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Head coach Mike Vrabel and the New England Patriots have one of the hardest start to an NFL season in modern history.

Mike Vrabel and the New England Patriots were always going to have a harder schedule in the 2026 NFL season than last year. But Patriots fans saw just how difficult the 2026 slate is going to be laid out for the first time Thursday night.

The Patriots will face three defending division winners (Seattle, Pittsburgh and Jacksonville) in the first threw weeks of the 2026 campaign. Then in Week 4, they will face the Buffalo Bills.

In response to the scheduling start to the season for New England, CBS Sports’ Garrett Podell called the Patriots “losers” of the NFL scheduling release. Podell used some incredible factoids to support his argument.

“New England’s 2026 squad will become the first since the 2019 Miami Dolphins to open a season with three consecutive games against division winners from the previous season, per CBS Sports Research,” wrote Podell. “Two of the three division winners New England will face will be on the road.”

The first four weeks of the 2026 season will be, at least on paper, the hardest first month to a campaign for an NFL team in 40 years.

“That gives New England the hardest Weeks 1-4 strength of schedule entering a season since the 1986 Philadelphia Eagles, per CBS Sports Research,” wrote Podell. “All four games are against 10-win teams from 2025, and three of the four are road games against teams with at least 12 wins last season.”

Mike Vrabel, Patriots Get Tough Schedule to Begin 2026

Opponent win percentage from the previous season can be a pretty overrated statistic. One team with a high or low win percentage can greatly skew the statistic. Furthermore, previous year’s win percentages are not an indication of how good opponents are going to be in future games.

Still, it’s hard not to see the Patriots first four weeks as anything but a gauntlet. Just playing three of the first four on the road would be enough to make the stretch tough.

But in each of their first four games, the Patriots will play teams who at least won 10 games last season. And two of the road games will require significant plane flights, including one across the country.

The most friendly early season matchup the Patriots received on the 2026 schedule was the Pittsburgh Steelers at home. Ironically, the Patriots also hosted the Steelers in September 2025.

That was a rare Patriots loss to the Steelers, which dropped New England to 1-2 last season. That doesn’t mean New England will lose to Pittsburgh again; but even the “easy” game isn’t particularly “easy.”

The Patriots responded to that loss Pittsburgh last season with 10 consecutive victories. Clearly, even if the Patriots start slowly in 2026 because of the tough stretch, they will still have an opportunity to rebound.

But again, the first four games are a very difficult stretch that the defending AFC champions will have to navigate.

NFL Releases Patriots 2026 Schedule

Interestingly, despite facing quality opponents, the Patriots will only play in primetime once over the first four weeks. The team’s nationally televised games will come later in the season.

The Patriots will visit the Chicago Bears, Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs in primetime. New England will also host the Minnesota Vikings for a primetime affair.

On the International slate, the Patriots will face the Detroit Lions in Munich, Germany at 9:30 am ET.

The schedule will get easier after early October for the Patriots. But overall, it’s a much harder slate than a year ago.

If the Patriots win the AFC East again this season, they will certainly have to earn it.