The NFL released its 2026 schedule on Thursday night, and for the New England Patriots, the opening stretch looks like a gauntlet. CBS Sports has zeroed in on the first four weeks as the most daunting part of the season—and for good reason.

New England kicks off the year with a cross-country trip to Seattle to face the Seahawks in Week 1. From there, they host the Pittsburgh Steelers at Gillette Stadium in Week 2, then hit the road for back-to-back away games: Week 3 at the Jacksonville Jaguars and Week 4 at the Buffalo Bills. That's a brutal start by any measure.

What makes it particularly tough? All four opponents—Seahawks, Steelers, Jaguars, and Bills—made the playoffs last season. CBS Sports writer John Breech didn't mince words: "After getting the easiest schedule in the NFL last year, the league's schedule makers didn't do the Patriots any favors to start the season this year." According to Breech, the combined strength of schedule for those four teams is .721—the highest any team has faced in the first four weeks since 1986. And to add injury to insult, three of those four games are on the road.

For a team looking to build momentum, this is a major early test. If the Patriots can emerge from this stretch with a 2-2 record, they'll be in solid shape for the rest of the season. But if they stumble to 1-3 or worse, the road to the AFC East title gets steep, and they might have to scrap for a wild-card spot. Either way, the first month of the season will tell us a lot about what this team is made of.