The NFL schedules are officially released. There’s one thing we can all agree on: The Arizona Cardinals are in for a long season. In May, no team truly has a tougher schedule. They have a new coach, new regime and have to go through the Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers. Mike LaFleur is in for a rough first year. That said, playing in a lethal division can also expedite their turnaround.
Arizona isn’t the only team with a tough schedule. There’s four other teams that are going to have a tough path to either winning the division or reaching the playoffs.
Arizona Cardinals
- 2025 finish: Missed playoffs
- 2025 record: 3-14
- Strongest opponents: Seattle, Buffalo, Denver
The Cardinals have to play the defending champions, runner-up in the NFC and a playoff team from last year twice this upcoming season. If that doesn’t tell you how difficult the Cardinals’ schedule is. That’s before we even jump into the fact that the NFC West has to play the NFC East this year — that means the Cardinals also have to play the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys. They also have to play the AFC West, which features the Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Chargers and the Kansas City Chiefs.
They’ll also have to play the Detroit Lions this year. Essentially, the Cardinals will be fortunate enough to reach three wins. It’s going to be a rough year in Arizona, but it could be the building block for a more prosperous future as the Cardinals are deep in another rebuilding season.
Miami Dolphins
- 2025 finish: Missed playoffs
- 2025 record: 7-10
- Strongest opponents: Seattle, Buffalo, Denver
As if it wasn’t going to be a grueling season in Miami already amid a complete tear down of the roster, they have the second toughest schedule in the NFL this season. Well Malik Willis, welcome to being a starter in the NFL. With the NFC North and the AFC West on the schedule this year, the Dolphins depleted secondary will be having nightmares all season. The Dolphins schedule isn’t quite as difficult as the Cardinals, but it’s nothing to ignore either. The Chiefs should be better this year as long as they stay healthy, the Broncos and Chargers defense will have Miami feeling overwhelmed too.
The NFC North over the last few years has been a gauntlet too. This Dolphins team will learn a lot this season. It’s best to not judge their rebuild based on this season because it won’t look good at all. That said, if things look a lot better than they should, well, that’s a bonus for a franchise starving for playoff success. My guess is the Dolphins are a few years away from turning into a playoff contender.
Carolina Panthers
- 2025 finish: Wild card round
- 2025 record: 8-9
- Strongest opponents: Chicago, Denver, Seattle
Nothing like getting the reward of the third toughest schedule in the NFL after having one of the most successful seasons in the last decade. The Panthers got a great taste of what it’s going to take to get back to the postseason, but it won’t be easy. Their only saving grace is that the NFC South is so bad, a team with a losing record can win the division — it happened last year. The Panthers should win this division if we’re being honest. If they don’t, though, an at-large playoff spot is nearly impossible.
Carolina gets both the AFC and the NFC North, which produced two playoff teams and all four teams finishing above .500. The AFC North is always a challenge as well, with Baltimore and Pittsburgh always dangerous and Cincinnati being a solid competitor as well. I think realistically, the Panthers can have a better season than their schedule suggests. It will also be the perfect test of just how much this Panthers team will improve.
Dallas Cowboys
- 2025 finish: Missed playoffs
- 2025 record: 6-8-1
- Strongest opponents: Baltimore, Philadelphia, Seattle, LA Rams
Dallas is starving for a Super Bowl. Cowboys fans rinse and repeat the same hope every year that “it’s their year”. Well I got bad news Cowboys fans, this probably won’t be your year, not if the NFL schedule says so. This offense is good enough to go on a Super Bowl run, but this defense is young, inexperienced and still has a lot to prove. They have some good depth, but they’ve reconstructed this defense since trading Micah Parsons. It will be a lot to expect this team to survive their gauntlet of a schedule.
The Cowboys have to play the AFC South and the NFC West this year, along with Baltimore, Tampa Bay and Green Bay. I think Dallas can actually win this division this year, I just don’t know if that’s as good as it appears. The Philadelphia Eagles are probably going to regress a bit this season and Washington and the New York Giants are wild cards. If Dallas plays to its potential, winning this division isn’t impossible. But having a schedule full of playoff teams from a season ago means winning non-division games are just as challenging as the division ones.
Los Angeles Rams
- 2025 finish: NFC championship game appearance
- 2025 record: 12-5
- Strongest opponents: Seattle, Buffalo, Denver
If there’s any team that should be extremely optimistic this season, it’s the Los Angeles Rams. They return every key piece from last year’s team that reached the NFC runner-up team. They’re so confident in this team, they used the No. 13 pick to draft Matthew Stafford’s replacement. They’re right to be confident as this team, on paper, is probably Super Bowl favorites. By virtue of being in the toughest division in the NFL, they’ll have a tough schedule. That’s not the only reason the Rams will have an uphill battle in 2026, though.
Along with a loaded division, the Rams play five other playoff teams from a year ago. They also have the Kansas City Chiefs. Don’t let Kansas City’s 2025 season deter you: They’re still good. I wouldn’t bet against them and the Rams shouldn’t either. This is a schedule that will force the Rams to be on point all year. That shouldn’t be a problem and again, if they truly are as good as they are, shouldn’t have much trouble.
More NFL offseason news and analysis
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow
