NFL schedule makers give Jets major disadvantage with scheduling quirk

The New York Jets 2026 regular-season schedule is officially out, and we now have a road map of where Gang Green's season will take them throughout the upcoming campaign.

It's not an overly difficult lineup; the Jets' strength of schedule is around the middle of the pack of the league, but there are some interesting quirks that make it difficult, and a bit easier in some spots.

In three of New York's first four games, they face three straight NFC North teams, the Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions, and Chicago Bears, in that order. The Packers and Bears were playoff teams, while the Lions were just one win away from making the postseason.

On the bright side, the Jets don't have any international games this season, meaning they won't have to travel off-continent to play any games. Owner Woody Johnson may not like that, but the players certainly do.

But one scheduling statistic has the Jets at the bottom of the league, and it may make their opponents all the more difficult to beat in 2026.

Jets schedule has them ranked 29th in net rest differential

NFL analyst Arif Hasan put together a list of net rest differential, which essentially lists how much time off every team has before they face a specific opponent.

The Jets have a net rest differential of -9.5, ranked 29th in the league. New York absolutely drew the short end of the stick in that department.

The biggest factor in the Jets' low net rest differential is their two matchups against the Miami Dolphins and Arizona Cardinals in Week 7 and Week 15, respectively.

Both the Dolphins and Cardinals are coming off their bye weeks ahead of both games, which should give both of them a decent advantage going into their matchup with the Jets.

In a season where the current regime, Aaron Glenn and Darren Mougey, are fighting for their jobs, every game counts, and this should only make those tilts harder.

On the other hand, NFL teams were 14-12 when coming off a bye in 2025, so maybe the rest advantage is a little overrated.

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