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The 2026 NFL schedule is out, and within the 272 games just released is everything you need to start building an edge.
We have our strength of schedule metric, Warren Sharp's in-depth dive into rest edges, bye week analysis for fantasy football players, and much more.
Below is the complete breakdown: every edge, every key finding, and every Sharp Football resource updated for the 2026 season.
Strength of Schedule Matters
By leveraging projected win totals and current season data, Warren Sharp’s strength of schedule model provides a more accurate and insightful tool for assessing team schedules and forecasting performance.
Historical data confirms these results. Year in and year out:
- Teams that are predicted to have the easiest schedule are far more likely to finish with winning records.
- Teams that are predicted to have the hardest schedules are far more likely to finish with losing records.
- The vast majority of teams forecast to have winning records and predicted to have easier than average schedules finish the season with winning records.
- The vast majority of teams forecast to have losing records and predicted to have harder than average schedules finish the season with losing records.
2026 NFL Strength of Schedule
What NFL team has the easiest schedule in 2026?
Based on projected win totals, the Detroit Lions have the easiest strength of schedule for the 2026 NFL season.
NFL teams with the easiest schedules in 2026:
- Detroit Lions
- New Orleans Saints
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Cleveland Browns
- New York Jets
What NFL team has the hardest schedule in 2026?
Based on projected win totals, the Arizona Cardinals have the hardest strength of schedule for the 2026 NFL season.
NFL teams with the hardest schedules in 2026:
- Arizona Cardinals
- Miami Dolphins
- Carolina Panthers
- Dallas Cowboys
- Los Angeles Rams
Click here for the Strength of Schedule Ranking for all 32 NFL teams
Strength of Schedule Tool
Our new strength of schedule tool allows you to see the week-to-week difficulty for all 32 teams across more than 10 metrics, including Warren Sharp's strength of schedule model.
Use it to see which teams have the toughest start to the season, which teams have an easy stretch run, and much more for multiple advanced metrics.
Click here to use our new Strength of Schedule Tool
| Read More About the 2026 NFL Schedule |
|---|
| 2026 NFL Strength of Schedule for All 32 Teams |
| 2026 NFL Strength of Schedule Interactive Tool |
| 2026 NFL Schedule Rest Disparity: Teams Helped & Hurt (Coming Soon) |
| 2026 NFL Schedule Grid: Every Game for Every Team |
| 2026 NFL Schedule Release: Key Things to Know |
| 2026 NFL Bye Weeks: Fantasy Football Impact & Cheat Sheet |
| 2026 Fantasy Football Strength of Schedule (Coming Soon) |
| 2026 Best Ball Stacks: Week 17 Game Totals (Coming Soon) |
Rest Edges Matter
Over the last decade, teams with a three to six day rest edge from Week 6 onward have covered 54.6% ot their games with a 4.2% return on investment over 233 games.
If they play on the road, the cover rate is 56.1% with a 7.0% ROI over 134 games.
These rest edges matter and are extremely useful to identify.
In the last 10 seasons, teams playing short week (less than 6 days rest) road games have covered just 47.4% with a -9.4% ROI over 237 games.
Underdogs in that situation have a 41% cover rate and -21.7 ROI over 141 games.
Rest is a real factor, and it makes sense.
Which teams were helped and hurt the most by rest disparity?
Warren Sharp will post his complete and comprehensive breakdown of rest edges for all 32 NFL teams in the next couple of days.
Make sure to subscribe to our newsletter so you don't miss the analysis.
Strength of Schedule vs. Difficulty of Schedule
Strength of schedule is calculated by WHO you play.
Difficulty of scheduled timing is calculated by WHEN you play your opponents.
And the NFL has complete control over it.
There are two ways to measure edges from the timing of games.
The first is the rest edges we previously discussed.
The second is looking at prep and rest rankings, which we calculate using the following factors:
- Opponent days to prepare
- Games with more rest than opponent
- Games with less rest than opponent
- Short week road games
- Games off road Sunday Night Football or Monday Night Football games
- Negated bye weeks
2026 NFL Prep & Rest Rankings
Coming Soon!
2026 NFL Schedule Grid
The NFL Schedule Grid is now live, and you need to save or print your copy to view all the edges as quickly as possible:
2026 Fantasy Football Bye Week Analysis
In addition to every team’s 2026 bye week, our fantasy football bye week guide covers the most impactful bye weeks of the 2026 season, which quarterbacks to pair with top stars for bye week coverage, and how to factor bye weeks into your fantasy draft strategy.