Playoffs

The 2026 NFL schedule has been released for every team, and there are a lot of games to look forward to when the regular season kicks off. As always, every team will face intense competition when the regular season is upon us, as they’ll do everything they can to get into the playoffs and try to reach the Super Bowl. While some teams are happy with when their games are scheduled, others may have been screwed over by the NFL, as if the league wants to make things tougher for certain teams, while other teams have a slight advantage with their schedules. Sure, anything unexpected always happens during the regular season, but every team has to be prepared for anything unexpected during the regular season.  Here at TPS, we’re going to discuss which teams were screwed over by the scheduled release and which benefited the most. Which teams benefited or were screwed by the NFL’s scheduling in 2026? Screwed Over: San Francisco 49ersSan Francisco 49ers helmet (Photo via Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images) The 49ers are going to have a grueling 2026 season ahead of them, as they’re going to travel the most miles to their games with 38,105 miles, which includes traveling to Melbourne, Australia, for a divisional matchup against the Los Angeles Rams, and a week 11 matchup in Mexico City against the Minnesota Vikings. Kyle Shanahan and other 49ers’ players have expressed frustration over the logistical nightmare the team will embark on during the NFL regular season.  After the 49ers return from Mexico City, their schedule gets tougher, as they have to square off against the Seattle Seahawks at home in week 12, the New York Giants on the road in week 13, the Rams back home in week 14, the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday Night Football in week 15, the Kansas City Chiefs in week 16, the Philadelphia Eagles in week 17, and wrap the regular season up with a divisional matchup against the Arizona Cardinals in week 18.  Sure, the 49ers will likely earn easy wins against the Miami Dolphins and Cardinals in weeks two and three, respectively, but then they’ll have three tough matchups against the Denver Broncos at home in week four, the Seahawks on the road in week five, and the Washington Commanders back home on Monday Night Football in week six.  On top of that, the 49ers requested back-to-back road games to rest and adjust to the Eastern Time Zone, but the NFL denied the request, forcing the team to tough it out.  All we can say is best of luck, 49ers, your schedule looks more like an adrenaline-rushed road trip with more stops than a subway train.  Benefited: New York JetsAug 17, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; New York Jets helmets during the second half against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports The Jets open the 2026 season with a week one matchup against the Tennessee Titans on the road, then have to square off against most of the NFC North in weeks two to four.  After dealing with the Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, and Detroit Lions, the Jets have some winnable games against the Cleveland Browns in week five, the Miami Dolphins in week seven, and the Las Vegas Raiders in week eight. Oh, and those three games are all at home. 15 of the Jets’ games have kickoff times at 1:00 p.m., allowing them to stick to their regular-season routine.  The Jets have a week 13 bye week, which is their latest for a bye week since 1990, but it should help the team out if they’re in the position for a chance at making the playoffs, even though it would’ve been better to have the bye week a couple of weeks earlier.  There are games to win if Glenn and the Jets can take advantage of them, which would draw some more excitement to a franchise that hasn’t made the playoffs since the 2010 season.  Screwed Over: Los Angeles ChargersAug 12, 2023; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers helmets on the bench at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports The Chargers have a brutal schedule ahead of them, as their opponents will be well-rested with a league-worst -22 rest differential. The Bolts have a week seven bye week, which is pretty early in the league. The Chargers do have easy games against the Arizona Cardinals and Las Vegas Raiders to open up the 2026 season, but have four weeks of intense games against the Buffalo Bills on the road in week three, a week four matchup against the Seattle Seahawks on the road, and back-to-back divisional matchups against the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs in weeks five and six, respectively.  After the Chargers’ bye week, they have some intense games against the Los Angeles Rams in week eight, the Houston Texans in week nine, and the Baltimore Ravens on the road in week 10. This team will have the ninth-toughest schedule heading into the 2026 NFL season, and they cannot afford to have any letdowns heading into the season, as we’ve seen before over the years. However, they do have winnable games scattered throughout the schedule, which they must take advantage of if they want to have a successful season. Benefited: Indianapolis ColtsDec 1, 2024; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; An Indianapolis Colts helmet sits on an equipment case during the first half against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images The Colts have a very favorable schedule heading into the 2026 regular season, ranking fourth-easiest. The Colts won’t be doing a lot of traveling to games outside of their week four matchup against the Washington Commanders in London, as they’ll travel 15,868 miles in 2026. This team will square off against four squads that made the NFL playoffs in the 2025 season: The Houston Texans in week three at home, the Pittsburgh Steelers on the road in week five, the Jacksonville Jaguars on the road in week eight, the Texans on the road in week 11, and the Philadelphia Eagles on the road in week 14. Sure, the Colts square off against the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs to open the season, but they play a lot of teams that didn’t reach the playoffs.  The Colts must take advantage of facing weaker teams to make their easy schedule a success. Screwed Over: Jacksonville JaguarsNov 3, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars helmets on the sidelines against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images Similar to the San Francisco 49ers, the Jaguars also have a rough travel layout for their schedule, as they play seven of 10 games on the road from week nine to 18, and travel over 23,000 miles during the season. The Jaguars will square off against six teams that made the playoffs in the 2025 season, which include the Houston Texans twice, the Denver Broncos on the road in week two, the New England Patriots at home in week three, the Philadelphia Eagles in week five in London, the Chicago Bears on the road in week 13, and the Pittsburgh Steelers at home in week 14. Not to mention the team has a brutal slate of games after their week seven bye week, as they have to square off against their divisional rivals, the Indianapolis Colts, in week eight and the Baltimore Ravens in week nine on the road. The Jaguars also have a net negative three-day rest disadvantage at 22 in the league, meaning they’re going to have a grueling time squaring off against opponents. Their opponents will likely be more prepared to handle Liam Coen’s offensive schemes heading into the regular season. We’ll have to see how the Jaguars do when the dust settles by the end of the season.  