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) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Team | W | L | T | Pct |
San Francisco | 45 | 63 | 2 | .418 |
Chicago | 47 | 61 | 2 | .436 |
LA Chargers | 48 | 61 | 1 | .441 |
Indianapolis | 49 | 61 | 0 | .445 |
Miami | 50 | 59 | 1 | .459 |
Philadelphia | 50 | 59 | 1 | .459 |
Dallas | 51 | 59 | 0 | .464 |
NY Giants | 51 | 59 | 0 | .464 |
NY Jets | 50 | 58 | 2 | .464 |
Carolina | 51 | 58 | 1 | .468 |
Minnesota | 52 | 57 | 1 | .477 |
Houston | 53 | 57 | 0 | .482 |
Oakland | 53 | 56 | 1 | .486 |
Pittsburgh | 53 | 56 | 1 | .486 |
Tampa Bay | 53 | 55 | 2 | .491 |
Washington | 54 | 55 | 1 | .495 |
Arizona | 55 | 54 | 1 | .505 |
Detroit | 55 | 53 | 2 | .509 |
Baltimore | 55 | 52 | 3 | .514 |
Jacksonville | 56 | 53 | 1 | .514 |
New England | 56 | 53 | 1 | .514 |
New Orleans | 56 | 52 | 2 | .518 |
Kansas City | 57 | 51 | 2 | .527 |
Buffalo | 58 | 50 | 2 | .536 |
Cleveland | 59 | 50 | 1 | .541 |
Green Bay | 59 | 50 | 1 | .541 |
Atlanta | 59 | 49 | 2 | .545 |
LA Rams | 59 | 49 | 2 | .545 |
Seattle | 60 | 49 | 1 | .550 |
Tennessee | 61 | 49 | 0 | .555 |
Cincinnati | 61 | 47 | 2 | .564 |
Denver | 64 | 45 | 1 | .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) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Team | W | L | T | Pct |
Green Bay | 21 | 34 | 0 | .382 |
LA Rams | 21 | 34 | 0 | .382 |
Tennessee | 21 | 34 | 0 | .382 |
Washington | 21 | 34 | 0 | .382 |
Denver | 21 | 33 | 1 | .391 |
Houston | 21 | 33 | 1 | .391 |
Seattle | 21 | 33 | 1 | .391 |
Atlanta | 22 | 32 | 1 | .409 |
Kansas City | 24 | 31 | 0 | .436 |
Buffalo | 25 | 30 | 0 | .455 |
Indianapolis | 25 | 30 | 0 | .455 |
Miami | 25 | 29 | 1 | .464 |
Chicago | 25 | 28 | 2 | .473 |
New England | 25 | 28 | 2 | .473 |
Cincinnati | 26 | 27 | 2 | .491 |
Detroit | 26 | 27 | 2 | .491 |
Dallas | 28 | 27 | 0 | .509 |
Arizona | 28 | 26 | 1 | .518 |
Baltimore | 29 | 25 | 1 | .536 |
New Orleans | 29 | 25 | 1 | .536 |
NY Jets | 29 | 25 | 1 | .536 |
Cleveland | 30 | 25 | 0 | .545 |
Jacksonville | 30 | 25 | 0 | .545 |
Minnesota | 31 | 24 | 0 | .564 |
NY Giants | 31 | 24 | 0 | .564 |
Tampa Bay | 32 | 23 | 0 | .582 |
Carolina | 32 | 22 | 1 | .591 |
LA Chargers | 32 | 22 | 1 | .591 |
Pittsburgh | 33 | 22 | 0 | .600 |
San Francisco | 35 | 20 | 0 | .636 |
Oakland | 35 | 19 | 1 | .645 |
Philadelphia | 36 | 19 | 0 | .655 |
—Ian Allan