The full 2026 NFL schedule is officially released. We’ve known everyone’s opponents for some time now, but we now know when every single game will take place.

The Los Angeles Rams were a few plays away from making it to the Super Bowl last season, and all they’ve done this offseason is get even better. I believe they’re the most complete team in the league, but they have a brutal schedule ahead of them.

I went through their full 17-game schedule and identified the easiest and toughest stretches that could define their season.

Los Angeles Rams’ 2026 Schedule

Week 1: vs San Francisco 49ers (Australia)

Week 2: vs New York Giants

Week 3: at Denver Broncos

Week 4: at Philadelphia Eagles

Week 5: vs Buffalo Bills

Week 6: vs Arizona Cardinals

Week 7: at Las Vegas Raiders

Week 8: vs Los Angeles Chargers

Week 9: at Washington Commanders

Week 10: at Arizona Cardinals

Week 11: BYE

Week 12: vs Green Bay Packers

Week 13: vs Kansas City Chiefs

Week 14: at San Francisco 49ers

Week 15: vs Dallas Cowboys

Week 16: at Seattle Seahawks

Week 17: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week 18: vs Seattle Seahawks

Easiest Stretch

The Rams don’t have a super easy stretch on their schedule, but from Week 6 to Week 10, they should be able to run the table.

This stretch begins with a home game against the Arizona Cardinals, who many believe will be the worst team in the league next season. Sure, their offense could put up some points, but the Rams are going to run through their defense like sh** through a tin horn (shoutout Nick Saban for that legendary quote).

After that, the Rams will hit the road and travel to Las Vegas to take on the Raiders, who just had the No. 1 pick in the draft. They will be much better than last year, but they won’t be able to keep up with LA’s offense.

The Rams will return home to face their in-city rivals, the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 8. This will certainly be their toughest test during this stretch, and while I think the Chargers are a very good team, I don’t think they’re good enough to take down the Rams, especially if they’re healthy. The Rams’ pass rush is going to feast against Justin Herbert.

LA will then travel across the country to take on the Washington Commanders, who should also be much better than they were a year ago, but are still a few big pieces away from being on the Rams’ level. Jayden Daniels can work some magic and make this game close, but it should be a Rams victory.

Finally, to end this middle of the season stretch, the Rams will travel to Arizona for their second matchup against the Cardinals. Again, that should be an easy win.

If the Rams can go 5-0 during this stretch, they’ll put themselves in a great spot to secure the 1-seed in the NFC.

Hardest Stretch

The Rams have a couple of hard stretches in their schedule, but none are tougher than their stretch from Week 3 to Week 5. And if you believe in John Harbaugh and the New York Giants, you could really say Week 1 through Week 5.

The Rams will open the season in Australia against the San Francisco 49ers, which would be a tough game at home, much less halfway across the world. Then, in week two, they host the Giants on Monday Night Football. That’s not an easy opening stretch, and it only gets harder from there.

In Week 3, the Rams will hit the road and travel to Denver to face the AFC runner ups before flying halfway back across the country to face the Philadelphia Eagles in Lincoln Financial Field. And if that wasn’t tough enough, they’ll fly back to the west coast and have to take on Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills in Week 5.

The Rams are one of the best teams in the league, and they could go 4-1 or even 5-0 in this stretch, but all that traveling is going to take a toll on them, so don’t be shocked if they’re 3-2 or even 2-3 out the gates.

I will also mention the Rams’ closing stretch, because it’s pretty tough, but not as bad as their opening stretch. In Week 13, they’ll host the Kansas City Chiefs before going to San Fran and then hosting the Dallas Cowboys. After that, they’ll take back-to-back road trip to Seattle and Tampa Bay before returning home to face Seattle again to end the season. That’s a pretty brutal stretch as well, but I think their opening five games take the cake, mainly because of travel.

The Rams are one of the best teams in the league, so they’ll probably be fine, but they have to go 8-3 over those 11 games if they want a realistic shot at the 1-seed. It won’t be easy, but if anyone can do it, it’s LA.

How Did the Schedule Unfold For the Rams?

Based on the average win percentage of their opponents in 2025, the Rams have the 13th-toughest schedule in the NFL on paper. But with how their schedule was set up, I would say it’s a lot tougher than that.

Their five-game stretch to start the season is up there with any team’s five-game stretch. They have to go halfway across the world to face a fully healthy 49ers team, host a up-and-coming Giants team, then go on the road to Denver and Philly before hosting Buffalo. Even for the team I believe will win the Super Bowl, that’s no easy task.

The schedule lightens up in the middle, but then the Rams have yet another brutal stretch from Week 12 to 18. If these games were more spread out, I would feel a bit better, but the NFL did the Rams dirty with their schedule. Like I said, they’re good enough to overcome it, but the 1-seed got much harder to obtain today.