Best and worst of the Eagles’ 2026 schedule, plus early won-loss record predictions

The preceding days of leaks, rumors and network-sponsored announcements gave way (at last) to the officially released version of the 2026 Eagles schedule on Thursday night. Though the opponents were already known, there is still an awful lot to unpack. With that in mind, the Inquirer’s Eagles team of Jeff McLane, Olivia Reiner, Jeff Neiburg and Ryan Novozinsky offered their biggest takeaways on the 17-game slate and offered an early predicted record for the two-time defending NFC East champs.

McLane: It doesn’t seem quite fair that the NFL would schedule the Eagles on both Thanksgiving (at the Cowboys) and Christmas Eve (hosting the Texans). The latter may not technically be a holiday, but for all intents and purposes it’s a day reserved for families. Players know that business takes precedence during the season — and Christmas will be an off day for the Birds — but the league doesn’t normally interrupt both holidays for one team. Other than that, a first glance at the slate doesn’t reveal much to gripe about.

Reiner: That the league is making the Eagles wait for the 2025 wild-card rematch against the 49ers until Week 17. I thought it was a mistake last year that the Eagles didn’t get to see the Commanders — the team they walloped in the NFC championship game the year prior — until Week 16. By that point, the juice that lingered from the playoffs had dissipated, especially with the Commanders already out of postseason contention. That 49ers game could still be plenty meaningful, but by waiting until the end of the season, the league runs the risk of it being irrelevant if either team takes a major step back in 2026.

» READ MORE: Eagles schedule release: Your guide to all of the Birds’ 2026 opponents

Neiburg: The Eagles getting eight primetime games — I’m counting London — isn’t a surprise to me. They’re in a big market and they’ve been pretty good and are always interesting. The surprise to me is that one of them isn’t the Rams game. For the second consecutive season, the Eagles and Rams — two of the best teams in the NFC — will meet for a 1 p.m. kickoff at Lincoln Financial Field. Not every game can be in the spotlight, but it feels like this one deserves a bigger stage.

Novozinsky: The Eagles starting the season at home is a bit of a stunner. This is only the second time in the Nick Sirianni era that the team will open the season at Lincoln Financial Field. They hosted Week 1 last season after their Super Bowl win, obviously, but the previous three seasons were all on the road. Facing a defensively weak Commanders team in front of a raucous home crowd should make for a strong debut for offensive coordinator Sean Mannion.

McLane: The Eagles’ first two games aren’t exactly teed up, but on paper the opener at home vs. the Commanders followed by a matchup at the Titans aren’t imposing. Washington fell off last season after a surprising 2025 in coach Dan Quinn’s first season. Quarterback Jayden Daniels missed most of last season, so as long as he’s healthy, Washington should improve upon a 5-12 record. But the Titans, who won only three games in 2026, are undergoing yet another change with Robert Saleh taking over as coach. And their roster is still thin. The rising Bears and potent Rams loom in Weeks 3 and 4, but the Eagles could easily start 2-0.

Reiner: The Eagles are playing some of their most difficult opponents on this schedule at home, namely the reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks, the Rams, and the Texans. But the Eagles will be coming off of short weeks for all three of those opponents (five days between games ahead of the Rams, five days between games ahead of the Seahawks, four days between games ahead of the Texans). So, one of the positives of this schedule also comes with drawbacks. The Eagles have five total short weeks on this schedule as it stands.

» READ MORE: Eagles 2026 schedule: Jalen Hurts and Birds teammates react; NFL puts Philly in the spotlight

Neiburg: The first three games come against three teams that allowed a lot of yards last season. That doesn’t mean a whole lot now. No season is like the previous. But Washington, Tennessee, and Chicago all have a lot of work to do to show that they’ve made the right moves to get their defenses back on track. At the very least, the Mannion era gets a few games early that should give him favorable matchups.

Novozinsky: Look, we’ve known Philadelphia’s opponents for quite some time, but I don’t think enough people are talking about just how favorable the Eagles’ 2026 slate is — especially early in the season. There are a few games that could go either way, but there’s a serious chance the Birds roll into Thanksgiving with a 10-0 or 9-1 record. The Rams matchup is obviously the toughest early test, but even then, Sirianni has an impressive 3-0 record vs. Los Angeles.

