Every NFL team’s net rest differential after 2026 schedule release
A look at which teams have the highest net rest differential in the NFL following the schedule release on Thursday.
The NFL dropped the schedules for all 32 teams on Thursday night and now that the dust has settled, analysts are breaking things down for us to show all the different scheduling quirks. One of them is net rest differential, which, according to NFL analyst Arif Hasan , is the “sum net rest days vs. opponents across all 17 games.
” Coming in with the highest net rest differential is the Chicago Bears at +15. The Bears, along with the Buffalo Bills (+14) and Dallas Cowboys (+11. 5), have some of the highest net rest differentials in the league since 2002.
A big reason for that is the Bears, Cowboys and Bills won’t be facing a single team off a bye week in 2026. 12 other teams enjoy that distinction. Now, a look at the net rest differential for every team in the NFL, from highest to lowest.
Ranking Team Net Rest Differential 1 Chicago Bears +15 2 Buffalo Bills +14 3 Dallas Cowboys +11. 5 4 Washington Commanders +10 T-5 New England Patriots +8. 5 T-5 Carolina Panthers +8.