Eagles 2026 schedule: Looking at the pros and cons

· Yahoo Sports

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JANUARY 04: Jalen Hurts #1 and Saquon Barkley #26 of the Philadelphia Eagles speak during warm ups prior to the game against the Washington Commanders at Lincoln Financial Field on January 04, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Eagles’ 2026 schedule has been revealedand now it’s time to analyze the advantages and disadvantages.

PROS

  • The Eagles have the seventh-easiest schedule based on 2026 projected win totals.
  • The Eagles will be favored in their first two games. There’s a good opportunity to start the season on a positive note.
  • The Eagles have a rest advantage with a bye ahead of their Week 11 home game against the Steelers.
  • After they get home from their Week 5 game in London, the Eagles won’t get on a plane to fly to a game again until they head to play the Cowboys in Week 12.
  • Coming off playing on Thanksgiving, the Eagles have a mini-bye ahead of their Week 13 game against the Cards. Helps to mitigate flights out west in back-to-back weeks to Texas and Arizona.
  • Coming off playing on Saturday in Week 15, the Eagles have an extra day of rest entering their Week 16 game against the Texans on Christmas Eve. Houston plays at 1:00 PM on Sunday prior to traveling to Philly.
  • Coming off playing on Christmas Eve, the Eagles have a mini-bye ahead of their Week 17 game against the Whiners.
  • The Eagles don’t play any teams coming off extended rest from a Thursday night mini-bye.

CONS

  • The Eagles will log the ninth-most air miles traveled of any NFL team. The London game is obviously a big factor in this regard.
  • The Eagles will be at a rest disadvantage in what figures to be a key NFC game against the Rams in Week 4. Philly will be playing a road Monday night game in Chicago before hosting LA.
  • The Eagles will be at a rest disadvantage against the Panthers in Week 6. Carolina is coming off their bye while the Birds will be getting back from London.
  • The Eagles will be at a rest disadvantage in an NFC East game against the Commanders in Week 8. Philly will be playing at home on Monday night game before heading to Landover, Maryland. To make matters even more difficult for the Eagles, Washington will be coming off a Week 7 bye.
  • Directly following the preceding disadvantage against the Commies, the Giants have a bye ahead of being hosted by the Eagles in Week 8.
  • The Eagles also play the Colts coming off Indy’s bye. So, that’s a whopping FOUR teams coming off their bye week against the Eagles this season. Three within the conference, two within the division. One off an international trip and another off a short week. Not favorable.
  • The Eagles don’t play any teams coming off short rest from a Monday game.

OTHER

  • NFC East record predictions by quickly playing the win-loss game with their schedules — Dallas Cowboys: 11-6 … Commanders: 7-10 … Giants: 6-11.
  • Glad to see the NFL didn’t run back that dumb shit from last year where the Eagles played the Giants twice within three weeks (Week 6 and Week 8) and the Commanders twice within three weeks (Week 16 and Week 18).
  • There is a stretch where the Eagles play three straight NFC East teams: vs. Cowboys in Week 7, at Commanders in Week 8, and vs. Giants in Week 9. Not a good time for major injury issues.
  • There’s a school of thought that it’s better to play your toughest on-paper opponents later in the season because there’s a greater chance of a key injury (or several) that impacts them. If you subscribe to that line of thinking, you’re happy the Eagles are facing the Seahawks, Texans, and 49ers (who are perpetually getting injured) in December and January. You’re less happy the Eagles are playing the Bears and Rams early on.
  • The Eagles last played a regular season game against the Jags in Jacksonville in September 2010. With the Eagles playing “road” games against the Jags in London in 2018 and 2026, the Birds might not be going back to Duval until 2034. Kind of wild there could be a 24-year gap like that. (Hat tip to @JaguarGator9NFL for highlighting this angle.)
  • There are currently five 1:00 PM starts scheduled for 2026. That’s one fewer than they had each of the last two years.
  • The Eagles currently have eight standalone games on their 2026 schedule. (Meaning, no other competing games going on while they’re playing.)
  • The Eagles will play at least five non-Sunday games for the second season in a row. Sirianni will once again have to navigate the challenge of fewer than normal Sunday-to-Sunday weeks.
  • Reminder: the Eagles currently have one joint training camp practice scheduled ahead of their preseason game against the New England Patriots.

OVERALL

At this time last year, I felt like the 2025 schedule fell between the extremely challenging 2023 outlook and the much easier 2024 projection. 2026 falls somewhere between 2025 and 2024. The majority of opponents don’t look too intimidating but there are some significant rest disadvantages working against the Eagles.

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