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2026 NFL SOS SERIES · PART 3 OF 3

Color-coded heat map showing the 2026 NFL schedule gauntlet by week, with a week-by-week grid and football imagery.

The Heat Map.

A single SOS number hides where the pain lives. This is all 18 weeks, every game shaded by how strong that opponent is — so you can spot the death marches, the soft launches, and the sell-high windows at a glance.

ATS STATS Research Desk · 32 teams × 18 weeks
How to read it

Color = opponent strength

Each cell is shaded by that opponent’s power-rating tier — not the team’s. A red week means you’re staring down one of the league’s eight best. The counts on the right tally each tier across the full slate.

(FULL MAP HERE)

Brutal – Tough – Average – Soft –BYE
Team W1 W2 W3 W4 W5 W6 W7 W8 W9 W10 W11 W12 W13 W14 W15 W16 W17 W18 BRU TGH AVG SFT
CHI CAR MIN PHI NYJ GB ATL NE SEA TB BYE NO DET JAX MIA BUF GB DET MIN 5 5 5 2
NE SEA PIT JAX BUF LV NYJ CHI MIA GB DET BYE LAC BUF MIN KC NYJ DEN MIA 6 4 4 3
CAR CHI ATL CLE DET BYE PHI TB GB DEN NO BAL TB MIN NO CIN PIT SEA ATL 5 5 6 1
ARI LAC SEA SF NYG DET LAR DEN DAL SEA LAR KC WSH PHI BYE NYJ NO LV SF 8 4 1 4
LAC ARI LV BUF SEA DEN KC BYE LAR HOU BAL NYJ NE TB LV SF MIA KC DEN 8 3 2 4
LAR SF NYG DEN PHI BUF ARI LV LAC WSH ARI BYE GB KC SF DAL SEA TB SEA 6 6 0 5
MIA LV SF KC MIN CIN BYE NYJ NE DET IND BUF NYJ DEN CHI GB LAC BUF NE 5 4 5 3
GB MIN NYJ ATL TB CHI DAL DET CAR NE MIN BYE LAR NO BUF MIA CHI HOU DET 4 5 6 2
BUF HOU DET LAC NE LAR LV BYE BAL MIN NYJ MIA KC NE GB CHI DEN MIA NYJ 5 4 5 3
NYG DAL LAR TEN ARI WSH NO HOU BYE PHI WSH JAX IND SF SEA CLE DET DAL PHI 5 4 3 5
LV MIA LAC NO KC NE BUF LAR NYJ SF SEA DEN CLE BYE LAC DEN TEN ARI KC 7 3 3 4
NYJ TEN GB DET CHI CLE NE MIA LV KC BUF LAC MIA BYE DEN ARI NE MIN BUF 5 3 5 4
MIN GB CHI TB MIA NO BYE IND DET BUF GB SF ATL CAR NE DET WSH NYJ CHI 3 4 7 3
SF LAR MIA ARI DEN SEA WSH ATL BYE LV DAL MIN SEA NYG LAR LAC KC PHI ARI 7 3 2 5
DAL NYG WSH BAL HOU TB GB PHI ARI IND SF TEN PHI SEA BYE LAR JAX NYG WSH 5 4 2 6
ATL PIT CAR GB NO BAL CHI SF TB CIN KC BYE MIN DET CLE WSH TB NO CAR 3 6 4 4
TEN NYJ PHI NYG BAL HOU IND CLE CIN BYE JAX DAL JAX WSH DET IND LV PIT HOU 3 4 5 5
WSH PHI DAL SEA IND NYG SF BYE PHI LAR NYG CIN ARI TEN HOU ATL MIN JAX DAL 4 5 4 4
KC DEN IND MIA LV BYE LAC SEA DEN NYJ ATL ARI BUF LAR CIN NE SF LAC LV 5 3 5 4
IND BAL KC HOU WSH PIT TEN MIN JAX DAL MIA HOU NYG BYE PHI TEN CIN CLE JAX 3 5 4 5
DEN KC JAX LAR SF LAC SEA ARI KC CAR BYE LV PIT MIA NYJ LV BUF NE LAC 5 4 3 5
TB CIN CLE MIN GB DAL PIT CAR ATL CHI BYE DET CAR LAC BAL NO ATL LAR NO 3 5 6 3
HOU BUF CIN IND DAL TEN JAX NYG BYE LAC CLE IND BAL PIT WSH JAX PHI GB TEN 3 4 5 5
PIT ATL NE CIN CLE IND TB NO CLE BYE CIN PHI DEN HOU JAX BAL CAR TEN BAL 4 2 7 4
CIN TB HOU PIT JAX MIA BYE BAL TEN ATL PIT WSH NO CLE KC CAR IND BAL CLE 3 4 5 5
SEA NE ARI WSH LAC SF DEN KC CHI ARI LV BYE SF DAL NYG PHI LAR CAR LAR 5 4 2 6
JAX CLE DEN NE CIN PHI HOU BYE IND BAL TEN NYG TEN CHI PIT HOU DAL WSH IND 3 4 5 5
BAL IND NO DAL TEN ATL CLE CIN BUF JAX LAC CAR HOU BYE TB PIT CLE CIN PIT 1 6 6 4
CLE JAX TB CAR PIT NYJ BAL TEN PIT NO HOU BYE LV CIN ATL NYG BAL IND CIN 2 4 6 5
NO DET BAL LV ATL MIN NYG PIT BYE CLE CAR CHI CIN GB CAR TB ARI ATL TB 2 5 4 6
DET NO BUF NYJ CAR ARI BYE GB MIN MIA NE TB CHI ATL TEN MIN NYG CHI GB 1 5 6 5
PHI WSH TEN CHI LAR JAX CAR DAL WSH NYG BYE PIT DAL ARI IND SEA HOU SF NYG 2 5 3 7

 

Rows ordered toughest schedule (top) to softest (bottom). Scroll horizontally for the full season.

Betting the calendar

Reading the rows like a chart

Find the clusters. Three or four red cells in a row is a death march — a stretch where even a good team can spiral and a bad one gets buried. Those windows are where season-long narratives (and inflated lines) get made.

Hunt the soft launch. A run of blue early can flatter a mediocre team into a fast start and a pricey number — prime sell-high territory before the schedule turns. The reverse, a brutal open into a soft back half, is a buy-low setup.

Mind the bye. The grey cell matters: a rested team off a bye walking into a tired opponent is one of the oldest edges in the book. Cross-reference the grey against your opponent’s preceding red.

The Series

2026 NFL SOS · Three Parts

Part 1: The Index

All 32 teams ranked by 2026 schedule difficulty, plus the model.

Part 2: Winners & Losers

The five buried by the bracket and the five who caught a break.

Part 3: The Heat Map

Every team’s 18-week gauntlet, color-coded by opponent.

2026 NFL STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE · MODEL v1.0

Methodology: each team’s power rating is the equal-weighted three-year average (2023-2025) of actual wins blended 50/50 with Pythagorean wins derived from points for and points against (exponent 2.37). A team’s SOS is the sum of its 17 opponents’ power ratings, with division opponents counted twice. Ratings are retrospective and do not account for 2026 roster, coaching, or quarterback changes. For entertainment and informational purposes only — not betting advice. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER.