The majority of an NFL team’s future opponents are already set in stone. Of the 17 games on a team’s annual schedule, 14 are decided by rotations. So, it is already established who the Jets will play 14 of their 17 games against in 2026, 2027, 2028, and beyond.

Only three games on a team’s annual schedule are unknown until the preceding season plays itself out. And after Week 16’s events, those games have been secured for the New York Jets.

Final dominoes fall into place for 2026 Jets schedule

Seen below is the makeup of the Jets’ 2026 schedule. The bolded games were already established by divisional rotations, while the un-bolded games were TBD based on the 2025 standings:

  • 6 games vs. AFC East
  • 4 games vs. AFC West (Home vs. DEN and LV, Away vs. KC and LAC)
  • 4 games vs. NFC North (Home vs. GB and MIN, Away vs. CHI and DET)
  • Home vs. AFC North same-place team
  • Away vs. AFC South same-place team
  • Away vs. NFC West same-place team

Those three standings-based games have been clinched after Week 16’s results.

The Jets already clinched last place in the AFC East with their Week 15 loss in Jacksonville. That meant their three unknown opponents would be the fourth-placed finishers from the AFC North (home), AFC South (away), and AFC West (away).

When the Jets clinched fourth place, the Tennessee Titans had already clinched last place in the AFC South, securing a Jets-Titans matchup in Nashville. The same applied to the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC West, locking down a trip to Arizona for the Jets.

The only thing left up in the air entering Week 16 was the AFC North bottom-feeder. The Cleveland Browns held the cellar at 3-11, but the 4-10 Cincinnati Bengals were still knocking on the basement door.

However, with Cincinnati’s victory over Miami and Cleveland’s loss to Buffalo, the Browns (3-12) have clinched last place in the AFC North.

The Browns could still tie the Bengals (5-10) with two games to go, but the Bengals would win the tiebreaker. In the event of a tie, the rivals will have split their season series (as they face off in Week 18), which would push the tiebreaker down to division record, but the Bengals (3-2) have already clinched a better division record than the Browns (0-4), which makes it impossible for Cleveland to escape fourth place.

Thus, the Jets will host the Browns for a second consecutive year. It continues the teams’ nearly annual tradition of facing off due to both squads finishing last in their respective AFC divisions; the Jets have faced the Browns nine times in the last 11 seasons, more than any non-AFC East opponent. Next year’s matchup will mark their 10th battle since 2015.

Here is a complete roundup of the Jets’ home and away opponents in the 2026 NFL season.

Home:

  • Buffalo Bills
  • Miami Dolphins
  • New England Patriots
  • Denver Broncos
  • Las Vegas Raiders
  • Green Bay Packers
  • Minnesota Vikings
  • Cleveland Browns

Away:

  • Buffalo Bills
  • Miami Dolphins
  • New England Patriots
  • Kansas City Chiefs
  • Los Angeles Chargers
  • Chicago Bears
  • Detroit Lions
  • Tennessee Titans
  • Arizona Cardinals