The 2026 NFL schedule features exciting quarterback matchups, including Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen. Fans can look forward to a season showcasing both established stars and rising talents.
Key points
2026 NFL schedule features top quarterback matchups
Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen are key players
MVPs include Mahomes, Allen, Jackson, and Stafford
Seattle Seahawks won the 2025 Super Bowl
Emerging stars include Daniels, Maye, and Williams
Only one starting quarterback could finish the 2025 season with a Super Bowl ring, and it wasn't any of those players. Sam Darnold and the hoisted the Lombardi Trophy, putting together a dream season that proved a team doesn't need an MVP-caliber talent at the position to win a championship.
Q&A
What are the top quarterback matchups in the 2026 NFL schedule?
The 2026 NFL schedule highlights matchups including Patrick Mahomes vs. Josh Allen, among others.
Which quarterbacks are considered MVPs for the 2026 NFL season?
MVP-caliber quarterbacks for the 2026 season include Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Matthew Stafford.
Who won the Super Bowl in the 2025 NFL season?
The Seattle Seahawks, led by Sam Darnold, won the Super Bowl in the 2025 NFL season.
What new quarterback talents are emerging for the 2026 NFL season?
Emerging quarterbacks for the 2026 season include Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, and Caleb Williams.
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Here are the best of the best from the upcoming season.
Patrick Mahomes vs. Josh Allen
Date: TBD
The seemingly annual matchup between the Chiefs and Bills would have been at risk after both failed to win their division and finished in different places in their divisions, but because the AFC East faces the AFC West, Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen will meet for the seventh time in the regular season and 12th time overall.
Allen is 5-1 against Mahomes in the regular season but 0-4 in the playoffs, so the advantage here might go to the Bills, particularly with the game being played in Buffalo.
Lamar Jackson vs. Josh Allen
Date: TBD
Lamar Jackson and Allen will meet for the third consecutive year, with Allen and the Bills hosting the Ravens a year after the two played an absolute thriller in Week 1. Allen is 2-0 against Jackson in the playoffs but just 2-3 against the two-time MVP in the regular season.
Josh Allen vs. Matthew Stafford
Date: TBD
86 points were scored the last time Allen and Matthew Stafford met in 2024. The two have another high-stakes shootout on tap in 2026, with Allen and the Bills traveling to Southern California, where both are hoping to finish their season in Super Bowl 61.
The Chiefs and Bengals both missed the playoffs last season, but their respective third-place finishes set up the first meeting between Mahomes and Joe Burrow since Week 2 of the 2024 season. Burrow is 2-1 against Mahomes in the regular season, and the pair split their two AFC championship matchups.
Patrick Mahomes vs. Matthew Stafford
Date: TBD
The reigning MVP meets a former MVP when Stafford and the Rams host Mahomes and the Chiefs in a cross-conference matchup this season. In what both teams hope will be a Super Bowl preview, these two quarterbacks are meeting for the first time since Stafford was traded to the Rams. Bryce Perkins started the only matchup between L.A. and Kansas City since the Stafford swap in 2021, and the only previous meeting between Mahomes and Stafford came all the way back in 2019.
The 2023 NFL MVP race came down to Jackson and Dak Prescott, and the two will meet again in Rio de Janeiro in Week 3 as the NFL expands its footprint to a new city. Jackson and the Ravens are hoping to look rejuvenated under new head coach Jesse Minter, while the Cowboys have their sights set on contention behind a high-octane offense. This could be a fun early-season battle between two great quarterbacks.
Brock Purdy already had his shot at Super Bowl revenge when he faced Mahomes and the Chiefs two seasons ago, but it's always fun when these two well-coached teams and cerebral quarterbacks get together. Purdy is looking for his first win over Mahomes, as he is 0-3 against him between the regular season and playoffs.
Justin Herbert and Allen will meet for the first time since Herbert's rookie season in 2020, as Easton Stick started in Herbert's place due to injury when these two teams battled in 2023. Herbert will have to go on the road to the Bills' new stadium to face Allen, seeking his first head-to-head win against the former MVP.
Jared Goff is 0-3 against Allen in his career, but the matchups always tend to be fun. The Lions and Bills combined for 90 points when they last met in 2024, with Buffalo dealing Detroit only its second loss of the season, and it should be another shootout when these two meet again to christen the new stadium in Buffalo, particularly with the game taking place before the cold weather arrives.
Here are some notable matchups we have never seen before.
Drake Maye vs. Patrick Mahomes
Date: TBD
Drake Maye and the Patriots will travel to Arrowhead Stadium for the New England quarterback's first matchup with Patrick Mahomes. Together, the two have won the last four AFC championships.
