The AFC West has become a contested race, with Kansas City running out of steam and the Chargers surging. Both teams potentially could benefit from easy schedules down the stretch. (Best to emphasize “potentially” because Los Angeles has frittered away plenty of games this year, while Kansas City has been unable to take advantage of lesser opponents in recent weeks.)

Atlanta, Carolina and Seattle, meanwhile, are in the thick of the playoff race but could be undermined by difficult schedules. All will play their remaining five games against teams that have won at least 60 percent of their games.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE -- Wins (Weeks 13-17)
TeamWLPct
Washington2035.364
LA Chargers2035.364
Kansas City2134.382
Chicago2134.382
Jacksonville2233.400
Denver2233.400
Detroit2332.418
Baltimore2332.418
Pittsburgh2431.436
Tennessee2530.455
Indianapolis2629.473
Philadelphia2728.491
Green Bay2728.491
Houston2728.491
Minnesota2827.509
Oakland2827.509
Cleveland2827.509
New England2926.527
Buffalo2926.527
Dallas2926.527
Arizona2926.527
San Francisco2926.527
New Orleans3025.545
LA Rams3025.545
Miami3025.545
NY Giants3025.545
NY Jets3124.564
Carolina3322.600
Cincinnati3322.600
Tampa Bay3421.618
Seattle3520.636
Atlanta3718.673

At the same time, we can look at how schedules might have affected things so far.

The Seahawks and Bengals through the first 12 weeks have played the easiest schedules in the league. Both have played opponents that have gone 44-66 in their other games. That is, Seattle’s opponents have gone 48-73 – 4-7 against the Seahawks, and 44-66 against the rest of the league. Cincinnati’s opponents have gone 50-71 (6-5 against the Bengals, and 44-66 against the rest of the league).

Chicago and Washington have the switcher schedules. They’ve played the league’s two hardest schedules so far, but they’ll get a lot easier in the remaining weeks (Washington’s last six games tie as the easiest in the league, while Chicago is just a game back).

New Orleans also have played a difficult schedule so far, making its 8-3 start even more impressive. That team’s only losses have come against 9-2 Minnesota, 9-2 New England and the 8-3 Rams.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE -- Wins (Weeks 1-12)
TeamWLPct
Seattle4466.400
Cincinnati4466.400
Philadelphia4763.427
Tennessee4961.445
Arizona5060.455
Dallas5159.464
NY Giants5159.464
Jacksonville5258.473
Oakland5258.473
Indianapolis5258.473
LA Rams5357.482
Baltimore5357.482
NY Jets5357.482
Buffalo5456.491
LA Chargers5456.491
Cleveland5456.491
Pittsburgh5555.500
Denver5555.500
San Francisco5555.500
New England5654.509
Houston5654.509
Atlanta5753.518
Minnesota5852.527
Kansas City5852.527
Tampa Bay5852.527
Carolina5951.536
Detroit6050.545
Miami6050.545
Green Bay6248.564
New Orleans6446.582
Washington6545.591
Chicago6941.627

—Ian Allan