McLane: The Eagles’ toughest stretch comes late in the season against three quality opponents with some of the best defenses of the last few seasons. The first two games are home against the defending Super Bowl-champion Seahawks and the DeMeco Ryans-led Texans, who fell a few playoff rounds short of facing Seattle in the title game. The third game is at San Francisco in a rematch of the Eagles’ wild-card loss to the 49ers in January. December is a long way away in NFL terms, but that potential gauntlet could go a long way in deciding a postseason berth or seeding.

Reiner: The Eagles are the back-to-back division champions, but a three-peat could be difficult to come by in 2026. The Giants have new leadership under John Harbaugh, the Cowboys are getting a defensive revamp with former Eagles defensive backs coach Christian Parker leading the way as defensive coordinator, and a healthy Jayden Daniels is set to return for his third year with the Commanders. After turning around from the Jaguars in London in Week 5 and playing the Panthers in Week 6, the Eagles will face all three NFC East teams consecutively, including a short week between their Monday night game against the Cowboys and their ensuing Sunday night game against the Commanders. They could have their work cut out for them in that particular stretch, and in the division this year in general.

Neiburg: Like Jeff, that three-game stretch from Week 15 to Week 17 catches my eye. Where will the Eagles be at that juncture? There seem to be a few wins on the calendar early, but there are lots of roadblocks. Let’s say they’re leading the division by a game at that point. If so, the NFC East has a chance to be wide open down the stretch. Seattle, Houston, and San Francisco are tough ones. At least two of them are home?

Novozinsky: Not having a bye week after the London game is brutal — and could lead to a sloppy week after. The 2025 Broncos didn’t get a bye after their London game and proceeded to scrape out a dogfight 33-32 win over a terrible Giants team the following week. At one point, Denver trailed 26-8 in the game. For Sirianni’s sake, let’s hope the Eagles aren’t nursing a similar London hangover against the Panthers.

McLane: The Eagles understand the logistics of playing in another country, having just traveled to Brazil two years ago. They last played in London in 2018 — also against the Jaguars — but they don’t return to historic Wembley Stadium this time around. The meeting will take place in the north section of the city at state-of-the-art Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. It’s a beautiful multipurpose venue that may not be the home of a Premier League team if Spurs get relegated later this month. Will that have any bearing on the outcome? Of course not, except that traveling fans of the soccer club — like this one — will have to settle for a championship league-level match if they want to catch the team while in England.

Reiner: Out of all of the possibilities for an international game this season — in London against the Jaguars or the Commanders or in Mexico City against the 49ers – this outcome seems like the most favorable matchup for the Eagles. After a 13-4 finish last season, the Jaguars could be primed for a regression. The team lost a pair of standouts in running back Travis Etienne and linebacker Devin Lloyd in free agency. According to NFL data scientist Tom Bliss, the Jaguars were the fourth-luckiest team in the league last season, too. Plus, the Eagles have a year’s worth of tape of the Jaguars under the new coaching staff to use in their preparation for the game. That doesn’t mean the Jaguars are going to fall off a cliff necessarily, but of the three potential international scenarios for the Eagles, this one seems like the best.

» READ MORE: Eagles will face Jaguars at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in Week 5

Neiburg: It’s a Jacksonville “home game” that will end up being a home Eagles crowd. That’s not much of a surprise, of course. But the Eagles should feel right at home across the pond. They’ll need it. The Jags are no joke anymore. There should be a few wins on the Eagles’ résumé before they depart for London, but any early stumbles could make this a game the Eagles really need, and with no bye week after, that Panthers game gets interesting.

Novozinsky: It’s been widely reported that the Buffalo Bills’ new home, Highmark Stadium — the newest stadium in the NFL — was heavily inspired by Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (Bills ownership even hired the same stadium designer). Will Jeffrey Lurie take notes of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium when the Eagles take the field there in Week 5? Is this a potential preview of the new stadium template? Maybe soccer stadium designs will become a trend as more and more teams start building new venues.

