I saw that Earl Thomas was popping off about the Patriots, complaining that they didn’t play anybody out in the AFC East. Stick them in the NFC West, Thomas opined, and that would pull them back with the rest of the league.
Huh?
The NFC West was one of the weaker divisions in 2016. The Rams and 49ers were terrible, going a combined 6-26, and the Cardinals had an off years – 7-8-1. Even the Seahawks weren’t as good as usual, going just 10-5-1.
To me, those playing six games against those opponents looks pretty comparable to six against the Jets-Bills-Dolphins.
I totaled up the numbers. Seattle, as luck would have it, played the league’s easiest schedule in 2016.
For the numbers here, you’re looking at wins and losses against other teams. That is, New England’s opponents went 111-142-3 – 2-14 against the Patriots, and 109-128-3 against the rest of the league.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE, 2016 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Team | W | L | T | Pct |
Seattle | 107 | 132 | 1 | .448 |
Arizona | 109 | 129 | 2 | .458 |
Miami | 109 | 128 | 3 | .460 |
New England | 109 | 128 | 3 | .460 |
Tennessee | 112 | 127 | 0 | .469 |
Buffalo | 113 | 124 | 3 | .477 |
Detroit | 114 | 125 | 1 | .477 |
San Francisco | 113 | 123 | 4 | .479 |
Los Angeles | 115 | 120 | 4 | .490 |
Dallas | 116 | 120 | 3 | .492 |
Atlanta | 117 | 121 | 2 | .492 |
Indianapolis | 118 | 121 | 0 | .494 |
Minnesota | 117 | 119 | 2 | .496 |
Tampa Bay | 118 | 120 | 2 | .496 |
Baltimore | 118 | 119 | 3 | .498 |
NY Giants | 118 | 118 | 3 | .500 |
NY Jets | 120 | 117 | 3 | .506 |
Pittsburgh | 120 | 117 | 3 | .506 |
Chicago | 120 | 117 | 1 | .506 |
Houston | 121 | 117 | 1 | .508 |
Carolina | 121 | 116 | 3 | .510 |
Jacksonville | 122 | 117 | 0 | .510 |
Cincinnati | 124 | 116 | 0 | .517 |
Oakland | 125 | 115 | 0 | .521 |
Washington | 124 | 114 | 1 | .521 |
Green Bay | 123 | 113 | 2 | .521 |
Cleveland | 124 | 113 | 3 | .523 |
New Orleans | 124 | 113 | 2 | .523 |
Kansas City | 126 | 114 | 0 | .525 |
San Diego | 128 | 112 | 0 | .533 |
Denver | 133 | 106 | 1 | .556 |
Philadelphia | 132 | 103 | 4 | .561 |
—Ian Allan