It’s never too early to start looking at 2018, right? The opponents for next year are locked in, and it looks like Houston and Tennessee are the favorites to play the easiest schedules.
That’s according to regular season win-loss records.
Houston’s 16 games are against teams that went a combined 116-140 in the just-completed regular season. Tennessee isn’t far behind. Plenty will change, of course. The Colts went 4-12 last year, and they’ll presumably be a lot better with a healthy Andrew Luck. But you’ve got to start somewhere.
Cincinnati and Oakland tie for 3rd in schedule difficulty.
The Packers, at the other end of the scale, project to play the league’s hardest schedule. Their opponents went a combined 138-118 in the just-completed season. Green Bay is followed by Detroit and New Orleans.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE (2018, wins) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Team | W | L | Pct |
Houston | 116 | 140 | .453 |
Tennessee | 119 | 137 | .465 |
Cincinnati | 121 | 135 | .473 |
Oakland | 121 | 135 | .473 |
Denver | 122 | 134 | .477 |
Jacksonville | 122 | 134 | .477 |
NY Jets | 122 | 134 | .477 |
Pittsburgh | 122 | 134 | .477 |
LA Chargers | 123 | 133 | .480 |
Indianapolis | 124 | 132 | .484 |
New England | 124 | 132 | .484 |
Baltimore | 125 | 131 | .488 |
Kansas City | 126 | 130 | .492 |
Philadelphia | 126 | 130 | .492 |
Buffalo | 127 | 129 | .496 |
Dallas | 128 | 128 | .500 |
Miami | 128 | 128 | .500 |
San Francisco | 128 | 128 | .500 |
Washington | 129 | 127 | .504 |
Atlanta | 130 | 126 | .508 |
Seattle | 130 | 126 | .508 |
Carolina | 131 | 125 | .512 |
Arizona | 133 | 123 | .520 |
Chicago | 133 | 123 | .520 |
Minnesota | 133 | 123 | .520 |
NY Giants | 133 | 123 | .520 |
Cleveland | 134 | 122 | .523 |
LA Rams | 134 | 122 | .523 |
Tampa Bay | 136 | 120 | .531 |
Detroit | 137 | 119 | .535 |
New Orleans | 137 | 119 | .535 |
Green Bay | 138 | 118 | .539 |
—Ian Allan