2026 NFL schedule release: How do travel, rest, prime time and outdoor games impact teams?

How do teams from the Pacific time zone handle the dreaded 1 p.m. ET road game?

There are five teams that play all of their home games in the Pacific time zone: the Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks. (Because Phoenix does not follow daylight saving time, the Arizona Cardinals are aligned with the Pacific time zone teams for a portion of the year, but they continue to officially be on Mountain Standard Time.) Conventional wisdom holds that it is especially challenging for a team based in the Pacific time zone to play a game in the Eastern time zone that begins at 1 p.m. local time — which translates to 10 a.m. PT, obviously an unusually early kickoff for one’s body clock. In reality, the five PT-based teams in the NFL won more of these games than they lost in 2025 (combined record of 10-7), with two squads going undefeated: the Seahawks (4-0) and 49ers (2-0).

In 2026, the Seahawks have just two road games at 1 p.m. local time in the Eastern time zone, the same number as the division-rival 49ers. The Chargers and Raiders each have three such games. The Rams are currently slated for two such games, but their Week 17 matchup with the Buccaneers has yet to have a game time set, so that could increase their number to three.

How do the teams that traveled the most miles fare on the season?

We won’t know which team will travel the most miles in 2026 until actual itineraries are set, as some teams with back-to-back road dates in the same part of the country stay near those locations, thus reducing their total distance covered. But it will almost surely be either the 49ers or Rams, given their Week 1 meeting in Melbourne, Australia.

Racking up the road time does not necessarily spell doom. Of the teams that finished each of the past 10 seasons with the most miles traveled, seven finished with winning records and six reached the playoffs. But just one of those squads actually won a postseason game: the 2021 49ers, who traveled 28,260 miles, logged a 10-7 record and registered two playoff victories before bowing out in the NFC title match. Perhaps not surprisingly, each of those 10 teams hailed from either the AFC West or NFC West. The Chargers took the travel crown in 2025 and ’24, finishing 11-6 and losing in the Wild Card Round each time. So, if the road kings of 2026 do emerge from the NFC West — as I predicted above — it would fit the pattern.

Do teams with the most short weeks have a disadvantage?

When teams have to follow up a Sunday game with a Thursday game the next week, or a Monday game with a Saturday or Sunday game, these are considered short weeks — because there are fewer than six days off between games. In 2026, the Bears and Bills will each have six short weeks, the most in the NFL. Should they be bracing themselves for a rough ride?

Based on what transpired in 2025, perhaps. The Commanders and Eagles each had five games on a short week in 2025, tied for the most in the NFL. The Commanders went 0-5 while the Eagles went 3-2. Some teams apparently weren’t fazed at all by this challenge, though; the Seahawks, Broncos and Cowboys all went 3-0 in games on a short week in 2025, tied for the best record in the NFL.

The picture further back looks even more encouraging. Over the past 10 seasons, there were two more teams that played five games on short weeks: the 2024 Ravens and 2020 Bills. And, like the Eagles last season, those two teams won their respective divisions.

John Harbaugh’s old team, the Ravens, went 22-8 on a short week over the last 10 seasons, the best record in the NFL during that span. Which is good news for his new team, the Giants, who own a league-worst 8-20 record on a short week in that time period.