Chargers to face Top 10 toughest schedule in 2026 regular season

The Los Angeles Chargers have yet to play the most important game(s) of this season. But in the NFL it's never too early to start thinking about next season. Right, Bolts?

The Chargers, who finished their regular season at 11-6 after last Sunday's meaningless Week 18 loss to the Denver Broncos, travel across the country as the seventh seed to play the New England Patriots Sunday night in Foxboro. Hopefully coach Jim Harbaugh's team can string together three road wins and wind up in Super Bowl LX come February 8.

MORE: Chargers open as surprisingly small underdogs at 14-win Patriots in Wild Card game

But if not ... it will be time to start pondering April's NFL Draft (they'll likely pick around 22nd) and then - in May - the release of the full 2026 schedule. We won't know until then when, where and in what order the Chargers play. But with the regular season over we do know who they will play next season.

For a change, they didn't finish behind the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West standings. Instead, they were one spot behind the Denver Broncos. That means a second-place schedule next season, which will feature second-place finishers from the AFC South (Houston Texans), AFC East (Buffalo Bills), AFC North (Baltimore Ravens), NFC South (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and NFC West (Los Angeles Rams).

It is shaping up to be a daunting schedule, with a road schedule that includes the Seattle Seahawks, Broncos, Bills, Texans, Ravens, Rams and Bucs. Based on this year's winning percentages, the Chargers' 2026 schedule is the ninth-toughest in the NFL.

They will have nine road games and only eight at home next season.

Home

Broncos. Chiefs. Raiders. Patriots. Jets. Cardinals. 49ers. Texans.

MORE: Should Chargers consider trade for disgruntled Raiders star Maxx Crosby?

Away

Broncos. Chiefs. Raiders. Bills. Dolphins. Rams. Seahawks. Ravens. Buccaneers.

Derwin James | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

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