Week 13 is in the books, so time for a quick check-in with strength of schedule. Giving it to you two ways this week – once with the traditional wins and losses, and once with touchdowns allowed by defenses.
For straight winning percentage, four teams will play their remaining games against opponents with a collective winning percentage under 40% -- Washington, Denver, Baltimore and Detroit. Three other notable offenses are up near that end – Kansas City, Pittsburgh and the Chargers.
Three teams project to play their remaining games against opponents who’ve collective won more than 60 percent of their games – Falcons, Bucs and 49ers. A few other potential playoff teams also will play notably difficult closing schedules: Rams, Seahawks, Raiders and Panthers.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE, WINS (Weeks 14-17) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Team | W | L | Pct |
Washington | 16 | 32 | .333 |
Denver | 19 | 29 | .396 |
Baltimore | 19 | 29 | .396 |
Detroit | 19 | 29 | .396 |
Kansas City | 20 | 28 | .417 |
Indianapolis | 20 | 28 | .417 |
Pittsburgh | 21 | 27 | .438 |
LA Chargers | 22 | 26 | .458 |
Jacksonville | 22 | 26 | .458 |
Chicago | 22 | 26 | .458 |
Arizona | 23 | 25 | .479 |
Buffalo | 23 | 25 | .479 |
Philadelphia | 23 | 25 | .479 |
New Orleans | 23 | 25 | .479 |
Minnesota | 23 | 25 | .479 |
Houston | 23 | 25 | .479 |
Tennessee | 24 | 24 | .500 |
Green Bay | 24 | 24 | .500 |
NY Giants | 26 | 22 | .542 |
New England | 26 | 22 | .542 |
Dallas | 26 | 22 | .542 |
Cincinnati | 26 | 22 | .542 |
Cleveland | 26 | 22 | .542 |
Carolina | 27 | 21 | .563 |
Miami | 28 | 20 | .583 |
Oakland | 28 | 20 | .583 |
NY Jets | 28 | 20 | .583 |
Seattle | 28 | 20 | .583 |
LA Rams | 28 | 20 | .583 |
San Francisco | 29 | 19 | .604 |
Atlanta | 30 | 18 | .625 |
Tampa Bay | 30 | 18 | .625 |
Looking instead at touchdowns, the Chargers, Broncos, Titans and Cardinals have the easiest closing schedules. San Diego's next three games are against defenses that have allowed a combined 93 touchdowns (most in the league). That's good news for Philip Rivers and his teammates.
On this one, I’m considering only offensive touchdowns – does not include touchdowns scored on returns of kicks and takeaways. And I’m looking only at Weeks 14-16 (most fantasy leagues, I think, are done by Week 17).
Hardest schedules in here belong to the Texans, Browns, Rams, Seahawks and Bengals. The Rams and Seahawks in particular have offenses and players that many are counting on in these big weeks.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE, TOUCHDOWNS (Weeks 14-16) | |
---|---|
Team | OTD |
LA Chargers | 93 |
Denver | 92 |
Tennessee | 88 |
Arizona | 88 |
Buffalo | 86 |
Washington | 85 |
Philadelphia | 84 |
Jacksonville | 84 |
Miami | 83 |
Chicago | 83 |
Oakland | 82 |
NY Giants | 82 |
New England | 82 |
Baltimore | 82 |
Kansas City | 81 |
Indianapolis | 81 |
Dallas | 81 |
Atlanta | 81 |
Tampa Bay | 80 |
NY Jets | 79 |
New Orleans | 78 |
Carolina | 77 |
Pittsburgh | 75 |
Minnesota | 74 |
Detroit | 74 |
San Francisco | 73 |
Green Bay | 73 |
Seattle | 72 |
Cincinnati | 72 |
LA Rams | 71 |
Cleveland | 71 |
Houston | 69 |
—Ian Allan