The Eagles May Have An Easy Schedule in 2026, But Here's What Really Matters

When looking at the strength of schedule for the Philadelphia Eagles, the slate is very favorable.

The opponents the Eagles will face in 2026 have a combined win percentage of .481 from the previous season -- which ranks as the 10th-easiest in the NFL. Not bad for a first-place team from the season before.

Of the division champions from 2025, the Eagles actually have the easiest strength of schedule based on opponents' win percentage from the previous season. That bodes well for their 2026 chances, especially for a team with five straight winning seasons and a winning record in eight of the last nine seasons.

How do the Eagles have such an "easy" schedule? This is based on their opponents' record from last season.

The Eagles face the NFC East twice, which included the Giants' 4-13 record and Commanders' 5-12 record. Yes, the Eagles are playing the NFC North Champion Bears and the AFC North champion Steelers -- but they also drew the AFC South in the schedule rotation (which has the 3-14 Titans).

While the schedule does seem favorable, there are few factors in play that may make this schedule difficult.

When the Eagles play these teams

The NFL is going to have games on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday this year. That's six of the seven calendar days.

The Eagles won't be playing on a Wednesday since they drew the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving and host the Seattle Seahawks (so the NFL Kickoff Game scheduled on a Wednesday is out).

The Eagles will have a short turnaround in Week 11, assuming they play on a Sunday leading to the Thanksgiving Day game (Week 12). They are also eligible for "Thursday Night Football," so that's two short weeks on the calendar (Thanksgiving doesn't count as a TNF game).

What about Christmas? Could the Eagles play on Christmas Eve (Thursday) or Christmas Day (Friday)? Those would be short weeks on the schedule. There are also four weeks where games fall on a Saturday, so even more short weeks.

The Eagles play eight playoff teams from last season, and none of them are in the division. The division games are always tough, and there's a good chance the Eagles could play those games -- or one of those playoff teams -- on a short week.

The schedule may look easy, but when they play those teams matters.

When's the bye week?

The Eagles have asked for a midseason bye week in recent years and the NFL has delivered. Last season, the Eagles had a Week 9 bye week and in 2023 it was Week 10.

In their Super Bowl seasons, the 2022 bye week was in Week 14 and the 2024 bye week was in Week 5. The Eagles seem to have more success with an early or late bye week, even though they like to have the bye in the middle of the year.

Who the Eagles play after the bye week matters, which certainly helped them upset the Green Bay Packers in Lambeau Field last season. And the Eagles had an extra day to prepare for that game since it was a Monday night (and had a short week following that game).

The bye week, and when the Eagles have it, does matter with injuries and how the schedule falls.

International games

The Eagles are going to play in London against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in Week 5, That's a big deal towards a game that was already going to be difficult.

Instead of a favorable road trip, the Eagles will head to London instead of Jacksonville. Sure the Eagles won't be giving up a home game, but this is their second International Series game in three years.

Get used to that, as the NFL is adding more international games to the slate in the coming years. The league is already at eight, and plan to go to 16 at some point.

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