Mike Vrabel officially knows who the Patriots will face in 2026, and following a 14-3 regular season, it looks like a daunting slate.
As a division winner, New England has been paired with a number of other first-place teams, and will play some notoriously hostile environments. Beyond that, after getting the NFC South this season, which didn’t feature a team with a winning record, the Patriots move on to the NFC North, which didn’t feature a team with a losing record.
Here’s a look at New England’s 2026 opponents:
Home: Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers, Las Vegas Raiders, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, New York Jets, Pittsburgh Steelers.
Away: Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars, Seattle Seahawks.
The 2025 Patriots had the NFL’s lowest strength of schedule (.391), but multiple players scoffed at the notion that they’d played a soft slate. Stefon Diggs was the latest following New England’s 38-10 beatdown of the Dolphins, and Drake Maye was also dismissive when asked about it last week.
“We play in the National Football League. Every team’s got great players. They get paid a lot of money,” Maye said on Wednesday. “So, it’s not like we’re playing, shoot, Foxborough High School down the road. We play who’s on our schedule. We can’t control that. Just trying to go out there and try to win. A lot of these teams that we do play are good, and they’re in the National Football League for a reason.”