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Updated strength of schedule

Titans, Broncos could ride scheduling boomerang

With strength of schedule, you can use it to gauge which players might benefit from playing weak opponents in the future. It can also be used to help identify which teams have benefitted from playing against lesser opponents. And this year, the Bears, Chargers and Colts are high on the list.

San Francisco comes in at No. 1. It’s 11 games have been against teams that went a combined 45-63-2 in their other combined 110 games. But the Bears, Chargers and Colts are the teams that are pressing for playoff spots, so worthwhile to point out that they’ve benefitted from tending to play against lesser teams.

The Broncos are the team that stands out the most. They’re only 5-6, but they’ve played against teams that have gone 64-45-1 in their other games. With Denver now hitting an easy stretch of games (see the second chart) I see them as a team that could run the table and qualify for the postseason.

Other teams that have tended to play hard schedules so far include the Bengals, Titans and Seahawks. Tennessee is similar to Denver in that it’s now played its hard games. The easy ones are coming up, so that’s a team that could still make a run for a wild-card spot.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE (Weeks 1-12)
TeamWLTPct
San Francisco45632.418
Chicago47612.436
LA Chargers48611.441
Indianapolis49610.445
Miami50591.459
Philadelphia50591.459
Dallas51590.464
NY Giants51590.464
NY Jets50582.464
Carolina51581.468
Minnesota52571.477
Houston53570.482
Oakland53561.486
Pittsburgh53561.486
Tampa Bay53552.491
Washington54551.495
Arizona55541.505
Detroit55532.509
Baltimore55523.514
Jacksonville56531.514
New England56531.514
New Orleans56522.518
Kansas City57512.527
Buffalo58502.536
Cleveland59501.541
Green Bay59501.541
Atlanta59492.545
LA Rams59492.545
Seattle60491.550
Tennessee61490.555
Cincinnati61472.564
Denver64451.586

While I’ve got the numbers in front of me, I’m also tabulating the records for the final five weeks for each team. Four teams tie for the easiest remaining schedules: Packers, Rams, Titans and Washington. (Denver is just a half game back).

The two Bay Area teams and the two Pennsylvania teams project to play the hardest remaining schedules.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE (Weeks 13-17)
TeamWLTPct
Green Bay21340.382
LA Rams21340.382
Tennessee21340.382
Washington21340.382
Denver21331.391
Houston21331.391
Seattle21331.391
Atlanta22321.409
Kansas City24310.436
Buffalo25300.455
Indianapolis25300.455
Miami25291.464
Chicago25282.473
New England25282.473
Cincinnati26272.491
Detroit26272.491
Dallas28270.509
Arizona28261.518
Baltimore29251.536
New Orleans29251.536
NY Jets29251.536
Cleveland30250.545
Jacksonville30250.545
Minnesota31240.564
NY Giants31240.564
Tampa Bay32230.582
Carolina32221.591
LA Chargers32221.591
Pittsburgh33220.600
San Francisco35200.636
Oakland35191.645
Philadelphia36190.655

—Ian Allan

Fantasy Index