The New England Patriots will have a tougher schedule in 2026 compared to last season. Not only are they playing more quality opponents (nine of them made the 2025 playoffs), but their defense will have to go up against a lot of the NFL’s top quarterbacks.
The Patriots faced only two of the top 15 quarterbacks in passing yards last season: Josh Allen and Aaron Rodgers. They played against two others — Justin Herbert and Sam Darnold — in the playoffs.
If we assume Rodgers returns to the Steelers in the coming weeks/months, the Patriots will play 10 of last season’s top 15 quarterbacks (based on passing yards) in the upcoming 2026 campaign.
That’s a huge jump in the quality of competition from one year to the next.
The full 2026 Patriots schedule will be released Thursday. But we already know which teams the Patriots are playing, so let’s rank the opposing quarterbacks they’ll face next season.
1. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
- 2025 Stats: 3,587 yards, 22 TD, 11 INT
- Plays against Patriots in Week(s): TBD
When healthy, Mahomes is still the best player in the league. He tore his ACL late last season, but he said in January that starting Week 1 in September is his goal. Mahomes is 3-1 against the Patriots in his regular season career, with nine touchdown passes and five interceptions in those games.
2. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
- 2025 Stats: 3,668 yards, 25 TD, 10 INT
- Plays against Patriots in Week(s): TBD
The Patriots have struggled against Allen for years, especially with his ability to escape the pocket and pick up yards running the football. The Bills added veteran wideout D.J. Moore in the offseason to give Allen another good target in Buffalo’s passing attack. If healthy, Allen should be in the MVP mix for many more years.
3. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
- 2025 Stats: 3,727 yards, 26 TD, 13 INT
- Plays against Patriots in Week(s): TBD
Herbert has all the physical talent you want in a quarterback. He also has some pretty good weapons at wide receiver and running back. The concern is the offensive line. The Chargers lost both of their starting tackles early last season, and Herbert got pressured and sacked a ton as a result.
Herbert has yet to carry his regular season success into the playoffs, where he is 0-3, including an AFC Wild Card Round loss to the Patriots last season. But he is immensely talented.
4. Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears
- 2025 Stats: 3,942 yards, 27 TD, 7 INT
- Plays against Patriots in Week(s): TBD
Williams enjoyed a breakout season in 2025 and helped the Bears return to the playoffs, where they beat the rival Packers in the NFC Wild Card Round. Now there’s a lot of pressure on him to take his own performance and the Bears’ success to an even higher level.
5. Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers
- 2025 Stats: 3,381 yards, 23 TD, 6 INT
- Plays against Patriots in Week(s): TBD
Love set a career high in completion percentage and a career low in interceptions last season. He also has some very good wide receivers to target and a top-tier running back in Josh Jacobs. The Packers offense can be pretty hard to stop when it’s firing on all cylinders.
6. Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars
- 2025 Stats: 4,007 yards, 29 TD, 12 INT
- Plays against Patriots in Week(s): TBD
Lawrence and the Jaguars enjoyed a bounce-back year in Liam Coen’s first season as head coach. They went 13-4 and won the AFC South division title. Lawrence ranked fifth in passing touchdowns and sixth in passing yards. Can he build on that progress in 2026?
7. Jared Goff, Detroit Lions
- 2025 Stats: 4,564 yards, 34 TD, 8 INT
- Plays against Patriots in Week(s): Week 10 (in Germany)
The Lions took a step back in 2025 and missed the playoffs despite being above .500 (9-8). Goff continued to play at a high level, though, ranking No. 2 in both passing yards and passing touchdowns. He is 1-3 (including a Super Bowl LIII loss) against the Patriots in his career and will face them in Munich, Germany in November.
8. Bo Nix, Denver Broncos
- 2025 Stats: 3,931 yards, 25 TD, 11 INT
- Plays against Patriots in Week(s): TBD
Nix’s late-season ankle injury might have cost the Broncos a Super Bowl appearance. He doesn’t put up crazy stats, but Nix makes a lot of winning plays, especially late in games.
9. Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks
- 2025 Stats: 4,048 yards, 25 TD, 14 INT
- Plays against Patriots in Week(s): TBD
Darnold led the Seahawks to a Super Bowl 60 title last season, and he shut up a lot of haters with his performance in the playoffs. He also ranked fifth in passing yards and helped lead Seattle to a 14-3 regular season record.
10. Kyler Murray, Minnesota Vikings
2025 Stats: 962 yards, 6 TD, 3 INT (five games)
Plays against Patriots in Week(s): TBD
The Vikings could go with Murray or 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy as their starter. Neither player inspires a ton of confidence, frankly. The player in this matchup the Patriots defense has to be worried about is Vikings superstar wide receiver Justin Jefferson.
11. Geno Smith, New York Jets
2025 Stats: 3,025 yards, 19 TD, 17 INT
Plays against Patriots in Week(s): TBD
Smith is back in New York with the Jets — where he began his career in 2013 — after a disappointing season with the Raiders. Smith is an upgrade over Justin Fields, who started several games for the Jets last season. Smith isn’t going to strike fear into many Patriots fans, but he did come into Foxboro and beat New England in the 2025 season opener.
12. Malik Willis, Miami Dolphins
2025 Stats: 422 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT (four games)
Plays against Patriots in Week(s): TBD
The Dolphins officially moved on from Tua Tagovailoa in the offseason, which was actually a welcomed development for the Patriots because the former No. 5 overall pick went 7-1 versus New England as a starter in Miami. Willis played well in a backup role for the Packers last season and now gets a chance to start for the Dolphins.
13. Fernando Mendoza, Las Vegas Raiders
- 2025 Stats: 3,535 yards, 41 TD, 6 INT (at Indiana)
- Plays against Patriots in Week(s): TBD
Mendoza was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft after a Heisman Trophy-winning season for Indiana that included a Big Ten title and a national championship. He has a lot of potential, but it’s tough to put a rookie too high on this list.
14. Mason Rudolph, Pittsburgh Steelers
- 2025 Stats: 310 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT (five games)
- Plays against Patriots in Week(s): TBD
Aaron Rodgers could still be the Steelers’ starter, and if that happens, he’d be much higher on this list, probably around No. 10 after Sam Darnold and head of Kyler Murray. But right now, Rudolph is atop the depth chart, and he’s an average-at-best quarterback.
