The New England Patriots' full 2026 schedule is out! First things first, here's how it looks:
Now, here are five things that stand out:
Super Bowl rematch to start
News of this game already broke on Wednesday, but it's worth highlighting again.
The Patriots won't quite be able to completely turn the page on the 2025 season right away, because they will immediately be reminded of how it ended. They'll visit Seattle on opening night (which is a Wednesday this year!) as the Seahawks raise their Super Bowl banner to celebrate February's 29-13 victory over New England.
That's probably not exactly how the Patriots would prefer to start, but maybe it's better to get this trip out of the way early. Plus, it gives New England a mini-bye -- 11 days, to be precise -- before Week 2.
Tough first month
It doesn't get a whole lot easier in the three weeks following that Super Bowl rematch, as the Patriots' first four games are all against teams that made the playoffs last year.
Week 2 sees the Patriots host the AFC North-winning Steelers, who will probably have Aaron Rodgers back, although there's nothing official yet. Then it's back-to-back road games at AFC South-winning Jacksonville and divisional rival Buffalo (and a first visit to the new Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park.
Last year, the Patriots didn't really find their footing until Week 4, losing home games to Las Vegas and Pittsburgh early on. A similarly rough start could really put them behind the eight-ball this season, especially with a much tougher schedule overall. They'll need to be ready to hit the ground running with four straight big games out of the gate.
November road warriors?
The Patriots open with three of four on the road, but their toughest stretch in terms of travel will be from late October through late November. Their only home game during that time is Nov. 8 against Green Bay (which, by the way, will be a FOX game and Tom Brady's first trip to Foxborough as a broadcaster).
Prior to that, they're at Chicago in Week 7 and at Miami in Week 8. After the Packers game, they travel to Munich, Germany to play the Lions. Then they get a well-timed bye week, and then they make another long flight coming out of the bye when they head to Los Angeles to play the Chargers.
Not only is that a lot of travel and a lot of time on the road, but it's another stretch of pretty tough opponents with the exception of the Dolphins.
Lots of primetime
Welcome back to the days of the Patriots getting a lot of primetime games. That's what happens when you get to the Super Bowl and have one of the most exciting young quarterbacks in the game.
The Patriots enter the season with five scheduled primetime games -- Wednesday night in Week 1 at Seattle, Thursday night in Week 7 at Chicago, Sunday night in Week 12 at LA, Thursday night in Week 14 vs. Minnesota, and Monday night in Week 15 at Kansas City.
They also have the standalone Sunday morning slot for the Germany game against Detroit, and there's always the possibility that one of their final two games could be flexed into primetime, too.
After a stretch of five straight 1 p.m. games early in the season, the Patriots will then go more than two months without one (until Week 16), with their other three Sunday games in between scheduled for the late afternoon 4:25 slot.
AFC championship game rematch comes late
The Patriots won't see the Broncos, the team they beat to advance to the Super Bowl, until Week 17. There is certainly a strong possibility that game could have serious playoff implications, potentially even deciding the No. 1 seed if both teams can replicate their 2025 success.
Obviously, there is a long way to go between now and then.
