Ah, it’s that time of year: When just about every NFL analyst releases the same schedule predictions.

Once the NFL schedule drops each year, it seems as if every analyst and fan of a given team is ready to put out a near-identical schedule prediction. If the team is favored, it’s a win! If not, it’s a loss!

The reality, though, is that every NFL season is loaded to the brim with results that would make no sense on paper if someone predicted them in May. We should be factoring this into our schedule predictions, and that’s precisely what we’ll be doing here as we predict the New York Jets’ 2026 schedule.

Week 1 @ Tennessee

This one will be commonly tabbed as a loss because it feels “Jetsian” for them to lose to their former head coach in his first game with a new team.

But do you know who played a major role in amplifying New York’s “Jetsy” reputation over the past half-decade? Robert Saleh.

As good as Saleh is as a defensive coordinator, he has yet to prove he can be a competent head coach. This is his first game with a new organization and a young roster. To pretend that the Titans, who won three games last year, will have everything together in Week 1 is to give them far too much credit simply because their opponent is the Jets.

Tennessee’s success in 2026 all comes down to Cam Ward. But in Week 1, in his first game in a new system, and in his first game with a plethora of new weapons (including a rookie in Carnell Tate), he may not have the puzzle figured out just yet.

The Jets caught Tennessee at the right time. New York will “shock” the world with a gritty win.

Prediction: Jets 20, Titans 16 (1-0)

Week 2 vs. Green Bay

The Jets often play well in home openers. They’ve won two of their last three and fought tooth-and-nail against the Steelers last year.

The Packers are a perennial contender with high expectations, but the reality is that they struggled on the road in 2025. They had a 4-4-1 record in the regular season and lost another road game in the playoffs.

New York may also be lucky enough to catch Green Bay without Micah Parsons, who could begin the season on the PUP list as he recovers from a torn ACL. That opens the door for another upset.

In three games without Parsons last year, the Packers allowed 198 rushing yards per game, contributing to an 0-3 record. That won’t bode well on the road against Breece Hall and the Jets’ strong offensive line.

The hype will be strong in New York after Week 2.

Prediction: Jets 27, Packers 13 (2-0)

Week 3 at Detroit

After a surprisingly hot start, this is shaping up to be a reality-check game for the Jets.

The Lions project as a bounce-back team after going 9-8 with the NFC’s third-best point differential (+68). Playing at home against a coach they know well, Dan Campbell’s crew will remind the Jets that they still have a ways to go.

Prediction: Jets 6, Lions 33 (2-1)

Week 4 at Chicago

Contrary to the Lions, the Bears project as a possible regression candidate in 2026. Last year, they went 11-6 with a point differential of just +26, ranking seventh in the NFC and third in their own division. They won a plethora of games with heroic fourth-quarter moments, which will be tough to replicate.

The Jets will catch the Bears on a short week after a Monday Night Football game against the Eagles, and just ahead of a critical matchup in Green Bay. Facing Chicago in a trap game during the dip of an emotional roller-coaster, the Jets will go in there and win a gritty, defensive battle as Ben Johnson’s offense fights through a sophomore slump.

Prediction: Jets 13, Bears 9 (3-1)

Week 5 vs. Cleveland

Remember what we said about schedules being unpredictable?

If the Jets start the year 3-1 with wins over the Packers and Bears, fans will be chalking up a home game against the Browns as a guaranteed win.

But when you still don’t have a franchise quarterback, a dominant pass rush, or a proven head coach, you are prone to let any game slip from your fingers.

I believe Geno Smith will have a better season than many Jets fans expect, but he is still an interception-prone quarterback who will have his share of stinkers throughout a 17-game schedule. He has one here against Myles Garrett, causing the Jets to crash back down to Earth.

Prediction: Jets 10, Browns 19 (3-2)

Week 6 at New England

This will be the portion of the season where the Jets are reminded of where they stand in their rebuild, whereas the opening stretch yielded hope about the direction they are heading.

The Jets have not picked up a meaningful win in New England since the 2010 playoffs, and that won’t stop here as Smith and the New York offense hit one of those slumps that prompts heated discussions on the radio.

Prediction: Jets 14, Patriots 30 (3-3)

Week 7 vs. Miami

The Dolphins have a chance to go winless this year. They shipped off nearly all of their valuable veteran talent in a shameless attempt to tank this season.

Even a slumping Jets offense won’t blow a home meeting against the Dolphins, but it won’t be pretty, signaling what’s to come later.

Prediction: Jets 16, Dolphins 13 (4-3)

Week 8 vs. Las Vegas

Fernando Mendoza will likely have an up-and-down rookie season that features some low lows, but with an offensive coach like Klint Kubiak, the highs can be high when the offense is clicking.

The Jets’ defense has played well to this point of the season, but I think Kubiak will out-scheme Glenn and set up Mendoza for a successful road outing, allowing the Raiders to march to a win over a Jets offense that has too limited a ceiling to keep up in shootouts.

Prediction: Jets 21, Raiders 34 (4-4)

Week 9 at Kansas City

Patrick Mahomes should be back by this point, making it challenging for the Jets’ offense to keep up at Arrowhead Stadium.

