2026 Schedule Release: 7 Questions That Could Be Answered

Now that the 2026 NFL schedule has been released, fans of every team are poring over their favorite franchises' prospects when things kick off in about four months. Every team has questions to answer - some far more than most - and though the schedule doesn't account for radical variance in roster quality either way, between the ways in which the games are spaced out, and whatever help strength of schedule provides, we can hope for a bit more clarity as regards the new season, as far away as it may be.

Here are seven questions worth asking that the schedule may help to answer in some ways.

When will Fernando Mendoza make his first NFL start?

The Las Vegas Raiders obviously selected Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the first overall pick with the idea that he will be their franchise quarterback over time, but when will that process actually begin? Mendoza comes into the NFL with a very nice skill set, but new head coach and offensive shot-caller Klint Kubiak has established a particular passing game with which Mendoza will need some transition time. Kubiak likes to run under-center play action as much as anybody at any level of football. Last season, Mendoza had exactly TWO dropbacks under center, so this could take a minute.

The 2026 Raiders have their bye in Week 13, so it could be that Kirk Cousins, who signed a one-year, $11.3 million, fully-guaranteed contract to be the veteran in the room, may well be the starter until then.

Can the Bears overcome the NFL's toughest schedule?

Strength of schedule based on the previous season's results is a flawed predictive endeavor, because teams do so much to try and improve their fortunes in every offseason, but we do know that the Chicago Bears have the NFL's toughest draw in that regard, in that their 2026 opponents had a .550 record in 2025.

The Bears of course have to deal with the NFC North, which is the NFL's toughest division in that every single team could win the division, and they also face the Philadelphia Eagles, the Buffalo Bills, and both teams from Super Bowl LX - the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots.

The relatively good news, we suppose, is that the schedule doesn't start off with the degree of difficulty the Bears may see later in the season. The Bears travel to face the Carolina Panthers in Week 1, and they welcome the Minnesota Vikings to Soldier Field in Week 2. Two good teams with incomplete stories at this point. And taking the Eagles on at home in Week 3 could be one of those Choose Your Own Adventure things, because one never knows what version of Nick Sirianni's team we're going to get from week to week. Then in Week 4, it's home against the New York Jets, which had better be an automatic win for any postseason contender.

If the Bears can start with a 4-0 or 3-1 record, it'll make everything else a lot easier. Anything less could be a real sign of trouble.

Who could be 2026's worst-to-first stories?

The Cleveland Browns finished 5-12 in 2025, and they still haven't figured out a quarterback situation that has been up in the air since the franchise got a reboot in 1999. That said, the AFC North isn't exactly teeming with Super Bowl contenders on its face, and the Browns also have the league's easiest strength of schedule, as their 2026 opponents had a .429 win rate in 2025. Maybe of Shedeur Sanders can live up to his Pro Bowl nod in 2025 (which would be nice, as that was one of the most egregious selections in the Pro Bowl's weird history), maybe there's a way to leapfrog the Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens, and Cincinnati Bengals for a surprise division win. Of course, the Browns haven't finished first in a division since 1989, so we're asking a lot here, but stranger things have happened.

The New Orleans Saints, who finished last in the NFC South last season with a 6-11 mark, had a nice offseason, and 2025 second-round pick Tyler Shough became a surprise franchise quarterback in his rookie campaign. The Saints have the second-easiest strength of schedule at .434, and as is the case with the AFC North, there's no alpha dog in the division. The Panthers won it last season with an 8-9 record.

Some would suggest that the New York Giants, with new head coach John Harbaugh and an extremely active offseason, may be another worst-to-first candidate. Maybe with a healthy Jaxson Dart, the return of Malik Nabers from the torn ACL that cost him 13 games in 2025, and a redefined defense could break the mold. However, this would require the Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, and Washington Commanders to fall from their respective perches to a major degree, and for a Giants team that went 4-13 in 2025 to go balls-out all the way. A very tall order for the NFL's second-worst team over the last decade, ahead of only the Jets (of course).

Can the Buffalo Bills end their Super Bowl drought?

