New England Patriots
In total, the Patriots will take on eight opponents who punched a ticket to the playoffs in 2025.
Drake Maye and the Patriots will open the 2026 season with a rematch against the Seahawks. Barry Chin/The Boston Globe
The New England Patriots’ 2026 schedule is finally here.
And Mike Vrabel, Drake Maye, and the rest of an upstart New England squad will have their work cut out for them if they want to orchestrate another impressive playoff run next winter.
Fresh off an unexpected Super Bowl appearance in February, New England will be challenged with a daunting schedule in 2026, which includes six nationally televised games, a trek over to Germany, and an anticipated rematch of Super Bowl LX against Seattle in Week 1.
Here’s a look at New England’s full 2026 schedule:
Week 1: Patriots at Seattle Seahawks, 8:20 p.m. (Wednesday, Sept. 9 — NBC)
Week 2: Patriots vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, 1 p.m. (Sunday, Sept. 20 — CBS)
Week 3: Patriots at Jacksonville Jaguars, 1 p.m. (Sunday, Sept. 27 — CBS)
Week 4: Patriots at Buffalo Bills, 1 p.m. (Sunday, Oct. 4 — CBS)
Week 5: Patriots vs. Las Vegas Raiders, 1 p.m. (Sunday, Oct. 11 — CBS)
Week 6: Patriots vs. New York Jets, 1 p.m. (Sunday, Oct. 18 — CBS)
Week 7: Patriots at Chicago Bears, 8:15 p.m. (Thursday, Oct. 22 – Thursday Night Football — Prime Video)
Week 8: Patriots at Miami Dolphins, 4:25 p.m. (Sunday, Nov. 1 — CBS)
Week 9: Patriots vs. Green Bay Packers, 4:25 p.m. (Sunday, Nov. 8 — FOX)
Week 10: Patriots at Detroit Lions, 9:30 a.m. (Sunday, Nov. 15 – Munich, Germany — FOX)
Week 11: BYE
Week 12: Patriots at Los Angeles Chargers, 8:20 p.m. (Sunday, Nov. 29 – Sunday Night Football — NBC)
Week 13: Patriots vs. Buffalo Bills, 4:25 p.m. (Sunday, Dec. 6 — CBS)
Week 14: Patriots vs. Minnesota Vikings, 8:15 p.m. (Thursday, Dec. 10 – Thursday Night Football — Prime Video)
Week 15: Patriots at Kansas City Chiefs, 8:15 p.m. (Monday, Dec. 21 – Monday Night Football — ESPN)
Week 16: Patriots at New York Jets, 1 p.m. (Sunday, Dec. 27 — CBS)
Week 17: Patriots vs. Denver Broncos, TBD
Week 18: Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins, TBD
With the stage now set for a new football season, here are seven takeaways from the Patriots’ 2026 schedule:
A Super Bowl rematch
The Patriots will open the 2026 season with a bang, as New England travels to Seattle to battle the Seahawks in a rematch of Super Bowl LX on Wednesday, Sept. 9.
It’s the first time that the NFL has scheduled a Super Bowl rematch in Week 1 since the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers opened the 2016 season after playing for the Lombardi Trophy just a few months earlier. This also marks the first time in franchise history that the Patriots will play on a Wednesday night.
New England will be looking to atone for last season’s ending, with the Patriots’ Cinderella run coming to a crushing end at Levi’s Stadium. The Seahawks won Super Bowl LX in convincing fashion, 29-13.
While the Patriots won’t have to deal with reigning Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III, the Seahawks still boast a stacked roster — including a relentless defense that made life miserable for Maye in February (six sacks, 11 QB hits).
It’s not going to get any easier for New England this fall, especially with Seattle’s already rocking home crowd at Lumen Field expected to be even louder on a night where they hang another Super Bowl banner.
A brutal start
The Patriots are going to be tested early and often to open the 2026 season, with a repeat of last year’s sluggish start potentially putting Vrabel’s team behind the eight-ball.
Beyond that heavyweight bout in Seattle in Week 1, New England will be on the road in three out of its first four games to start 2026, with all four opponents coming off of playoff appearances the previous year.
New England’s home opener at Gillette Stadium will come in Week 2 with a matchup against the reigning AFC North Champion Steelers, who could have Aaron Rodgers back in the mix.
