Which teams will have the most rest in the 2026 NFL season?

NFL 2026 Regular Season Schedule Insights

With the NFL’s 2026 regular season schedule now unveiled, it’s a great time to start planning for the upcoming season.

There’s a lot to discuss, including rankings for all 16 games in Week 1. We’re particularly thrilled about the league’s first game in Australia. But let’s not forget to take a step back and look at the broader picture.

One interesting aspect is the “difference in days off” between the teams before each matchup. This metric reveals how many days each team gets to rest leading up to their game. Arif Hasan, a well-respected NFL analyst, has compiled this season’s “rest differential,” which provides some intriguing insights.

As Hasan points out, for games that don’t yet have specific Saturday or Sunday dates—like late-season matchups—we’ve evenly split the rest days for consistency.

This year, the Chicago Bears and Buffalo Bills have the highest “rest differential” in the league, whereas the Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Chargers rank the lowest.

Is this actually significant? A recent study suggests that the impact of rest might not be as pronounced as it used to be. After analyzing the schedule for 2025, researchers noted that, prior to 2011, teams with more rest enjoyed a notable edge, about a 2.2-point advantage, likened to the difference between an average quarterback and someone like Kyler Murray, who was leading a successful offense in 2024.

However, recent collective bargaining agreements between the NFL and NFLPA have tempered those effects. The 2011 agreement brought in mandatory rest days during bye weeks and shortened practice times. The 2020 agreement added a stipulation for teams to receive a minimum of three days off, except when playing consecutive Thursday games.

As a result, teams with added rest now only score an average of 0.3 points per game advantage.

Reflecting on last season, the Detroit Lions had the best rest differential at +13, yet they didn’t make the playoffs.

Interestingly, three playoff teams—the Rams, 49ers, and Seahawks—ranked 3rd, 4th, and 5th in rest differential. And, of course, the Seahawks ended up winning the Super Bowl.