Patriots hit with bizarre scheduling quirk the NFL hasn't seen in 40 years, plus 19 other schedule oddities

Some teams were given a pretty crazy schedule by the NFL

John Breech

May 18, 2026

8:36 am ET

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9 min read

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There are always some crazy quirks when it comes to the NFL schedule, and this year is no different. Although the league office does its best to make all 32 teams happy, the fact of the matter is that making everyone happy just isn't possible when you're putting together a schedule that consists of 272 games.

Some teams will be happy about the quirks on their schedule while plenty of other teams won't be.

So who got the craziest quirks? That's a great question. Let's find out.

Here are 20 of the weirdest quirks on the 2026 NFL schedule, starting with the New England Patriots, who got hit with a brutal slate of games to start the season.

- Patriots might get off to rough start. After getting the easiest schedule in the NFL last year, the Patriots will be getting an early reality check in 2026. Their first four opponents have a combined strength of schedule of .721, which is the highest any team has faced in the first four weeks in 40 years (1986 Eagles). To make things worse, the Patriots will have to play three of their first four games on the road (at Seahawks, Steelers, at Jaguars, at Bills).

- Seahawks will play on six different days of the week. The Seahawks will have at least one game on every single day of the week this year, except for Tuesday, making them just the third team in 99 years to play on six different days of the week. The Seahawks will get a rare Wednesday game with their opener against the Patriots. In Week 15, they have a Saturday game against the Eagles and they follow that up with a Week 16 game on a Friday against the Rams, which will fall on Christmas. And of course, they also play on Sunday, Monday and Thursday. Only two other teams have played on six different days in a single season. Back in 1927, the New York Yankees played on every day except for Monday. In 2024, the Chiefs played on every day except for Tuesday. The Rams and Packers could also end up playing on six different days if they get flexed to a Saturday game during this season. That could happen in Week 17 or 18 for the Rams. As for the Packers, they'll have a chance to play on Saturday in Week 18.

- Ravens set up for hot start. The Ravens will open the season with SEVEN straight games against teams that finished under .500 last season, marking just the third time over the past 56 years that we've seen that happen. Since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, the 1983 Falcons and 2025 Panthers are the only teams to open with at least seven games against sub-.500 teams. The Panthers ended up winning the NFC South last year.

- Wild Wednesdays. For the first time in 78 years, the NFL will be playing on TWO different Wednesday during the season. The NFL has held multiple Wednesday games in a season before, but those were played on the same day (Christmas 2024 was the last time we saw that). This year, there will be a Wednesday game in Week 1 (Patriots-Seahawks) and a Wednesday game in Week 12 (Packers-Rams). That marks the first time since 1948 that we're seeing action on two different Wednesdays. Fittingly, the Rams were also involved in the Wednesday games back in 1948.

- Rams are going primetime. If you turn on your TV at any point this fall, there's a good chance you're going to see the Rams. Matthew Stafford's team will play seven primetime games, which is tied for the most in NFL history with the 2023 Bills, 2025 Chiefs and 2025 Ravens. The Rams will actually open the season with four primetime games in the first five weeks.

- Steelers' ugly Thursday winless streak could continue. Since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, the Steelers have gone 0-9 when they're forced to play a Thursday night game on the road against a divisional opponent. And well, the schedule makers clearly have a sense of humor, because look at what we have here: The Steelers have been scheduled for a Thursday night divisional road game once again. The game will come against the Browns in Week 4. The Browns are actually 4-0 in franchise history in Thursday home games against the Steelers, so that matchup could be juicy.

- 49ers will be racking up the frequent flier miles. No team will be doing more traveling this year than the 49ers. Kyle Shanahan's team will be logging 38,105 miles this season, which is not only the most in the NFL, but it's the most that any team has ever traveled in a single season in NFL history. The good news for the 49ers is that of the five teams that traveled the most miles last season, all five of them made the playoffs and San Francisco was one of them (Chargers, Rams, Seahawks, Jaguars, 49ers).

- 49ers making international history. Part of the reason that 49ers will be traveling so much is because they have two international games. The Niners will be playing in Australia (Week 1