The NFL has officially released the 2026 schedule, revealing potential challenges for several teams. Notably, the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams face extensive travel, while the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers have a more favorable schedule.
Key points
NFL schedule officially released for 2026
49ers and Rams face over 30,000 miles of travel
Browns and Panthers travel under 10,000 miles
Teams assess various factors to gauge schedule difficulty
Five teams identified as potentially in trouble
San Francisco 49ersLos Angeles RamsCleveland BrownsCarolina Panthers
Teams typically look at their home opener, when their bye week lands, consecutive road games, games around the holidays and the final few weeks of the season as reference points to gauge the difficulty of their regular-season schedule.
Sometimes the regular-season schedule is inadvertently advantageous for some teams while conversely unfavorable to other clubs.
USA TODAY Sports list five NFL teams who could be in trouble based on their 2026 schedule:
San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers are scheduled to travel an NFL-record 38,105 miles during the course of the 2026 regular season. The record amount of air miles is bound to take a toll on the team. The 49ers will play in two of the nine international games: Week 1 versus the Los Angeles Rams in Australia and Week 11 against the Minnesota Vikings in Mexico City. The 49ers are the designated âroad teamâ in Week 1 and claim the âhome teamâ designation in Week 11. Niners fans typically pack SoFi Stadium when they play the Rams, but the club wonât get to face their division rival in the revenue during the regular season.
Aside from all the travel, Week 10-17 could be a murderous row for San Francisco. The 49ers are at the Dallas Cowboys (Week 10), they are at home versus the and Los Angeles Rams in Week 12 and 14. Plus, the Niners have two tough road games against (Week 15) and (Week 16) before their final regular season home game against the in Week 17.
Q&A
Which NFL teams are in trouble after the 2026 schedule release?
Five NFL teams are identified as potentially in trouble due to their 2026 schedule, including the Chiefs, 49ers, and Rams.
How does travel distance affect NFL teams' schedules?
Teams like the 49ers and Rams will travel over 30,000 miles, which can impact their performance and fatigue levels throughout the season.
What factors do teams consider when evaluating their NFL schedule?
Teams typically assess their home opener, bye week, consecutive road games, holiday games, and the final weeks of the season to gauge schedule difficulty.
Which NFL teams have the least travel in the 2026 season?
The Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers are set to travel the least, each under 10,000 miles during the 2026 season.
Related Articles
Sports
NFL told the Jets, Raiders, Titans, Dolphins and Cardinals what they think of rebuilds. And it's not good.
NFL's Disapproval: Jets, Raiders, Titans, Dolphins, and Cardinals Shut Out of Prime-Time Games
Yahoo Sports··1 min read
MLB·Recap
Every sentence in this recap sounds more absurd than the last: White Sox sweep Royals, push past .500
White Sox sweep Royals 6-2, improving record to 22-21!
Yahoo Sports··1 min read
NHL·Preview
Hurricanes Eastern Conference Final Schedule setâsort of
NHL reveals schedule for Hurricanes' Eastern Conference Finals
Yahoo Sports··1 min read
Sports·Recap
Daytona State rallies for 2nd women's golf national title in 3 years
Daytona State Falcons capture NJCAA women's golf title again!
Yahoo Sports··1 min read
Sports
Carano bout to 'smash' women's fight pay record - Rousey
Rousey and Carano set to smash women's fight pay record this Saturday!
Yahoo Sports··1 min read
Sports
Quaker Valley's Montagnese dominates at WPIAL track and field championships
Jonah Montagnese dominates at the WPIAL track championships despite rain!
The schedule makers didnât do the Dolphins any favors.
The Dolphinsâ winning percentage might be at the bottom of the ocean this year. They have the AFCâs toughest strength of schedule based on opponent winning percentage from the 2025 season despite coming off a 7-10 campaign.
The new-look Dolphins have a tough road ahead, literally, with road games against the San Francisco 49ers (Week 2), Indianapolis Colts (Week 10), Denver Broncos (Week 13) and Green Bay Packers (Week 15) in addition to their AFC East rivals.
Miami ends the season against six opponents who qualified to the postseason last year: at Denver Broncos (Week 13), vs. Chicago Bears (Week 14), at Green Bay Packers (Week 15), vs. Los Angeles Chargers (Week 16), vs. Buffal Bills (Week 17) and at New England Patriots (Week 18).
The Dolphins could easily close the regular season on a six-game losing streak.
New England Patriots
The Patriots open the regular season with a Super Bowl 60 rematch against the Seattle Seahawks, a team that pummeled them 29-13 with the Lombardi Trophy at stake. It doesnât get much easier. The Patriots have one of the NFLâs most difficult first four games of any NFL team â a home opener versus the Pittsburgh Steelers (Week 2) before back-to-back road games against the Jacksonville Jaguars (Week 3) and Buffalo Bills (Week 4).
New Englandâs Week 11 bye week also is probably a little later than they would ideally like.
Overall, the Patriots have the sixth-toughest strength of schedule based on opponent winning percentage from the 2025 season. Five of New Englandâs road opponents made the playoffs last year. Plus, they have to face the Detroit Lions (Week 10) and Kansas City Chiefs (Week 15) on the road, two teams that figure to be much better in 2026.
The Chiefs donât have the luxury of easing Patrick Mahomes in if he returns from a knee injury in Week 1. The Chiefs host the Denver Broncos (Week 1) and Indianapolis Colts (Week 2), two playoff teams from a year ago.
The Chiefs have a very early bye in Week 5, which will force them to end the year with 13 straight games. The daunting 13-week stretch features road games against the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos in Week 7 and 8 in addition to three straight away contests against the Buffalo Bills (Week 12) on Thanksgiving, Los Angeles Rams (Week 13) and Cincinnati Bengals (Week 14).
Kansas Cityâs playoff fate will likely be decided from Week 12 through Week 17 when they are at the Bills, at the Rams, at the Bengals. They then host the New England Patriots (Week 15) and San Francisco 49ers (Week 16) before a final away game against the Los Angeles Chargers (Week 17).
Carolina Panthers
Bryce Young and the Panthers backed into the playoffs at 8-9 last year. Carolinaâs schedule might produce another sub-.500 season in 2026.
The Panthers face a hungry Detroit Lions team in Week 4 before they have an early Week 5 bye. After that they'll face a difficult four-game stretch at the Philadelphia Eagles (Week 6), versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Week 7), at the Green Bay Packers (Week 8) on a short week on a Thursday night and against the Denver Broncos (Week 9).
The Panthers do have two home games to close the regular season, albeit against the Seattle Seahawks and a divisional showdown versus the Atlanta Falcons.
