An NFL team’s strength-of-schedule can be the difference between multiple victories.
With each team facing only 14 opponents in a 32-team league, there is extreme variance in strength-of-schedule across the NFL. Two teams can play an identical level of football and finish with much different records due to the difference in the quality of opponents they faced.
Where will the New York Jets land on this spectrum in 2025?
We will not know that answer until the 2025 season is over, but we can try to project how difficult the Jets’ schedule might be. One of the best ways to do that is to use Vegas win totals. It is a better method than using the previous season’s win-loss records, since it accounts for changes in the offseason.
According to a graphic shared by @SharpFootball on X, the Jets rank 16th in strength-of-schedule based on forecasted Vegas win totals.
The Jets’ 2025 opponents are as follows:
- vs. Buffalo (11.5 projected wins)
- vs. Miami (8.5)
- vs. New England (7.5)
- vs. Atlanta (7.5)
- vs. Carolina (6.5)
- vs. Cleveland (5.5)
- vs. Dallas (7.5)
- vs. Denver (9.5)
- vs. Pittsburgh (8.5)
- at Buffalo (11.5)
- at Miami (8.5)
- at New England (7.5)
- at Baltimore (11.5)
- at Cincinnati (9.5)
- at Jacksonville (7.5)
- at New Orleans (6.5)
- at Tampa Bay (9.5)
It appears the Jets’ schedule is not poised to be overly difficult nor overly easy. Ultimately, it could end up tilting in either of those directions, but as things stand, the Jets’ schedule is quite balanced.
If this holds, the Jets will go as far as their own performance takes them. They will not be held back by a gauntlet of elite teams, but they will not have their hand held by a cakewalk of freebies.
Of course, this is all just projection. We have no idea how well each team will play until the season begins. The 2024 season opener between the Jets and 49ers was viewed as a potential Super Bowl preview by some. Those teams ended up combining for an 11-23 record.
