NFL Strength Of Schedule Rankings For 2026: No. 1 to No. 32

The NFL schedule is slated to release in about 48 hours and fans are starting to renew their hype for the 2026 season. But as we prepare to analyze which matchups will be the most exciting and the most compelling, there's another factor to consider: Strength of Schedule.

Given how the NFL changes on a year-to-year basis, trying to gauge who has the most difficult schedule based on last year's results is kind of an exercise in futility. After all, what does it matter how good a team was last year if their starting QB suffers a season-ending injury early on this year?

Nevertheless, it's the only hard data we have to evaluate difficulty, so let's take a look at the strength of schedule for all 32 NFL teams:

1. Chicago Bears: .550
2. Miami Dolphins: .542
3. Arizona Cardinals: .538
4. Green Bay Packers: .538
5. Kansas City Chiefs: .536
6. New England Patriots: .531
7. Las Vegas Raiders: .529
8. Buffalo Bills: .528
9. Los Angeles Chargers: .522
10. Carolina Panthers: .521
11. Minnesota Vikings: .519
12. New York Jets: .517
13. Los Angeles Rams: .516
14. Seattle Seahawks: .514
15. Denver Broncos: .512
16. Washington Commanders: .502
17. New York Giants: .498
18. San Francisco 49ers: .497
19. Pittsburgh Steelers: .495
20. Dallas Cowboys: .493
21. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: .491
22. Jacksonville Jaguars: .490
23. Philadelphia Eagles: .481
24. Baltimore Ravens: .479
25. Tennessee Titans: .476
26. Houston Texans: .474
27. Detroit Lions: .467
28. Atlanta Falcons: .465
29. Indianapolis Colts: .465
30. Cincinnati Bengals: .450
31. New Orleans Saints: .434
32. Cleveland Browns: .429

Easiest and Hardest

The Chicago Bears wind up with the hardest schedule in the NFL based on being the NFC North division champion - which automatically puts them on a collision course with the Seattle Seahawks and the Philadelphia Eagles. But they also have to face the entire AFC East this year, which means going up against the New England Patriots and the Buffalo Bills. Their interconference opponent for 2026 is the Jacksonville Jaguars.

That's already five games against teams that had at least 11 wins last year. Meanwhile, their entire division finished the season with winning records. Believe it or not, only three teams on their entire schedule had 10 losses or more in 2025.

As for the Browns with a schedule most teams would kill for, their last-place finish in the AFC North means they get the hapless Raiders and Jets as their mandatory foes. But they also get the entire AFC South, which isn't a picnic but does include the 3-14 Tennessee Titans. In the AFC North, only the Steelers had a winning record at 10-7. The Browns also face the entire NFC South, none of whom had winning records last year. The New York Giants are their interconference opponent.

The Browns will play a whopping seven games against teams that had at least 10 losses last year. A grand total of four of their opponents (counting Steelers twice) had winning records.

Which do you think is more likely: The Bears overachieving against their schedule or the Browns underachieving against their schedule?

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This story was originally published May 12, 2026 at 11:40 AM.