With the official NFL schedule release set for Thursday, May 14, 2026, fans and bettors are already analyzing the path to the postseason. Based on the Warren Sharp / Sharp Football Analysis methodology, which uses Vegas projected win totals rather than the outdated previous-year win percentages, we have the most accurate look at who faces a gauntlet and who has a “gift” schedule. We have the 2026 NFL Strength of Schedule for you for all 32 teams. This will not change on schedule release day since we know who everyone is playing already.
2026 NFL Strength of Schedule (SOS) Master Table
Here is the 2026 NFL Strength of Schedule (SOS) master table for you to check out. This table ranks all 32 teams from the Easiest (1) to the Hardest (32).
| Rank | Helmet | Team | Difficulty Category |
| 1 |  | Detroit Lions | Easiest |
| 2 |  | New Orleans Saints | Very Easy |
| 3 |  | Cincinnati Bengals | Very Easy |
| 4 |  | Cleveland Browns | Easy |
| 5 |  | New York Jets | Easy |
| 6 |  | Baltimore Ravens | Below Average |
| 7 |  | Philadelphia Eagles | Below Average |
| 8 |  | San Francisco 49ers | Below Average |
| 9 |  | Indianapolis Colts | Below Average |
| 10 |  | Kansas City Chiefs | Below Average |
| 11 |  | Denver Broncos | Average |
| 12 |  | New England Patriots | Average |
| 13 |  | Tennessee Titans | Average |
| 14 |  | Buffalo Bills | Average |
| 15 |  | Jacksonville Jaguars | Average |
| 16 |  | Minnesota Vikings | Average |
| 17 |  | Green Bay Packers | Above Average |
| 18 |  | Pittsburgh Steelers | Above Average |
| 19 |  | Las Vegas Raiders | Above Average |
| 20 |  | Atlanta Falcons | Above Average |
| 21 |  | Los Angeles Chargers | Above Average |
| 22 |  | Seattle Seahawks | Difficult |
| 23 |  | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Difficult |
| 24 |  | New York Giants | Difficult |
| 25 |  | Washington Commanders | Difficult |
| 26 |  | Houston Texans | Difficult |
| 27 |  | Chicago Bears | Extremely Difficult |
| 28 |  | Los Angeles Rams | Extremely Difficult |
| 29 |  | Dallas Cowboys | The Gauntlet |
| 30 |  | Carolina Panthers | The Gauntlet |
| 31 |  | Miami Dolphins | The Gauntlet |
| 32 |  | Arizona Cardinals | The Gauntlet (Hardest) |
Key Strength of Schedule Breakdown: The Winners and Losers
The “Gifts”: Lions & Saints
For the second consecutive season, the Detroit Lions have been handed a massive advantage. Due to their 4th-place finish in the NFC North in 2025, they avoid the “Heavyweights” in their positional matchups (drawing the Titans and Giants instead of the first-place finishers). Combined with a favorable rotation against the AFC East and NFC South, Dan Campbell’s squad has the clearest path to the #1 seed.
The “Gauntlet”: Cardinals & Dolphins
The Arizona Cardinals face the hardest schedule in the league. Not only do they play in the brutal NFC West, but their non-divisional schedule includes a rotation against the high-powered AFC West (Chiefs, Chargers) and the NFC North (Lions, Packers). Miami isn’t much better off, facing the “Price of Success” with a 1st-place schedule that includes seven games against 2025 playoff teams.
The “Middle Ground”: Bills & Vikings
Teams like the Buffalo Bills (#14) and Minnesota Vikings (#16) fall right in the middle of the pack. For Buffalo, the difficulty is balanced: while they face the Chiefs and Ravens at home, they have several winnable games against the NFC North and AFC West “bottom-tier” teams.
2026-27 NFL Regular Season Schedules
For this season’s regular season schedules, we have a printable 2026-27 NFL Schedule Grid, we have that posted for you. Blank to write in games pre-release day, then we’ll fill it out for you. All of the games on one page. We also have consolidated all of the printable NFL schedules 2026 here for you too.
