With the NFL's 2026 schedule released in its entirety, I wanted to award some winners and losers -- not just teams, but also coaches and players who either benefitted from the way the schedule was arranged or face some extra challenges because of it.
Here are some of the things that stood out to me:
WINNERS
1) Patrick Mahomes: The Chiefs' schedule isn't without its challenges, but it appears that Mahomes will have a fairly good chance of getting through the early part ... assuming he’s back for Week 1 coming off a torn ACL.
Mahomes has said all along that Week 1 is his goal, and the NFL isn't giving him a cakewalk, with the defending AFC West champion Broncos coming to town fresh off a season sweep of Kansas City in 2025. But what the league has given Mahomes is a longer runway, holding the Chiefs back until the final Week 1 slot on Monday night. He'll literally have every last minute to rehab -- while the Arrowhead fans have a chance to welcome back their hero in style.
The Colts coming to town in a short week for the Chiefs is a pretty tough follow-up, but it's back-to-back home games to open the season. Those are followed by road games at Miami and Las Vegas, then the bye in Week 5. Not only is it great to pull two easier road games against first-year head coaches (the Dolphins' Jeff Hafley and Raiders' Klint Kubiak) early on, but the bye-week placement might be perfect for Mahomes.
You know Mahomes is going to push it as hard as he can to be ready for the start of the season. There could be some rough patches if Mahomes is less than 100 percent early on, but with only one division game in September and that Week 5 break, he can rest up for a key stretch after that, when Kansas City faces the Chargers, Seahawks and Broncos (again) in Weeks 6-8.
There's another tough patch later, with three straight road games, starting with the Thanksgiving game at Buffalo. That contest through the Week 17 bout at the Chargers should be a meat grinder. But if we're thinking about it simply through the prism of Mahomes' rehab, the schedule lays out in such a way that he and the Chiefs -- assuming 2025 was an aberration -- have a chance to gear up before the tension begins to mount.
2) Aaron Glenn: Glenn is certainly facing pressure to improve in Year 2 after he logged just three wins in his debut with the Jets, the 10th straight losing season for the franchise. Luckily for him, the schedule offers a glimmer of hope.
The Jets face their share of landmines early on, but there's also this: Four of their first eight games come against the Titans (Week 1), Browns (Week 5), Dolphins (Week 7) and Raiders (Week 8). Win those four, and Glenn would be sitting at .500 at worst nearing the midpoint of the season. Heck, if he can win three, he'd have already matched last year's total. And beating ex-Jets coach Robert Saleh on the road to kick things off certainly would earn Glenn some buy-in (though losing that one might, of course, hurt more than your typical defeat).
It's a pretty reasonable slate of games, all things considered. Maybe it would have been nicer to have their bye before Week 13, and the Jets still have the Chiefs (Week 9), Broncos (Week 14) and two games against the Bills (Weeks 10 and 18) left on the back stretch. Reality is reality. But there are games to win early on if Glenn can take advantage of them, which could gin up some more excitement around the team -- and let him breathe a little easier.
3) Green Bay Packers: If Matt LaFleur is facing any pressure this season, perhaps a softer early slate can help. The Packers open with three of four on the road, but that trio of games with the Vikings, Jets and Falcons isn't necessarily the most daunting gauntlet.
It might be hot in Tampa in Week 4, but the Packers return home for four of the next six games at Lambeau. They also draw late-season games in Green Bay against the Bills (Week 14), Dolphins (Week 15) and Texans (Week 17), with some serious snow potential for those three. At the very least, the last two opponents are warm-weather teams who could be unaccustomed to winter temps.
There are some drawbacks to the Packers' schedule, such as six prime-time games and several short-week outings. But they catch a few breaks, too, with extra time to prepare for the Thanksgiving Eve game coming off a Week 11 bye and having five of those night games in Green Bay. As the Packers try to hold serve with the Bears and fend off the pesky Lions and Vikings, their schedule appears to shake out pretty nicely for them.
4) Philadelphia Eagles: Last season, the Eagles became the first team to repeat as NFC East champs in more than 20 years. And they appear to be in a strong enough position to make it three straight division titles now that we've seen what looks like a very favorable schedule.
Nick Sirianni and Jalen Hurts might be facing some pressure, and A.J. Brown might soon be gone, but this is a slate the Eagles can take advantage of, even with five prime-time games and an overseas trip on tap.
After opening with the Commanders and Titans, things get thicker, especially with the Bears-Rams-Jaguars cluster (Weeks 3-5), but there's nothing treacherous thereafter. Yes, the Eagles have three different pairs of back-to-back road games; they also have a three-game homestead over the holidays in December, which is nice timing. And they come against three quality teams, too: the Colts (Week 14), Seahawks (Week 15) and Texans (Week 16).
Even with two roadies to close out the season, including Week 17 at San Fran, the Eagles' schedule lays out pretty nicely, featuring a well-placed bye in Week 10.
5) New Orleans Saints: They finished last season playing some pretty good football, and their schedule is fairly manageable on the whole this season. Yes, they'll have to play what would have been a home game against the Steelers in Paris in Week 7, followed by a Week 8 bye, but the Saints don't have a lot of tough non-divisional games at the Superdome this season.
