To one NFL analyst’s chagrin, the schedule remains a prominent talking point around the New England Patriots.

New England took advantage of a favorable 2025 slate, winning just one regular-season game against an opponent who finished over .500. The AFC East champions will go from enjoying the NFL’s easiest strength of schedule to navigating a difficult 2026 path that includes the AFC West, NFC North and Super Bowl LX rematch with the Seattle Seahawks.

Pundits may question if the Patriots can handle that schedule and produce a 2026 encore. That doesn’t include former Green Bay Packers wide receiver Greg Jennings.

The Fox Sports analyst pleaded with everyone to stop fixating on the topic during Friday’s “First Things First.”

“We have to stop this,” Jennings said. “No. I don’t think I’ve heard, in any year of me being in tune with NFL football, it talked about as much as last year of a team having an easy schedule.”

The public may spend considerable energy dissecting New England’s schedule, but Jennings has never heard a head coach address it in an NFL locker room.

“Not a single coach in my 10 years of players has ever gotten in front of a team and said, ‘Guys, this year is gonna be tough. We have a first-place schedule,'” Jennings said. “Or, ‘This year’s gonna be a lot easier. We got a really layup schedule now. We can take advantage of this.’

“No. Your opponent is who your opponent’s gonna be. You understand you have to put together a game plan every single week.”

Jennings believes the Patriots should instead see their tougher 2026 schedule as a way to prove their Super Bowl run wasn’t a fluke.

“We got an opportunity to play Seattle again. We got an opportunity to play some of the best teams in the National Football League,” Jennings noted. “But remind yourself who we are, too. We’re one of the best teams in the National Football League as well.”

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