Ah, revenge games. Whenever an NFL player or coach goes up against an old team, it always makes for a good storyline.
Sometimes, there’s no real hardcore animosity, and at least publicly, you’ll hear a lot about how it’s really just another game. So we’re not trying to manufacture hostility as much as highlight games where prominent personalities will run into their exes. If we headlined it as “Top 10 Water Under the Bridge Games for 2026,” you’d still understand what we’re going for.
Will there be hugs on the field in pregame? Will the old fans cheer or boo the guy they bought a jersey of who signed elsewhere? These are the games where those questions will be asked and answered in 2026.
Chargers OC Mike McDaniel At Dolphins (Week 16)
Now with the Chargers, Mike McDaniel will get a chance to beat the team he used to coach late in the year. (Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)
There are a handful of coaches facing old teams every year, but this could be fun. Mike McDaniel got the Miami Dolphins to the playoffs twice in his four-year tenure as head coach (2022, 2023) after only one appearance in the previous 13 years, but they let him go as part of an overhaul. He went 35-33 as Miami’s head coach, but he now gets to be Justin Herbert’s coordinator. Miami is in a hard rebuild and unlikely to be competitive in 2026. His return to Miami, which will be two days after Christmas, will be one to watch, though. It didn’t make the cut, but we’ll also point out that a week earlier, the Dolphins will go to Green Bay to face the Packers, so it’s a return trip for head coach Jeff Hafley and quarterback Malik Willis, though an upset feels unlikely.
Patriots WR Romeo Doubs Vs. Packers (Week 9)
Romeo Doubs was a standout wide receiver for the Packers, but Green Bay let him become a free agent this offseason. (Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)
We chose Romeo Doubs here, joining the defending AFC champs, but there are so many good receiver-vs.-old-teams on the 2026 schedule. Denver Broncos wide receiver Jaylen Waddle takes on his old team (Dolphins), as does new Buffalo Bills wide receiver D.J. Moore (Chicago Bears). Michael Pittman takes on the Indianapolis Colts after they traded him to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Jauan Jennings faces the San Francisco 49ers following his decision to sign with the Minnesota Vikings. That list doesn’t even count the unsigned wide receivers (Tyreek Hill, Stefon Diggs, Deebo Samuel), who could add even more diva behavior against their former clubs.
Falcons HC Kevin Stefanski At Browns (Week 14)
New Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski will face the team he was the head coach of for the previous six seasons in Week 14. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
Kevin Stefanski spent six years as the Cleveland Browns’ head coach, getting the team to the playoffs twice and winning NFL Coach of the Year honors both times. Alas, he went 8-26 the last two years and was cut loose, landing quickly with the Atlanta Falcons, who will likely need a road win here if they want to compete for the NFC South title. Also worth circling are both Falcons games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as Baker Mayfield made it clear he remembers that Stefanski never called or texted him after the Browns traded him away. Beefs aplenty!
Rams CBs Trent McDuffie, Jaylen Watson Vs. Chiefs (Week 13)
Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson both made the move from Kansas City to Los Angeles this offseason. (Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Rams actively addressed their secondary by raiding the Kansas City Chiefs this spring, giving up four picks (including a first-rounder) to acquire Trent McDuffie, then signing him to a $124 million extension. Jaylen Watson, a former seventh-round pick for Kansas City, signed a three-year, $51 million deal with the Rams in free agency. They won two Super Bowls with the Chiefs, but they’ll go up against them in a high-profile game on a Thursday night in early December.
Ravens RB Derrick Henry Vs. Titans (Week 4)
Derrick Henry will face the Titans for the first time since leaving in 2024. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Again, no real ill will here, as Derrick Henry has said he’ll always have love for the Tennessee Titans. He played eight years for Tennessee, rushing for 9,502 yards and 90 touchdowns. He continues to be a dominant bell cow back at age 32 and will likely finish his career with the Baltimore Ravens, but he gets his first game against his old team this season. It’s a big challenge early on as Tennessee tries to show its defense will be better than 28th in scoring, as it was last year.
Colts QB Daniel Jones Vs. Giants (Week 12)
Daniel Jones had an unceremonious exit from the Giants in 2024. Will he get revenge against them in 2026? (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images)
The New York Giants’ only playoff win in the last 14 seasons came with Daniel Jones at quarterback, leading them to a nine-win season in 2022. That got him a massive four-year, $160 million contract, and Jones went 3-13 as a starter in 2023-24 before he was cut loose. He found himself with the Colts last year before tearing his Achilles tendon. Both of these teams have aspirations of improving in 2026, so Jones vs. Jaxson Dart on Thanksgiving weekend is quite the side dish.
Ravens Edge Trey Hendrickson Vs. Bengals (Week 7)
Trey Hendrickson signed with the Ravens this offseason as the Bengals failed to extend him. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
Trey Hendrickson made the Pro Bowl four straight years with the Cincinnati Bengals, led the NFL with 17.5 sacks in 2024, but this was a nasty split, with holdouts and one-year band-aid deals and a final breakup this offseason. The Bengals are trying to get a terrible defense improved after losing one of their best players, and now they have to face him twice in the division as well. Keeping Joe Burrow healthy and upright is always a Bengals priority, but Hendrickson will be motivated to pile up sacks in these two games.
Titans HC Robert Saleh Vs. Jets (Week 1)
Robert Saleh’s first game as Titans head coach will come against the team he had his first head coaching job with. (Photo by Tom Jenkins/ Getty Images)
Robert Saleh’s return as an NFL head coach will come against the team that fired him after a 20-36 record in three-plus seasons in 2024. It’s two mostly bad teams squaring off for the right to start 2026 with a dose of optimism. It would be better if this were against the Jets in New York, but you get a little of that in Week 3 when Titans offensive coordinator Brian Daboll gets to go back home to face the Giants, who fired him last season after a 20-40-1 record in New York.
Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield Vs. Browns (Week 2)
Baker Mayfield will face the team that made him the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft in Week 2. (Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)
There might be some actual hostility here. Baker Mayfield gets his second crack (and his first joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) against the team that he led to a playoff win, who later traded him to the Carolina Panthers after giving $230 million guaranteed to Deshaun Watson in 2022. Mayfield wasn’t able to get the revenge he was hoping for against the Browns in his first meeting against his old team, losing to Cleveland in his first game as a member of the Panthers. But Mayfield has settled in nicely with the Bucs since then, and Cleveland is 8-26 in the last two seasons. It’s five times more interesting if this game’s in Cleveland, but the idea of Mayfield getting to play his home opener against the team that shipped him off — potentially against Watson, who didn’t play in the 2022 Browns-Panthers matchup — is peak NFL soap opera.
Chiefs RB Kenneth Walker At Seahawks (Week 7)
Kenneth Walker ran his way to Super Bowl MVP honors in his final game with the Seahawks. (Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)
Kenneth Walker III won a Super Bowl MVP with Seattle, rushing for 135 yards in their win over the Patriots, but then he left in free agency, signing a three-year, $43 million deal with Kansas City. Other key players left the champs as well, but he’s arguably the biggest name, and he’s going back to Seattle, so will the K9 fans be barking? Will the 12th Man be more “12 Angry Men?” And how motivated will Seattle’s run defense — allowing a league-low 3.74 yards per carry last year — be to not let him break a big run against them? Walker has said that he knew during the 2025 season that he wouldn’t be returning to Seattle for 2026, so there should be plenty of motivation on his end.