One Unique Fact About Every Team on the Patriots Schedule That Will Surprise You

The 2026 NFL schedule will be released later this week, with plenty of excitement surrounding the upcoming crop of teams the New England Patriots are set to play. Expected to have a tougher schedule than last season, how the Patriots' opponents get stacked up will be interesting to see.

What's confirmed is that the season will begin with the Seattle Seahawks dropping their Super Bowl banner on Sept. 9. It's not yet announced if that opener will be against the same Patriots the Seahawks beat to win their second title in franchise history.

So with the schedule on the horizon, here's some interesting facts and unique tidbits about each of the teams the Patriots are slated to face off against.

Unique Facts Regarding Patriots' Opponents on 2026 Schedule

Buffalo Bills

These games will be the 133rd and 134th games played between the Patriots and the Bills. New England iss 80-51-1 against Buffalo, and those 80 wins are the most against any opponent in franchise history. 

The Patriots will also get their first look at the Buffalo's new Highmark Stadium when they travel for their road matchup. The last time the Patriots went on the road to play the Bills was a breakout performance by Drake Maye last October on Sunday Night Football.

Denver Broncos

The upcoming year's game against Denver will have plenty of storylines considering the last time these teams faced off was in the AFC title game in January. That win in Denver was just the second time the Patriots had ever beaten the Broncos in a postseason, and first since 2011.

This will also be the first time the Broncos return to New England since 2020 (an 18-12 Denver win).

Green Bay Packers

The Packers were actually the very first team to defeat the Patriots at Gillette Stadium, claiming a 28-10 victory on Oct. 13, 2002, in New England's first season in its new home. They'll return to New England for the first time since a Sunday Night Football clash in 2018.

Las Vegas Raiders

The Patriots dropped their season opener to the Raiders in 2025, and Las Vegas went on to only win two more games the entire season. This matchup may have the first overall pick in Fernando Mendoza under center for the Raiders, who was an avid Tom Brady fan growing up.

Miami Dolphins

New England is coming off a season in which it swept the Dolphins for the first time since 2016. The team's first win against Miami last year was an impressive Week 2 victory, Mike Vrabel's first as the Patriots head coach.

New England has historically struggled playing on the road against the Dolphins, and have lost to the division rival eight times since the turn of the decade.

Minnesota Vikings

The Patriots last faced the Vikings on Thanksgiving in 2022, a game that wasn't without dramatics. A little-played opponent, the last few times the Patriots have played Minnesota has all come in different stadiums (2014 - TCF Bank Stadium, 2018 - Gillette Stadium, 2022 - U.S. Bank Stadium).

These teams also faced off for joint practices and a preseason game last summer.

New York Jets

The Patriots and Jets have had plenty of animosity in their long histories. Back in 1978, then-Jets head coach Walt Michaels accused that the Patriots stole New York's signals in a 55-21 win using a third party.

New England leads the overall series, 77-56-1, and there's been some familial overlaps in the process. Derrick Gaffney was at one time a Jets wide receiver (1978-87), while his son Jabar later joined the Patriots from 2006 to 2008.

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers were one of only three teams to beat the Patriots in 2025. While Pittsburgh might have gotten the better of New England last season, they've been on a postseason landslide. The Patriots' 2016 AFC championship victory over the Steelers kicked off a seven-game losing streak in the playoffs for the Black and Yellow.

Chicago Bears

New England will travel back to Soldier Field for the second time in three years for a matchup between two breakout division champs. The last time these teams played was the first meeting between Caleb Williams and Drake Maye under center, two quarterbacks who were taken in the top three of the 2024 Draft. It will also be the third time that these teams play since 2022, also matching up in a Monday Night Football game that season.

Detroit Lions

The Patriots have not played the Lions since 2022. The matchup has ony been played 13 times, with New England winning eight of those games.

Additionally, the one game that's been confirmed for New England's schedule is a Week 10 trip to Munich, Germany to play these Lions. The game is set to take place on Nov. 15 at 9:30 a.m. EST, and will be the second time in franchise history that the Patriots will play a regular season game in the country.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville and the Patriots most recently met overseas at Wembley Stadium in London 2024, the third time in franchise history that New England made a trip to the United Kingdom for a game. This year's iteration will be the second-ever matchup between Drake Maye and Trevor Lawrence, who both won the ACC Offensive Player of the Year Award while in college.

Kansas City Chiefs

Back in 2019, Patrick Mahomes became the first quarterback under the age of 25 to win at Gillette Stadium in 20 years, en route to his first career Super Bowl title. Since then, the Patriots haven't been able to get the Chiefs' number, losing in 2020 and 2023.

Los Angeles Chargers

New England leads the regular season series against Los Angeles by a 24-16-2 margin. In back-to-back seasons in 2023 and 2024, the Patriots and Chargers played two games at Gillette Stadium, and the Chargers won both of them. When it comes to 2026, former Patriots first round selection Cole Strange will be on the other side after signing a contract with the Chargers.

Seattle Seahawks

The coveted Super Bowl rematch. The second-ever championship meeting between these two teams (Super Bowl XLIX, also the last time the Patriots beat Seattle in a game) ended in heartbreak for the Patriots and could be a potential season-opening matchup. If so, it would be the fifth time in the last six games between the two that was scheduled for primetime.

The full schedule will be released on May 14.

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