The New England Patriots’ 2026 regular season schedule was officially revealed Thursday night, and it poses several challenges for the reigning AFC champions.
The first four games will be a tough test. All of them are against playoff teams (including three division winners) from the 2025 campaign.
The Patriots open the season on the road in Seattle, where the Seahawks will unveil their latest championship banner after beating New England 29-13 in Super Bowl 60 back in February. The next three weeks, in order, are home against the Pittsburgh Steelers, at the Jacksonville Jaguars and at the Buffalo Bills.
The next four games are a bit easier. That stretch includes home games versus the Las Vegas Raiders and New York Jets, and away games against the Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins.
But the toughest portion of the schedule is Week 9 through Week 15. Over that period, the Patriots play against the Packers, Lions, Chargers, Bills and Chiefs. That’s a very difficult run of games versus playoff-caliber opponents and very good quarterbacks.
Ten of the Patriots’ 17 games are against 2025 playoff teams. They also play against 10 quarterbacks who ranked top 15 in passing yards last season. The Patriots will travel the fifth-most air miles, too, largely due to a Week 10 game in Germany and road games in Los Angeles and Seattle.
The Patriots improved a lot last season in Mike Vrabel’s first year as head coach. They went 14-3, won the AFC East division for the first time since 2019 and reached the Super Bowl.
The Patriots certainly benefited from a very easy schedule. They won’t have that luxury in 2026. There are many ways to measure the strength of a team’s schedule. One of them is using the combined 2025 win percentage of the Patriots’ 2026 opponents, and New England has the fourth-toughest schedule using that metric.
The difficulty of the Patriots’ schedule is why some people in the national media are not optimistic about the team’s chances of building on last year’s success. ESPN’s Ryan Clark, for example, doesn’t envision the Patriots getting back to the playoffs next season.
How many games should the Patriots be expected to win? Can they tally double-digit victories for the first time since 2018 and 2019?
Check out a roundup of expert win-loss predictions below:
Phil Perry, NBC Sports Boston: 10-7
Chad Graff, The Athletic: 10-7
Mike Clay, ESPN: 10-7
Henry McKenna, FOX Sports: 10-7
Moe Moton, Bleacher Report: 8-9
Brian Hines, Pats Pulpit: 12-5
Taylor Kyles, CLNS Media: 11-6
Brian Ferzoco, WEEI.com: 11-6
Jordan McElroy, Patriots Wire: 11-6
