Now that the NFL’s 2026 regular-season schedule is lastly right here, and you’ve got watched each single schedule launch video, we will begin serious about the season forward.
Sure, we’ve got a rating of all 16 Week 1 video games — we’re very excited in regards to the NFL’s first foray to Australia — however we will additionally check out the massive image.
Together with every crew’s “relaxation differential.”
This seems to be on the distinction within the variety of days off that the 2 groups have earlier than their assembly. Right here is one take a look at this season’s “relaxation differential,” as assembled by long-time NFL analyst and general nice human Arif Hasan:
As Hasan notes on the prime, for video games that shouldn’t have a Saturday or a Sunday date but — the late-season video games — he cut up these 50/50 for consistency.
Underneath this evaluation, the Chicago Bears and the Buffalo Payments have the perfect “relaxation differentials” within the league this yr, whereas the Philadelphia Eagles and the Los Angeles Chargers are on the backside.
Will this matter? Based on one latest examine, not as a lot because it used to. After the 2025 schedule launch, Sumer Sports activities appeared into the remaining differential and located that previous to 2011, the more-rested crew loved a swing of two.2 factors of their route. As they described that benefit, it was “like benching a league common quarterback and placing Kyler Murray, who led the sixth-ranked offense by way of success charge, in 2024.”
Nevertheless, that influence has lessened because of the 2 latest Collective Bargaining Agreements between the NFL and the NFLPA. The 2011 CBA assured that gamers get 4 days off throughout their bye weeks, lowering the period of time that groups may follow. The 2020 CBA included a provision to ensure at the very least three days off, uness a crew is taking part in on consecutive Thursdays.
This has diminished the influence of relaxation differential to simply 0.3 factors per recreation for the more-rested crew.
Trying again ultimately season, the Detroit Lions had the perfect relaxation differential within the league, at +13.
However Detroit missed the playoffs.
Nevertheless, you might notice that three playoff groups — the Rams, the 49ers, and the Seahawks — ranked third, fourth, and fifth in relaxation differential, respectively.
And the Seahawks received the Tremendous Bowl.
Right here is final season’s relaxation differential chart, courtesy of Sharp Soccer Evaluation:
Both approach, come again to this on the finish of the season to see what influence, if any, relaxation differential had on the 2026 NFL season.
#groups #rested #NFL #season
Supply hyperlink
