The opponents for next year are set. Every team knows who it will be playing in 2016. And with that in mind, we can now offer an initial estimate of which teams will play the hardest (and easiest) schedules.
The hardest schedules, on paper, will belong the Atlanta Falcons and San Francisco 49ers. Their opponents both went a combined 142-114 last year. The rest of the NFC West is also in the hardest 25 percent for schedules – Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles (get used to it) Rams and Arizona Cardinals.
The Cowboys and Packers tie for the easiest schedule. Their opponents went a combined 117-139 last year. Also up there are the Giants, Bears, Lions and Bengals.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE, 2016 (wins) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Team | Win | Loss | Pct. |
Green Bay | 117 | 139 | .457 |
Dallas | 117 | 139 | .457 |
NY Giants | 118 | 138 | .461 |
Chicago | 118 | 138 | .461 |
Detroit | 119 | 137 | .465 |
Cincinnati | 119 | 137 | .465 |
Philadelphia | 120 | 136 | .469 |
Tennessee | 121 | 135 | .473 |
Pittsburgh | 121 | 135 | .473 |
Jacksonville | 121 | 135 | .473 |
Indianapolis | 122 | 134 | .477 |
Cleveland | 123 | 133 | .480 |
Houston | 124 | 132 | .484 |
Baltimore | 124 | 132 | .484 |
Minnesota | 125 | 131 | .488 |
Washington | 126 | 130 | .492 |
Kansas City | 127 | 129 | .496 |
Oakland | 128 | 128 | .500 |
Denver | 129 | 127 | .504 |
San Diego | 130 | 126 | .508 |
Carolina | 131 | 125 | .512 |
Miami | 132 | 124 | .516 |
Buffalo | 133 | 123 | .520 |
New England | 134 | 122 | .523 |
NY Jets | 136 | 120 | .531 |
Arizona | 136 | 120 | .531 |
Tampa Bay | 139 | 117 | .543 |
Seattle | 139 | 117 | .543 |
New Orleans | 140 | 116 | .547 |
Los Angeles | 141 | 115 | .551 |
San Francisco | 142 | 114 | .555 |
Atlanta | 142 | 114 | .555 |
With the opponents for 2016 already set, we can also begin the early guessing game of which will be the first game of the 256 regular-season contests that will be played. Tradition has been that the Super Bowl champ opens on at home on a Thursday.
Carolina’s eight home games: Arizona, San Francisco, Kansas City, San Diego, Minnesota, Atlanta, New Orleans and Tampa Bay. Of that eight, I would guess that Arizona would be the opponent that the NFL would most like to put into that spot.
Denver’s eight home games: Houston, Indianapolis, Atlanta, Carolina, New England, Oakland, San Diego and Kansas City. Plenty of very appealing options there. I wonder if the league would like to go with a Super Bowl rematch in that first game. Would certainly be compelling (but it’s also a choice game that could be saved for another prime time slot).
—Ian Allan