There are two good tests right out of the gate: at Lions in Week 1 and at Ravens in Week 2. Back-to-back road games at Chicago (Week 11) and Cincinnati (Week 12) followed by a home game against the Packers (Week 13) will also be a tough stretch. But the Saints currently have to play only one prime-time game (Week 4 at home vs. Atlanta on Monday Night Football) and don't have too many extraordinarily thorny patches or tough travel stretches, outside of the France trip.
The NFC South feels pretty wide open again, and Tyler Shough's squad might be a sleeper to watch. The other three teams in the division appear to have much tougher slates, especially the defending-champion Panthers. If Kellen Moore's Saints can split those daunting first two weeks of the season or even go 2-0, it could give them a reasonably clean shot at a playoff spot.
LOSERS
1) San Francisco 49ers: The Seahawks and Rams were the NFC West's -- and possibly the NFL's -- two best teams last season, but the Niners were a strong No. 3, and they were severely weakened by injuries.
This season, they can compete with those two squads. They'll get a lot of talent back healthy, and they appear to face an easier collection of teams than their other three divisional opponents. But I am not sure the schedule-makers did San Francisco a ton of favors.
Kyle Shanahan let everyone know he about the Week 1 game in Australia against the Rams, and the Niners have a second international game in Mexico City against the Vikings in Week 11. Ni modo, as my Mexican friends might say.
The post-Mexico schedule looks pretty rough: vs. Seahawks (Week 12), at Giants (Week 13), vs. Rams (Week 14), at Chargers (Thursday of Week 15), at Chiefs (Week 16) and home against the Eagles (Week 17), followed by a regular-season finale at Arizona. And yes, the 49ers can beat up on the Dolphins (Week 2) and Cardinals (Week 3) early on, but those are followed by a tough three games vs. Denver (Week 4), at Seattle (Week 5) and a home Monday-nighter against the Commanders (Week 6).
San Francisco rarely gets to take the easy road. While the Niners' schedule might have some advantages over those of the other three NFC West teams, the layout of the slate seems like it will slim those margins.
2) Ben Johnson: The Bears became a national team again last season, with Johnson helping energize their offense in his first year as head coach and the team displaying a knack for pulling out late-game miracles. The NFL and its broadcasting partners clearly took notice.
The Bears have five prime-time games, including three in a row in Weeks 7-9 against the Patriots, Seahawks and Buccaneers. The other two are tough matchups against the Eagles in Chicago in Week 3 and at the Bills in Week 15. Amazingly, none of their prime-time games are against the Packers, following three thrillers between those teams last season.
So why is Johnson a loser here? Because coaches love routine and typically hate a slew of different starting times, but the Bears will be fed a diet of them. They're playing two Thursday games, one each on Friday and Saturday and two more on Mondays.
As a result, the Bears have six short weeks with fewer than a full seven days' preparation this season. They have five games with more than seven days of prep, but the uneven schedule is something that requires careful planning and flexibility.
The Bears face a tougher schedule than any other team in the hotly contested NFC North. Their travel really isn't that bad; they avoid a late-season winter game in Green Bay and go to Miami in December, which is much nicer than September. Still, they will need to be sharp to handle some of these scheduling quirks Johnson's team was dealt.
Excitement is back in Chicago after a banner season, but the road back to the playoffs appears tougher in Year 2 of the Johnson era.
3) Miami Dolphins: The 2026 season always promised to be a trial by fire for the Dolphins as they're attempting to rebuild under new guidance. But the schedule might leave a few burn marks along the way.
The Dolphins, who face a rough schedule anyway this season, open with three of the first four on the road, including West Coast trips to Las Vegas and San Francisco in Weeks 1 and 2. The one break in September comes when they host the Chiefs in Week 3, and even with Patrick Mahomes' injury recovery a question mark at this point, it's hard to believe the home team will be widely expected to win that one.
Otherwise, no true cold-weather team has to endure the early-season Miami heat. On the flip side, the Dolphins must take late-season road trips to Buffalo in Week 11, Denver in Week 13 and Green Bay in Week 15.
The Dolphins' final six games come against 2025 playoff teams. They might be in the running for the No. 1 pick in the draft by that point. There's just no letup in this year's schedule.
4) Mike LaFleur: It's hard enough that the first-year Cardinals head coach landed in the NFC West, where three of the league's toughest teams reside. But now LaFleur also must contend with a pretty wicked schedule, on top of all the other issues the team is facing.
The Cardinals open at the Chargers, welcome the Seahawks then visit the 49ers. An 0-3 start isn't out of the question, which is startling when one remembers that, as bad as last season was, Arizona did begin 2025 at 2-0.
There could be no first-year coach with a harder job than LaFleur, and the schedule placement might have upped the difficulty level even higher. Three of the first four are on the road, and the closest thing there is to an easy stretch begins with the Cardinals' Week 14 bye, after which they play three of their final four at home. But how useful will a bye that late be for a team that looks like a serious longshot for the playoffs? And while it could be a good spot to give Carson Beck an audition at QB if the team struggles early, it could be a long wait until December, given Gardner Minshew's 17-30 career record as a starter and the questions surrounding Jacoby Brissett.