Benefited: Kansas City ChiefsFeb 9, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Detailed view of a Kansas City Chiefs helmet in Super Bowl LIX at Ceasars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images The Chiefs benefited from the 2026 schedule release, with a week one Monday Night Football showdown against the Denver Broncos at home, serving as a nice window for guys to recover from injuries before they open the season.  The Chiefs are not traveling internationally this time around, as it’ll prevent jet lag and long-distance traveling, which causes early-season stumbles.  They will have back-to-back home games to open the season, hosting the Broncos in week one and the Indianapolis Colts in week two before hitting the road. However, this team do have a difficult slate of games this NFL season, as they’ll have to square off against the Broncos twice, the Los Angeles Chargers at home in week six, the Seattle Seahawks on the road in week seven, the Buffalo Bills on the road in week 12, the Los Angeles Rams on the road in week 13, the New England Patriots at home in week 15, and the San Francisco 49ers at home in week 16.  Patrick Mahomes and the rest of the Chiefs roster should be much healthier and more competitive than they were in 2025. The Chiefs should have the strength to return to the playoffs by the conclusion of the season, thanks to Mahomes and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, even if non-Chiefs fans will be annoyed about it.  Screwed Over: Arizona CardinalsJan 5, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Detailed view of an Arizona Cardinals helmet at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images The Cardinals have a rough 2026 schedule ahead of them, as they open the 2026 season against some serious playoff contenders: the Los Angeles Chargers on the road in week one, the Seattle Seahawks at home in week two, and the San Francisco 49ers on the road in week three. That stretch of games won’t be easy, as all three of those teams made the playoffs in 2025 and have stronger rosters than the Cardinals do. The Cardinals have another rough stretch from week six until their bye week in week 14, which includes games against the Denver Broncos on the road in week seven, squaring off against the Los Angeles Rams twice, a date with the Seattle Seahawks on the road in week nine, a showdown against the Kansas City Chiefs on the road in week 10, and a week 13 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles at home.  There is almost no breathing room for the Cardinals until their week 14 bye week, as they’re set to face off against their divisional opponents through a large stretch of games. To make matters worse, the NFC West has become more competitive in 2025, with the 49ers, Rams, and Seahawks all making the playoffs, and the Seahawks winning Super Bowl LX. It’s not going to be fun watching the Cardinals lose a majority of their games in the regular season. The only good outcome they’ll likely get is trying to earn the first overall pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. Benefited: Green Bay PackersJan 12, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Green Bay Packers helmet on the sidelines against the Philadelphia Eagles in an NFC wild card game at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images The 2026 Packers have a nice back-half home stretch, a light travel schedule, and some easy early-season matchups, which include taking on the Minnesota Vikings and New York Jets on the road in weeks one and two before returning home to square off against the Atlanta Falcons in week three. As mentioned earlier, the Packers won’t be doing some serious traveling this coming season, as they’re going to travel 12,673 miles during the season, which gives the team little to no fatigue squaring off against opponents. Things might get challenging against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in week four on the road, but the Packers have four out of six games at home before their week 11 bye. The Packers do square off against the Miami Dolphins in week 15 and the Houston Texans in week 17, with both games being at home, as both the Texans and Dolphins are warm-weather teams that aren’t used to the snow. Head coach Matt Lefleur may have some pressure on his job, but the Packers should roll through a good number of their opponents with ease or in close, competitive victories. This team’s last two games of the season are also at home, which gives them a nice advantage if they’re competing for a spot in the NFL playoffs. It should be interesting to see how the Packers make it through their schedule in the 2026 season. Screwed Over: Chicago BearsNov 3, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Detailed view of a Chicago Bears helmet at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Fresh off an impressive 2025 season, the Bears enter the 2026 season with a rough schedule ahead of them.  The first five weeks of the season have the Bears squaring off against three teams that reached the playoffs: The Carolina Panthers on the road in week one, the Philadelphia Eagles at home in week three, and the Green Bay Packers on the road in week five. The Bears might earn a win over the Panthers, but the Eagles and Packers will give them a much more intense challenge. The Bears will play games on Thanksgiving, when they play the Detroit Lions on the road in week 12, and on Christmas, when they host the Packers. Playing on major holidays disrupts player recovery and prevents spending the holidays with family and loved ones during a very critical stretch of the season. The last three games of the season for the Bears are all against divisional rivals: the Packers in week 16 on Christmas, as mentioned earlier, the Lions in week 17 at home, and the Minnesota Vikings on the road in week 18. Things may get messy for the Bears, but head coach Ben Johnson should come up with some great offensive schemes for the upcoming regular season. Benefited: Cincinnati BengalsDec 1, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; A general view of the helmet of Cincinnati Bengals long snapper Cal Adomitis (48) during warmups before the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images The Bengals emerged as one of the winners of the schedule release for the upcoming season, as they have the third-easiest schedule in the league. The Bengals’ opponents combine for a 0.450 winning percentage from last season, and play against three teams that finished the 2025 season with a record above 0.500. Those teams include the Houston Texans in week two, the Pittsburgh Steelers twice, and the Jacksonville Jaguars in week four. Joe Burrow should have an incredible bounce-back season, as he should be healthier, and the Bengals’ defense got a nice upgrade during the regular season.  On top of that, the Bengals also have a light travel schedule during the season, outside of going to Madrid in week nine. It should be a very exciting season for the Bengals, as they look to possibly return to the playoffs for the first time since 2022.