Caleb Williams vs. Josh Allen
Date: TBD
Allen and Caleb Williams are both pure playmakers. While Williams still has some development ahead, it could be fun when the former No. 1 pick and Heisman Trophy winner battles one of the faces of the NFL in Buffalo.
Drake Maye vs. Jared Goff
Date: TBD
Maye will go into Goff's territory at Ford Field in what could be one of the season's most interesting cross-conference matchups as the two quarterbacks meet for the first time.
Matthew Stafford vs. Jayden Daniels
Date: TBD
The Rams were close to advancing to face the Commanders in the NFC championship game two seasons ago, but Stafford and Jayden Daniels still haven't faced off. That will change this season if both are healthy, as Daniels will welcome Stafford and the Rams to Landover, Maryland, for a game that could put Washington's viability as an NFC contender to the test.
Cam Ward will be tested in year two after showing real signs of progress late in his rookie season, and one of the biggest tests will come against Burrow. Don't expect the Bengals' defense to prevent much of a challenge for Ward, but the same could be said for the Titans' defense against Burrow. Is Ward ready to win a shootout?
Revenge games
These matchups feature quarterbacks out for some vengeance.
Drake Maye vs. Sam Darnold
Date: TBD
Maye will be looking for revenge against Sam Darnold and the Seahawks after a Super Bowl 60 loss, as the Patriots are set to play in Seattle this season.
The divisional round thriller between the Bills and Broncos didn't end well for either quarterback, as Allen suffered a crushing defeat while Nix suffered a broken bone in his ankle. Still, it will be Allen who is out for revenge back in Denver as he looks to put that tough day behind him.
Daniel Jones will face the Giants for the first time since his release in 2024, provided he is healthy and ready to play, as the Colts host Jaxson Dart and New York this season. The game won't be at MetLife Stadium, taking some of the air out of it, but Jones would undoubtedly love to take down his former team and popular successor.
Stafford and Hurts both have Super Bowl rings, but Stafford is 0-4 in his career against Hurts, including a divisional round loss two seasons ago and a regular season loss on a blocked field goal in 2025. If Stafford wants to keep that mark from dropping to 0-5, he is going to have to beat Hurts on the road.
Drake Maye vs. Justin Herbert
Date: TBD
Herbert can't erase his winless playoff record in this one, but he can prove something by beating Maye and the Patriots less than a year after a dismal offensive showing in a wild-card round loss in Foxborough.
Joe Burrow vs. Jayden Daniels
Date: TBD
The Commanders' "Monday Night Football" win over the Bengals early in the 2024 season was the moment Daniels announced himself on the national stage, winning a shootout with Burrow under the lights. Burrow will have the chance for revenge this year on the road in what could very well be another shootout.
If anything, the Raiders should be the ones looking for revenge on Geno Smith after the year he had in Las Vegas, but the Jets' slate features the veteran quarterback going up against the team that dumped him after a 2-15 season. Whether it will be Fernando Mendoza or Kirk Cousins going up against Smith is still up in the air.
Mayfield already faced the Browns in his very first game since being traded out of Cleveland, but he might face the quarterback who replaced him this time around. Deshaun Watson was suspended for that Week 1 matchup between the Browns and Panthers in 2022, but reports indicate Watson has a legitimate chance to be Cleveland's starter this season.
Youth movement
Cam Ward vs. Fernando Mendoza
Date: TBD
Ward and Mendoza already met once in college, facing off in a game between Washington State and California that will be memorable in hindsight, and the NFL's most recent No. 1 overall picks will meet for the first time as professionals if Mendoza is the Raiders' starter by the time the game comes around. Ward and the Titans will head to Las Vegas in a test of what kind of progress both teams have made.
Mendoza and Maye are both considered cerebral quarterbacks, excellent teammates and strong readers of the field. This game might not be very close, but if Mendoza is the Raiders' starter, it could still be fun to see the two young quarterbacks go head-to-head in Foxborough.
Cam Ward vs. Jaxson Dart
Date: TBD
The two first-round quarterbacks from 2025 are set to meet for the first time this season, with Ward and the Titans heading to MetLife Stadium in what will be a homecoming for Tennessee OC Brian Daboll (and HC Robert Saleh, since the Jets played in the same building).
Don't count out Tyler Shough as perhaps the best quarterback from the 2025 class. The Saints already beat Dart once, but Shough wasn't under center for that one. This time around, Shough could prove that he is actually worth the hype that Dart has largely been getting.