Week 3 has New England taking on a Jaguars team that won 13 games last season, with the Patriots likely bracing for sweltering conditions down in Jacksonville.
And, in Week 4, New England heads over to Buffalo for another anticipated matchup against Josh Allen and the Bills at the team’s new Highmark Stadium — with a motivated Bills team looking to reclaim its standing atop the AFC East.
A stacked schedule
New England’s challenging start doesn’t exactly give way to smooth sailing down the stretch, either.
After taking advantage of a lighter schedule in 2025 en route to a 14-win season, Vrabel’s club is in line for a rude awakening this fall.
New England’s 2026 schedule includes matchups against eight teams that made the playoffs in 2025: Seattle, Buffalo, Denver, Green Bay, Jacksonville, Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
There are also several opponents who could be poised for bounce-back seasons in 2026, including the Chiefs (with a healthy Patrick Mahomes), Lions, and Vikings.
New England enters the 2026 season with the sixth-hardest schedule in the league — based on opponents’ combined winning percentage in 2025 (.531).
A matchup overseas
After avoiding a trip overseas last season, the New England Patriots are heading over to Germany for another international game.
New England will take on the Detroit Lions in Munich, Germany, on Nov. 15, with kickoff set for 9:30 a.m.
The Patriots will be the designated road team, with the game set to be played at Allianz Arena, home to German soccer powerhouse Bayern Munich.
This will be the sixth international game for the Patriots, who have also played three games in London (2009, 2012, and 2024), one game in Mexico City (2017), and one previous game in Frankfurt, Germany, in 2023.
That 2023 loss to the Colts in Germany marked the beginning of the end for Bill Belichick’s 24-year run in New England, with Mac Jones and the Patriots falling to Indy, 10-6, in an uninspiring performance.
Overall, the Patriots are 3-2 in team history in regular-season games played outside the United States.
Multiple primetime matchups
It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, but New England’s run to a Super Bowl appearance last season means that the days of multiple 1 p.m. kickoffs and limited primetime exposure are going to be a thing of the past.
In total, New England will have six nationally televised games in 2026.
Beyond that Sunday morning timeslot for the Lions game in Munich on Nov. 15, New England has five games fixed into primetime slots — two appearances on Thursday Night Football against the Bears (Oct. 22) and Vikings (Dec. 10), a Sunday Night Football showdown against the Chargers (Nov. 29), a Monday Night Football bout in Kansas City (Dec. 21), and that Week 1 rematch against the Seahawks (Sept. 9).
New England could also get flexed into another primetime game later this year, with a rematch of the AFC title game against the Broncos in Week 17 potentially holding several playoff-related implications.
After a 1 p.m. kickoff against the Jets in Week 6, New England won’t have another 1 p.m. start until Week 16, which is, fittingly, another game against the Jets.
Even with multiple primetime games, the Patriots managed to avoid playing on several major holidays — including some enticing timeslots on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day.
Racking up the miles
One of the benefits of New England’s easier 2025 schedule was the absence of any extended treks for Vrabel’s club. Not only did the Patriots avoid heading overseas during the 2025 regular season, they also didn’t even play a game west of the Mississippi River until the playoffs got underway.
That won’t be the case this year. Beyond that trip to Germany, New England will fly out to the West Coast twice for primetime games against the Seahawks and Chargers.
In total, the Patriots will travel 27,980 miles during the regular season — the fifth most miles traveled by any NFL team, per Bill Speros of Bookies.com.
For those keeping track, the 49ers lead all NFL teams in terms of miles traveled during the 2026 regular season with 38,105 miles to cover, due in large part to a Week 1 trek to Melbourne, Australia, and a Week 11 game in Mexico City.
Brady’s return to Foxborough
New England’s Week 9 matchup against the Packers at Gillette Stadium was already going to hold plenty of appeal given the history of both franchises and their respective standing as legitimate contenders.
But, there will be an added layer of intrigue going into that game on Sunday, Nov. 8 — as New England legend Tom Brady will call his first Patriots game since taking over as FOX’s primary color analyst during NFL broadcasts.
Brady — set to enter his third season in the broadcast booth — did not call a single Patriots game in 2024 or 2025.
It will be curious to see if Brady once again doesn’t have a “dog in the fight” when his former team takes on Jordan Love and the Packers later on this year.
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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