantage to score wins over 2025 playoff qualifiers in the Jaguars and Rams in September, they should make it out of the first month in a manageable spot, although things do get tougher with road contests against the 49ers and Chargers. Perhaps most importantly, Denver's two December road games come against the Jets and Raiders. The Broncos close things out with a challenging trio of matchups that includes home games against the Bills and Chargers, but if any team is well positioned to finish strong, it's the reigning AFC West champs.
Week 1: at Chiefs (MNF)
Week 2: Jaguars
Week 3: Rams
Week 4: at 49ers
Week 5: at Chargers
Week 6: Seahawks (TNF)
Week 7: at Cardinals
Week 8: Chiefs
Week 9: at Panthers
Week 10: BYE
Week 11: Raiders
Week 12: at Steelers (Friday)
Week 13: Dolphins
Week 14: at Jets
Week 15: at Raiders
Week 16: Bills (Christmas)
Week 17: at Patriots (TBD)
Week 18: Chargers
- Strength of schedule: .479 (24th)
- Prime-time games: 3
New coach Jesse Minter will have to hit the road to start the season but will do so against a Colts team that will either be playing Daniel Jones in his first game back from an Achilles tear or a backup QB. New Orleans visits Baltimore in Week 2, then the Ravens head south to Rio de Janeiro to face the Cowboys, making for an ideal opening trio of games. They then host the Titans, visit Atlanta and Cleveland, and then return home to meet Cincinnati, which represents another advantageous stretch of contests. The schedule increases in difficulty in the second half, but Baltimore never spends more than two consecutive weeks away from home throughout the entire season. Three of the Ravens' final five games will take place in the friendly confines of M&T Bank Stadium, including a regular-season finale against Pittsburgh, the matchup that determined the AFC North champion a year ago. The biggest hurdle might be their Week 13 bye, a much-needed late break that follows five consecutive contests against 2025 playoff teams (Bills, Jaguars, Chargers, Panthers, Texans), but good news exists there, too: Two of those five matchups will be held in prime time at home, where the Ravens can be especially difficult to defeat.
Week 1: at Colts
Week 2: Saints
Week 3: Cowboys (Rio de Janiero)
Week 4: Titans
Week 5: at Falcons
Week 6: at Browns
Week 7: Bengals
Week 8: at Bills
Week 9: Jaguars (TNF)
Week 10: Chargers (MNF)
Week 11: at Panthers
Week 12: at Texans
Week 13: BYE
Week 14: Buccaneers
Week 15: at Steelers
Week 16: Browns
Week 17: at Bengals (TNF)
Week 18: Steelers (TBD)
- Strength of schedule: .467 (27th)
- Prime-time games: 2
The Lions are aiming to bounce back from their disappointing finish to the 2025 season and will have a very promising on-ramp toward that goal. Their first five games in 2026 include only one team that won a playoff game last season (Buffalo), a prime-time contest that also serves as the official regular-season opening of new Highmark Stadium. If there's a time to face the Bills and new coach Joe Brady -- even if it has to be on the road -- it's in Week 2, when Buffalo will still be settling in under a new coaching staff. The first two divisional games will both take place at Ford Field in Weeks 7 and 8. The road slate isn't exactly daunting. Business trips outside of the NFC North include visits to Miami, Atlanta, Carolina and Arizona, and Detroit faces reigning AFC champion New England in Munich. Outside of a brutal final month (including road games against Minnesota, Chicago and Green Bay), the slate looks promising for the Lions.
Week 1: Saints
Week 2: at Bills (TNF)
Week 3: Jets
Week 4: at Panthers
Week 5: at Cardinals
Week 6: BYE
Week 7: Packers
Week 8: Vikings
Week 9: at Dolphins
Week 10: Patriots (Munich)
Week 11: Buccaneers
Week 12: Bears (Thanksgiving)
Week 13: at Falcons
Week 14: Titans
Week 15: at Vikings
Week 16: Giants (MNF)
Week 17: at Bears
Week 18: at Packers (TBD)
- Strength of schedule: .465 (T-28th)
- Prime-time games: 3
First things first: The Falcons are one of only four NFL teams (along with the Browns, Saints, Bengals) to land among the top 10 easiest schedules both at home and on the road based on their opponents' 2025 winning percentage. While they land atop the list of easiest schedules in 2026, the Week 1 challenge awaits new coach Kevin Stefanski in a place he knows quite well: Pittsburgh. A divisional game against reigning NFC South champion Carolina follows, before a trip to Green Bay on a short week.
From there, however, the schedule truly starts to breathe. Atlanta has the benefit hosting three straight playoff contenders (Baltimore, Chicago, San Francisco) in Weeks 5-7. The Falcons will face Cincinnati on a neutral field in Madrid, and then return home for a date with the Chiefs before entering the bye. Overall, the majority of Atlanta's most difficult matchups come at home. Two of its three late-season road contests come against teams that owned top-seven selections in April's draft, too, decreasing the challenge on paper. Lastly, a pair of late-season home games against division opponents should serve as a softer landing pad before closing the season in Charlotte.
Week 1: at Steelers
Week 2: Panthers
Week 3: at Packers (TNF)
Week 4: at Saints (MNF)
Week 5: Ravens (SNF)
Week 6: Bears
Week 7: 49ers
Week 8: at Buccaneers
Week 9: Bengals (Madrid)
Week 10: Chiefs
Week 11: BYE
Week 12: at Vikings
Week 13: Lions
Week 14: at Browns
Week 15: at Commanders
Week 16: Buccaneers (TBD)
Week 17: Saints
Week 18: at Panthers (TBD)