This is the game that will prompt discussions about whether the Jets should pull Geno Smith, either for a veteran quarterback yet to join the roster or rookie Cade Klubnik.

Prediction: Jets 10, Chiefs 28 (4-5)

Week 10 vs. Buffalo

In the midst of a slump, the Jets will come out inspired against the Bills in Week 10, including Geno Smith, who puts on a fantastic showing to protect his job. While Smith is inconsistent, he has the arm talent to occasionally deliver special performances in a way that Justin Fields could not last year.

But New York comes up just short in what goes down as a classic Jets-Bills game.

This is one of those “quality losses” that Aaron Glenn can stomach on his record as fans evaluate whether to call for his head after the season.

Prediction: Jets 30, Bills 31 (4-6)

Week 11 at L.A. Chargers

A cross-country road trip against an offense led by Mike McDaniel, who schooled Aaron Glenn in 2025, is not a recipe for success.

Prediction: Jets 17, Chargers 35 (4-7)

Week 12 at Miami

Just as they begin to teeter-totter between tanking and clinging to remote playoff hopes, the Jets send their fans into the bye week with torn emotions.

New York heads to South Florida and blows the doors off the Dolphins, putting on a highlight-fest that excites Jets fans about what could be to come, whether that’s down the stretch or in the next few years.

Prediction: Jets 45, Dolphins 7 (5-7)

Week 14 vs. Denver

This game looks daunting now, but by December, it might not be so terrifying. The Broncos have a talented roster, but their 11-2 record in one-score games during the 2025 season is the sign of a team that will not win games as consistently the following year.

The Jets should have relatively strong upset chances against favored teams who rely on a strong pass rush to be successful. This is because their offensive line projects to thrive in pass protection, which should even the odds against teams like Denver.

Playing at home with Denver traveling to the East Coast, the Jets grind out an upset here on the strength of a thriving offensive line that allows them to win the turnover and ball-control battles. Faint playoff hopes stay alive.

Prediction: Jets 20, Broncos 14 (6-7)

Week 15 at Arizona

The Jets have had quite a few letdown games in Arizona over the years, but it doesn’t happen here. The Cardinals’ roster is too barren to foresee the team being remotely competitive this year, and by Week 15, they may already have committed to tanking.

It won’t be pretty, but the Jets will get it done to climb back to .500.

Prediction: Jets 17, Cardinals 12 (7-7)

Week 16 vs. New England

The dream stops here, but the Jets don’t go down without a fight.

Similar to their home bout with Buffalo, the Jets will give New England a neck-and-neck race to the finish line, but New York suffers another fourth quarter that reminds them of the fine line that still separates them from the league’s top contenders.

Prediction: Jets 28, Patriots 30 (7-8)

Week 17 vs. Minnesota

For a similar reason to the Denver matchup, there is a chance for New York to pull off the upset here over a Minnesota team that projects to be in playoff contention at this point. The Vikings count on their pass rush to dominate games, and the Jets have the pass protection to counter it.

But this is where Geno Smith rears his ugly head once again, as multiple egregious turnovers cause the Jets to blow a winnable game.

Occurring here in Week 17, Smith’s performance sends a clear message to the front office that, while Smith was an excellent bridge quarterback who delivered the competent season that they hoped for, there is no conversation to be had about whether the Jets need to pursue a franchise quarterback next year. They absolutely must if they want to prevail in these close losses to great teams.

Smith did make a strong case to return in the mentor/stopgap role, however. But Jets fans will take solace in knowing that Smith fell short of playing well enough to potentially dupe the Jets front office into foolishly committing to him as a long-term option instead of pursuing a draft prospect.

Prediction: Jets 20, Vikings 23 (7-9)

Week 18 at Buffalo

The Jets throw Cade Klubnik a start in the season finale, and it goes poorly in a wintry road game against a Buffalo team that is still playing for the division lead.

Prediction: Jets 3, Bills 20 (7-10)

Complete predictions

  • Week 1 @ TEN: W 20-16 (1-0)
  • Week 2 vs. GB: W 27-13 (2-0)
  • Week 3 @ DET: L 6-33 (2-1)
  • Week 4 @ CHI: W 13-9 (3-1)
  • Week 5 vs. CLE: L 10-19 (3-2)
  • Week 6 @ NE: L 14-30 (3-3)
  • Week 7 vs. MIA: W 16-13 (4-3)
  • Week 8 vs. LV: L 21-34 (4-4)
  • Week 9 @ KC: L 10-28 (4-5)
  • Week 10 vs. BUF: L 30-31 (4-6)
  • Week 11 @ LAC: L 17-35 (4-7)
  • Week 12 @ MIA: W 45-7 (5-7)
  • Week 14 vs. DEN: W 20-14 (6-7)
  • Week 15 @ ARI: W 17-12 (7-7)
  • Week 16 vs. NE: L 28-30 (7-8)
  • Week 17 vs. MIN: L 20-23 (7-9)
  • Week 18 @ BUF: L 3-20 (7-10)
  • Home: 3-5 / Road: 4-5 / PTS: 317 (18.6 PPG) / PTSA: 367 (21.6 PPG) / Diff: -50 (-2.9)