New Orleans and Carolina are both 10-4. Tennessee is 8-6. But the gap between those teams is a lot larger than just two games. Consider the difficulty of these teams schedules.
New Orleans and Carolina have played the league’s hardest schedules. Their opponents have gone a combined 105-77 in their other games. Tennessee, meanwhile, has benefitted from playing the league’s easiest schedule. Their 14 games have been played against teams that have gone a combined 72-110 against the rest of the league.
Other teams that have played hard schedules: Washington and Chicago.
Other teams that have benefited from easy schedules: Jacksonville and Cincinnati.
On these, I have removed each team’s 14 games. Philadelphia, for example, shows at 84-98. They’re opponents are actually 86-110 – 2-12 against the Eagles, and 84-98 against the rest of the league.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE (Weeks 1-15) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Team | W | L | Pct |
New Orleans | 105 | 77 | .577 |
Carolina | 105 | 77 | .577 |
Washington | 104 | 78 | .571 |
Chicago | 104 | 78 | .571 |
Miami | 99 | 83 | .544 |
Atlanta | 99 | 83 | .544 |
Minnesota | 97 | 85 | .533 |
Tampa Bay | 96 | 86 | .527 |
New England | 96 | 86 | .527 |
NY Giants | 94 | 88 | .516 |
LA Rams | 94 | 88 | .516 |
Pittsburgh | 93 | 89 | .511 |
Green Bay | 93 | 89 | .511 |
NY Jets | 92 | 90 | .505 |
Kansas City | 92 | 90 | .505 |
Detroit | 91 | 91 | .500 |
Arizona | 91 | 91 | .500 |
Seattle | 89 | 93 | .489 |
Houston | 89 | 93 | .489 |
LA Chargers | 88 | 94 | .484 |
Buffalo | 88 | 94 | .484 |
Oakland | 87 | 95 | .478 |
Indianapolis | 86 | 96 | .473 |
Cleveland | 86 | 96 | .473 |
San Francisco | 85 | 97 | .467 |
Denver | 85 | 97 | .467 |
Baltimore | 85 | 97 | .467 |
Philadelphia | 84 | 98 | .462 |
Dallas | 84 | 98 | .462 |
Cincinnati | 81 | 101 | .445 |
Jacksonville | 78 | 104 | .429 |
Tennessee | 72 | 110 | .396 |
There are only two weeks left, but for that limited time period, Pittsburgh, Washington and Baltimore project to play the easiest schedules.
Five teams tie for the hardest remaining schedules, and three of them are playoff contenders (Atlanta, Dallas, Tennessee).
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE (Weeks 16-17) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Team | W | L | Pct |
Pittsburgh | 4 | 24 | .143 |
Washington | 7 | 21 | .250 |
Baltimore | 8 | 20 | .286 |
Arizona | 10 | 18 | .357 |
Minnesota | 11 | 17 | .393 |
LA Chargers | 11 | 17 | .393 |
Kansas City | 11 | 17 | .393 |
Chicago | 11 | 17 | .393 |
NY Giants | 12 | 16 | .429 |
LA Rams | 12 | 16 | .429 |
Jacksonville | 12 | 16 | .429 |
Indianapolis | 12 | 16 | .429 |
Detroit | 12 | 16 | .429 |
New Orleans | 13 | 15 | .464 |
New England | 13 | 15 | .464 |
Carolina | 13 | 15 | .464 |
Seattle | 14 | 14 | .500 |
Philadelphia | 14 | 14 | .500 |
Houston | 14 | 14 | .500 |
Denver | 14 | 14 | .500 |
Cleveland | 15 | 13 | .536 |
Miami | 16 | 12 | .571 |
Cincinnati | 16 | 12 | .571 |
Buffalo | 17 | 11 | .607 |
NY Jets | 18 | 10 | .643 |
Oakland | 19 | 9 | .679 |
Green Bay | 19 | 9 | .679 |
Tennessee | 20 | 8 | .714 |
Tampa Bay | 20 | 8 | .714 |
San Francisco | 20 | 8 | .714 |
Dallas | 20 | 8 | .714 |
Atlanta | 20 | 8 | .714 |
—Ian Allan