The Jets’ 2026 schedule is bad news for their interception drought

Knowing the New York Jets’ luck, their historic interception drought is almost guaranteed to end at one of two times.

Either the Jets will pick off Cam Ward in Week 1, or they’ll be waiting until after their Week 13 bye.

Those might be two extremes, but we just saw the Jets go an entire season without recording an interception.

In other words, projecting a middle ground for the Jets makes a fool’s errand look easy.

Jets schedule provides few opportunities to intercept opposing QBs

Lucky for Jets fans, ESPN’s Rich Cimini isn’t as cynical. He just doesn’t believe the Jets will end September with an interception.

Instead, Cimini pointed to the Jets’ Week 5 showdown against the Cleveland Browns as the likeliest option.

“The first four quarterbacks on the schedule — Cam Ward, Jordan Love, Jared Goff and Caleb Williams — aren’t interception throwers,” Cimini wrote. “In fact, they ranked in the top seven in lowest interception percentage in 2025.”

The Jets’ defense likely won’t benefit from playing three of their first four games on the road. Love and the Packers will face the Jets at MetLife Stadium on Sept. 20.

As for Cleveland, it remains unclear whether Deshaun Watson or Shedeur Sanders will start for the Browns. Watson, a three-time Pro Bowler with the Texans, has only played in 19 games since the start of 2021.

Sanders went 3–4 with a 56.6% completion percentage and a 7–10 TD-INT ratio in eight games (seven starts) as a rookie. He also rushed for 169 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries.

We also can’t forget that Sanders somehow earned Pro Bowl honors in one of the most egregious selections in league history.

Dillon Gabriel, who went 1–5 in six starts last year, also remains on the roster.

There is no indication that the Browns intend to trade Sanders or Gabriel this summer. Both quarterbacks are entering the second year of their standard four-year rookie contract.

Watson is in the final season of a five-year, $230 million contract.

Meanwhile, Jets quarterback Geno Smith looks to get back on track after throwing an NFL-high 17 interceptions last year. Smith has thrown 32 interceptions in the last two years, significantly up from the 20 he had from 2022 to 2023.

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