Mark your calendars: These 7 games are shaping up as the NFL's worst in 2026

The NFL revealed its 2026 regular-season schedule in full little more than a week ago. And while it’s fun to circle what seem like the best matchups of the year, see who’s playing on the holidays and get a sense of what the prime-time lineups will look like, it can also be fun to try and find a hate watch. Granted this is the NFL, king of all North American sports.

Fantasy, betting and, this year especially, the ramifications for the next draft – as it pertains to bad teams – mean almost no game is truly irrelevant. Yet we’ve certainly found a few that could get ugly ... and despite ruling out Week 18 games, many inherently worrisome given the potential weather issues and likelihood good players could be resting when that option is on the table amid unbalanced matchups.

So, without further ado – and at this premature date – these contests are shaping up as the seven worst of the 2026 season, listed chronologically: Kansas City Chiefs at Las Vegas Raiders , Oct. 4 The Chiefs’ disastrous 2025 season concluded with a loss in Sin City – a game injured QB Patrick Mahomes didn’t play in. However the three-time Super Bowl MVP is 6-0 in his career at Allegiant Stadium – including his performance in Super Bowl 58 – the Chiefs averaging 33 points in those defeats of the Raiders.

And while the Silver and Black have added a lot of pieces, including No. 1 draft pick Fernando Mendoza, for their rebuild, a Week 4 game against a dynasty could get ugly … as it often has against Mahomes and Co. New York Jets at Chicago Bears , Oct.