McLane: How about the Giants in the season finale? You have to be skeptical about a franchise that has been moribund for so long, but new skipper John Harbaugh is a proven winner. He also has a track record, having taken the Ravens all the way to the AFC championship game in his first season in Baltimore (2008). I’m not sold on second-year quarterback Jaxson Dart, but New York should benefit from a last-place schedule and could be in the playoff mix heading into Week 18. It’s quite possible the Eagles will also have something on the line, unlike in the previous three seasons when they rested most of their starters in the last game.

Reiner: The Week 2 game against the Titans. That contest precedes one of the more difficult stretches in the schedule — four consecutive games against 2025 playoff teams in the Bears, the Rams, and the Jaguars, then an immediate return home from London to play the Panthers. The NFC East three-week showdown comes afterward. It will be important for the Eagles to get out to a strong start before the bye, which includes three road games (one international) and two short weeks (between the Bears and the Rams; between the Cowboys and the Commanders). Tennessee was one of the worst teams in the league in 2025, so they can likely only improve under new head coach Robert Saleh. It doesn’t help that the Eagles will have to prepare for a new offense and defense with just one game on tape.

» READ MORE: unCovering the Birds: Early Impressions | Rookie Camp Recap

Neiburg: It’s tough to pick one, but I’m going with Week 3 in Chicago. The Rams come to town the following week, and the London trip follows. The Eagles could be 2-0 heading to play a Bears team in primetime that embarrassed them on the ground on Black Friday last year. Even if the Eagles are 1-1, this is an important early-season game. It’s never too early to start thinking about playoff standings, is it?

Novozinsky: I’m going with Week 11 vs. the Steelers. It’s easy to overlook a Pittsburgh team that still doesn’t have an official commitment from Aaron Rodgers and made an underwhelming head coaching hire in Mike McCarthy, but let’s not forget: They’ve only had four coaches since 1969. They’re a premier franchise in the league. Let’s let the season play out before declaring them a rebuilding club. The battle of Pennsylvania could have some serious ramifications on both teams’ division races.

McLane: This yearly exercise in futility will be long forgotten by September. The Eagles’ 14 opponents have been known for some time and only the order of the schedule was released on Thursday. The seemingly easy start and difficult finish factor into this prediction, but a record of anywhere from 9-8 to 13-4 seems plausible at this point. Most of the Eagles’ 53-man roster can be guessed, but there are unknowns about player fit and new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion’s scheme. Plenty else can happen in terms of injuries and roster movement. But for the sake of this story, here’s a wild swing at the 17-game slate: A 12-5 record and another NFC East crown.

Reiner: 10-7 (for now — we’ll make our official game-by-game predictions at the end of training camp). There are plenty of questions regarding how the Eagles offense will fare under new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion (and potentially without A.J. Brown). But the team will have the benefit of playing some of their toughest opponents on the schedule at home, including the Seahawks, the Rams, and the Texans, even though the Eagles are coming off of short weeks. The Eagles’ road schedule has a couple of likely wins, including the Titans and the Cardinals. However, the rest of the division could take a step this year, which will make it all the more difficult for the Eagles to return to the playoffs for a sixth straight season.

» READ MORE: How tragedy, near-music stardom, and his beloved hometown helped shape new Eagle Jonathan Greenard

Neiburg: 11-6. There’s some ebbs and flows on the schedule. As I said earlier, it’ll be really interesting to see where the Eagles stand entering their Week 15 game vs. Seattle. What a three-game stretch, at what could be a critical time in the season.

Novozinsky: The Eagles are going 12-5 in 2026. They’re going to be on fire to start the season, cruising into Thanksgiving with an 8-2 record, then get a bit of a reality check as the schedule toughens up down the stretch. The season takes a serious turn around Week 15, when they face the Seahawks, Texans, 49ers and a scrappy Giants club to wrap up the year. How they perform during that gauntlet will make or break a lot of pundits’ feelings about them.

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The Eagles held a rookie minicamp over the weekend, which means that, for the first time this offseason, there are actual on-field football things to talk about. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane and Olivia Reiner were on hand, and share what they learned from practice observations and locker room conversations. Plus, Jeff gives context to the recent departures of two key members of general manager Howie Roseman’s front office staff. Listen here.

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