2026 Schedule Predictor

reflexblue said:

I understand that part....whoa, now i do get it, its just a matter of luck how good the teams happen to be in the cycle. The strength of schedule is not purposeful , its random

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I mean, they do try to weight it for worse teams with scheduling teams that finished at the same spot in their own divisions, but lately there are whole divisions that are bad versus ones that are really good, which means that a lot of it is random.

Real fan 02 said:

11-12 wins I remain bullish on no matter the schedule.. this team has learned how to win last season and has established a culture of winning this season.

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That's the key, learning how to win again cant be all defense like the playoffs. They seem to building that culture.

mike_usagisan said:

I mean, they do try to weight it for worse teams with scheduling teams that finished at the same spot in their own divisions, but lately there are whole divisions that are bad versus ones that are really good, which means that a lot of it is random.

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That's only been true since they moved to 17 games. In the 16-game era, every team played four games against teams that won their division, four that finished second, and so on. I believe that if/when they go to 18 games, they'll balance it out so that teams either play 5 1s, 4 2s, 4 3s, and 5 4s, or 4 1s, 5 2s, 5 3s, and 4 4s.

One thing to keep in mind is that you may look at this and say "Wow, the Patriots have to play the AFC West and NFC North. That's tough!" - but the other side of that coin is that that's true for all of the other teams in the AFC East too. So while it may be challenging, and might make it harder to get the 1 or 2 seed, the division itself is on a mostly even playing field.

Comparing the Patriots to the other teams in the division, these are the only real differences:

Patriots - Steelers, Jaguars, Seahawks
Bills - Ravens, Texans, Rams
Dolphins - Bengals, Colts, 49ers
Jets - Browns, Titans, Cardinals

Looking at the above, the only team that really pulls an "easy" grouping are the J-E-T-E. The other three teams are all facing relatively tough competition, with NE and Buffalo having it slightly harder. That said, all three of the NYJ's opponents have hired new coaching staffs this year, so if any or all of them make a big turnaround in 2026 then they may not have it so easy either.

I predict with a million percent certainty that we will not play @ Seattle on opening night.

A Defiant Goose said:

All these worries about a tough schedule are laughable. Once we win 14 games again it will have been an easy schedule. Dont worry

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They are probably up there as one of the greatest Patriots teams of all time if they win 14 games with that schedule.