The NFL has not yet officially announced the dates for the schedule release, but the opponents that each team will play are locked in when the regular season is over. The fun part is simply waiting to see when teams will play their opponents.
Contending teams also typically have more primetime action than others, and with the NFL not being afraid to schedule teams to play on notable days like holidays, that's also something to look forward to. Fortunately, we are able to look at which teams have the toughest and easiest schedules for the 2026 season.
Using data assembled below by @sfdata9ers on X/Twitter, we can look at, first, the teams that will have the toughest schedule in the NFL for the 2026 campaign. The rankings are assembled using the win totals by each team from the 2025 regular season.
#NFL Strength of Schedule 2026
— SFdata9ers🏈📊 (@sfdata9ers) January 5, 2026
(using final records of 2025 regular season)
Toughest schedule: #CHI
Easiest schedule: #CLE pic.twitter.com/cY4h0A6aka
These teams are projected to have the hardest schedule for the 2026 season
1. Chicago Bears - .550
You just have to feel for the Chicago Bears and their fans. Not only do the Bears have the hardest schedule in the NFC North, a division they won in 2025, but they also have the toughest schedule in the entire NFL. And it's not like the Bears were particularly dominant last year, either.
Caleb Williams' completion percentage was below 60 percent, and the defense, outside of forcing a ton of turnovers, was bad.
2. Miami Dolphins - .542
We could see the Miami Dolphins struggle to win a single game in 2026. With the second-hardest schedule in the league, the Dolphins might soon emerge as a huge favorite to earn the first overall pick in the 2027 NFL Draft, and with next year's draft projected to be quite deep at the quarterback position, this year might actually pay off in the long run.
3. Green Bay Packers - .538
The second NFC North team in the top-3, the Green Bay Packers collapsed down the stretch after a strong start and lost in the first round of the NFC Playoffs. The Packers have treaded in 'good not great' waters for multiple years now, and one of the toughest schedules in the league might not change that, either.
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