Three divisions are wildly up for grabs – the AFC North, NFC West and the NFC South. Let’s take a look at the schedules and see if they share any light on those situations.
Looking first at the final five weeks, with the Giants and Titans projecting to play the league’s easiest schedules, and the Seahawks and Chargers projecting to play the hardest.
In the NFC West, Arizona’s remaining slate is easier than either Seattle or San Francisco (but it’s still got to play both of those teams, and Carson Palmer is still gone for the year).
AFC North: note that Baltimore’s remaining schedule is the easiest of the four teams.
NFC South: New Orleans and Carolina play remaining schedules that are way easier than Atlanta’s. The last time a wild card had to play on the road against a division champ with a losing record, it was New Orleans at Seattle. It would be neat, I think, if that got flipped around this season – maybe 11-5 Seattle playing at 6-10 New Orleans.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE -- Weeks 13-17 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Team | W | L | T | Pct |
NY Giants | 18 | 37 | 0 | .327 |
Tennessee | 18 | 37 | 0 | .327 |
Houston | 18 | 37 | 1 | .330 |
Carolina | 21 | 34 | 0 | .382 |
New Orleans | 21 | 33 | 2 | .393 |
Jacksonville | 22 | 33 | 0 | .400 |
St. Louis | 23 | 32 | 0 | .418 |
Minnesota | 23 | 31 | 1 | .427 |
Detroit | 24 | 31 | 0 | .436 |
Miami | 24 | 31 | 0 | .436 |
Indianapolis | 25 | 30 | 0 | .455 |
Baltimore | 26 | 29 | 0 | .473 |
NY Jets | 27 | 28 | 0 | .491 |
Green Bay | 28 | 27 | 0 | .509 |
Denver | 28 | 26 | 1 | .518 |
Arizona | 29 | 26 | 0 | .527 |
New England | 29 | 26 | 0 | .527 |
Philadelphia | 29 | 26 | 0 | .527 |
Chicago | 30 | 25 | 0 | .545 |
Pittsburgh | 29 | 24 | 2 | .545 |
Tampa Bay | 29 | 24 | 2 | .545 |
Washington | 30 | 25 | 0 | .545 |
Cincinnati | 31 | 24 | 0 | .564 |
Cleveland | 30 | 23 | 2 | .564 |
Dallas | 31 | 24 | 0 | .564 |
San Francisco | 31 | 24 | 0 | .564 |
Atlanta | 31 | 23 | 2 | .571 |
Kansas City | 32 | 23 | 0 | .582 |
Oakland | 32 | 23 | 0 | .582 |
Buffalo | 33 | 22 | 0 | .600 |
Seattle | 35 | 20 | 0 | .636 |
San Diego | 38 | 17 | 0 | .691 |
The previous chart, of course, includes Week 17. Most fantasy leagues are done by then. So here’s the same list, only with the final games removed for each team …
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE -- Weeks 13-16 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Team | W | L | T | Pct |
NY Giants | 10 | 34 | 0 | .227 |
Tennessee | 11 | 33 | 0 | .250 |
Detroit | 16 | 28 | 0 | .364 |
St. Louis | 16 | 28 | 0 | .364 |
Carolina | 17 | 27 | 0 | .386 |
Jacksonville | 17 | 27 | 0 | .386 |
Houston | 17 | 27 | 1 | .389 |
Minnesota | 18 | 25 | 1 | .420 |
Baltimore | 19 | 25 | 0 | .432 |
New Orleans | 19 | 24 | 2 | .444 |
Green Bay | 21 | 23 | 0 | .477 |
NY Jets | 21 | 23 | 0 | .477 |
Arizona | 22 | 22 | 0 | .500 |
Miami | 22 | 22 | 0 | .500 |
San Francisco | 22 | 22 | 0 | .500 |
Washington | 22 | 22 | 0 | .500 |
Pittsburgh | 22 | 21 | 1 | .511 |
Indianapolis | 23 | 21 | 0 | .523 |
New England | 23 | 21 | 0 | .523 |
Buffalo | 24 | 20 | 0 | .545 |
Cincinnati | 24 | 20 | 0 | .545 |
Cleveland | 23 | 19 | 2 | .545 |
Oakland | 24 | 20 | 0 | .545 |
Kansas City | 25 | 19 | 0 | .568 |
Chicago | 26 | 18 | 0 | .591 |
Philadelphia | 26 | 18 | 0 | .591 |
Tampa Bay | 25 | 17 | 2 | .591 |
Denver | 27 | 16 | 1 | .625 |
Atlanta | 28 | 16 | 1 | .633 |
Dallas | 28 | 16 | 0 | .636 |
San Diego | 31 | 13 | 0 | .705 |
Seattle | 31 | 13 | 0 | .705 |
Finally, here’s a look at what teams have seen so far. It provides collaborating evidence of which teams are actually good and bad.
The Bucs, Browns, Cowboys and Falcons have played the easiest schedules.
The Rams, Giants, Raiders and Broncos have played the hardest schedules.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE -- Weeks 1-12 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Team | W | L | T | Pct |
St. Louis | 67 | 43 | 0 | .609 |
NY Giants | 65 | 45 | 0 | .591 |
Oakland | 64 | 46 | 0 | .582 |
Denver | 63 | 47 | 0 | .573 |
NY Jets | 62 | 48 | 0 | .564 |
Arizona | 61 | 49 | 0 | .555 |
Miami | 60 | 50 | 0 | .545 |
Jacksonville | 59 | 50 | 1 | .541 |
Carolina | 59 | 51 | 0 | .536 |
San Francisco | 59 | 51 | 0 | .536 |
New England | 58 | 51 | 1 | .532 |
Tennessee | 58 | 51 | 1 | .532 |
New Orleans | 57 | 51 | 2 | .527 |
Seattle | 57 | 52 | 1 | .523 |
Buffalo | 55 | 55 | 0 | .500 |
Kansas City | 55 | 55 | 0 | .500 |
Baltimore | 53 | 54 | 3 | .495 |
Detroit | 54 | 55 | 1 | .495 |
Indianapolis | 54 | 55 | 1 | .495 |
Chicago | 53 | 56 | 1 | .486 |
Houston | 53 | 56 | 1 | .486 |
Cincinnati | 53 | 57 | 0 | .482 |
Minnesota | 53 | 57 | 0 | .482 |
Green Bay | 52 | 57 | 1 | .477 |
Philadelphia | 49 | 60 | 1 | .450 |
San Diego | 48 | 62 | 0 | .436 |
Washington | 48 | 62 | 0 | .436 |
Pittsburgh | 46 | 63 | 1 | .423 |
Atlanta | 44 | 64 | 2 | .409 |
Dallas | 45 | 65 | 0 | .409 |
Cleveland | 43 | 66 | 1 | .395 |
Tampa Bay | 43 | 66 | 1 | .395 |
—Ian Allan