Some fantasy leaguers like to look at schedules, particularly late in the year. Anything to get a slight advantage in those keep matchups during the fantasy postseason. With that, I offer the 1 thru 32 listings of strength of schedule for just Weeks 13-16.
For pure winning percentage, the Bears and the four NFC South teams project to play the easiest schedules during those weeks. They’ll face opponents that (on average) won under 40 percent of their games last year. The Patriots also are in that group (and have a history of finishing strong anyway).
The Steelers, Raiders and Ravens project to play the hardest late-season schedules.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE, WINS (Weeks 13-16) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Team | W | L | T | Pct |
Atlanta | 19 | 43 | 2 | .313 |
Chicago | 21 | 43 | 0 | .328 |
New Orleans | 23 | 40 | 1 | .367 |
Tampa Bay | 24 | 40 | 0 | .375 |
Carolina | 25 | 39 | 0 | .391 |
New England | 25 | 39 | 0 | .391 |
Jacksonville | 26 | 38 | 0 | .406 |
NY Giants | 26 | 37 | 1 | .414 |
Tennessee | 28 | 36 | 0 | .438 |
Dallas | 29 | 35 | 0 | .453 |
Kansas City | 29 | 35 | 0 | .453 |
Seattle | 30 | 34 | 0 | .469 |
Indianapolis | 31 | 33 | 0 | .484 |
NY Jets | 32 | 32 | 0 | .500 |
San Diego | 32 | 32 | 0 | .500 |
Detroit | 33 | 31 | 0 | .516 |
San Francisco | 33 | 30 | 1 | .523 |
Denver | 33 | 30 | 1 | .523 |
Houston | 34 | 30 | 0 | .531 |
Minnesota | 34 | 30 | 0 | .531 |
Buffalo | 35 | 29 | 0 | .547 |
Arizona | 35 | 29 | 0 | .547 |
Miami | 36 | 28 | 0 | .563 |
Philadelphia | 36 | 28 | 0 | .563 |
Washington | 36 | 28 | 0 | .563 |
St. Louis | 36 | 28 | 0 | .563 |
Green Bay | 37 | 27 | 0 | .578 |
Cincinnati | 38 | 26 | 0 | .594 |
Cleveland | 39 | 24 | 1 | .617 |
Baltimore | 40 | 24 | 0 | .625 |
Oakland | 42 | 22 | 0 | .656 |
Pittsburgh | 43 | 20 | 1 | .680 |
If you’re more of a points-driven guy (or gal), the results are a little different. If you set asides the wins and losses and look instead at the points allowed by teams last year, the Panthers, Jets, Lions and Dolphins project to play the easiest schedules in Weeks 13-16.
The Ravens, Colts, Giants and Bears project to play the hardest schedules. And yes, the Bears are the same Bears that using wins project to play one of the easiest schedules. That’s how flimsy this strength of schedule stuff is when you break it down to the month-sized chunks.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE, POINTS (Weeks 13-16) | |
---|---|
Team | Points |
Carolina | 26.5 |
NY Jets | 26.3 |
Detroit | 24.7 |
Miami | 24.5 |
Oakland | 24.4 |
Pittsburgh | 24.3 |
Green Bay | 23.6 |
Jacksonville | 23.4 |
Tampa Bay | 23.3 |
Houston | 22.8 |
San Francisco | 22.5 |
Philadelphia | 22.2 |
Dallas | 22.0 |
Minnesota | 21.9 |
Buffalo | 21.8 |
Washington | 21.6 |
St. Louis | 21.5 |
Tennessee | 21.4 |
Cincinnati | 21.3 |
New Orleans | 21.1 |
Arizona | 20.4 |
Kansas City | 20.3 |
Seattle | 19.9 |
San Diego | 19.3 |
Atlanta | 18.9 |
New England | 18.5 |
Cleveland | 18.4 |
Denver | 18.3 |
Chicago | 17.7 |
NY Giants | 17.6 |
Indianapolis | 17.5 |
Baltimore | 16.5 |
—Ian Allan