The Bills haven't been to a Super Bowl since the end of the 1993 season, when they lost their fourth straight, and they haven't taken a league title since they won the 1965 AFL Championship Game. These current Bills have made the playoffs in each of the last seven seasons, and eight of the last nine, and they obviously have no Super Bowl appearances to show for it.

Will 2026 be the difference-maker?

On its face, we're looking at a rough path. In the offseason, the team didn't make any major moves to deal with their roster holes outside of the trade for veteran receiver DJ Moore, and the signing of pass-rusher Bradley Chubb... which only matters if Chubb can break his recent injury luck. The draft was decent if unspectacular, and while the promotion of Joe Brady from offensive coordinator to head coach, and the addition of new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard, gives the team all the appropriate juice in that department, the Bills also have the eighth-toughest strength of schedule at .528. Most likely, everyone involved will have to circle the wagons at the highest possible level, and that's always a risky bet, no matter who you're talking about.

Can the Dallas Cowboys be relevant again?

Of course, the NFL always wants the Cowboys to be relevant, as does sports media, as that franchise is always good for clicks and views, no matter how well they actually do. So, we would all like to know what the 2026 schedule tells us about Jerry Jones' guys, who haven't made the Super Bowl since the end of the 1995 season - also the last time they got to the NFC title game.

The first bit of good news is that new defensive coordinator Christian Parker comes from the Eagles and the Vic Fangio school, and it would be just about impossible for him to do any worse than Matt Eberflus did last season. That Dallas defense was historically bad, and the team still went 7-8-1. Several additions on that side of the ball should help, as well - especially first-round pick, do-it-all defensive back, and Athlon Draft Preview cover guy Caleb Downs.

The other bit of good news is that Dallas has the 13th-easiest strength of schedule at .493, so if the offense stays put and the defense even gets to league average, it may be time to take the Cowboys seriously - something that's been tough to say too much of the time.

Could the Miami Dolphins become the NFL's first 0-17 team?

We already know that the 2026 Dolphins underwent an epic fire sale to cleanse the personnel sins of the previous administration in one fell swoop, which was going to leave new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and head coach Jeff Hafley precious little to work with in a competitive sense. The signing of quarterback Malik Willis, and a pretty darned good draft, left some hope in the room, but this was NOT a team that needed the league's second-hardest strength of schedule (.542) behind only the aforementioned Bears.

Well, the aforementioned Bears are a playoff-caliber team that can probably swim through it, but what of these Dolphins? They get the Raiders in Week 1, and the Jets in Week 7 after their Week 6 bye, but there are few cookies after that.

We're not saying that the 2026 Dolphins will become the NFL's first 0-17 team, and the fourth team in the Super Bowl era to go without a win, but the combination of roster shortfalls and a very tough slate makes it somewhat of a possibility.

Can the Seattle Seahawks repeat as Super Bowl champs?

Can the Seahawks become the first team since the 2022-2023 Kansas City Chiefs to repeat as Super Bowl champions?

SPOLER ALERT: The cover story for the upcoming Athlon NFL Preview magazine, which goes live in about a month, features my interview with head coach Mike Macdonald, and we discussed that very subject. Macdonald told me that he has talked with people involved in past Super Bowl repeats, but also that he's taking the 2026 season as a completely new thing as opposed to a continuation of what happened before.

As for the overall prospects, Seattle's in pretty good shape from a roster perspective, and though they lost offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak to the Raiders, replacement Brian Fleury comes from the 49ers - a very similar offense - and he's sworn up and down that not much will change. Macdonald is still in charge of the NFL's best defense, so no worries there.

The inherent difficulty may be that the 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams, Seattle's primary rivals in the NFC West, will be loaded for bear in the upcoming season - especially the Rams, who may have been a better cornerback group away from Super Bowl LX themselves, and solved that problem by poaching the Chiefs' two best cornerbacks in Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson. Seattle does have a pretty decent path as far as strength of schedule as well, as their 2026 opponent went .514 in 2025, which ranks 19th in overall difficulty.

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This story was originally published May 14, 2026 at 8:11 PM.