The 49ers are sitting at 2-3, and if they’re going to make the playoffs, it’s going to take a hell of a turnaround. Their upcoming schedule is by far the hardest in the league.
San Francisco’s next seven games are, in order: Rams, at Patriots, at Seahawks, Packers, at Saints, at Rams and Bills. Combined those teams are currently 26-6 – about as good a record as you’ll ever see over a seven-game stretch.
Arizona also has a difficult upcoming schedule. After playing Dallas on Sunday, it will be moving into the meatier portion of its schedule. It’s currently completing a stretch of games against softer defenses, with its last four against Washington, Detroit, Carolina and the Jets.
Other teams with harder upcoming schedules: Ravens, Bucs and Bears.
If you’re looking for easier schedules over the next seven games, focus instead on the Lions, Dolphins and Washington. For each of those three teams, their next seven games are against teams that have won a combined 10 games.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE (next 7 games) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Team | W | L | T | Pct |
Detroit | 10 | 25 | 0 | .286 |
Miami | 10 | 22 | 1 | .318 |
Washington | 10 | 22 | 1 | .318 |
Las Vegas | 13 | 21 | 0 | .382 |
New Orleans | 13 | 21 | 0 | .382 |
LA Chargers | 13 | 19 | 0 | .406 |
NY Giants | 13 | 19 | 3 | .414 |
Green Bay | 15 | 20 | 0 | .429 |
Denver | 15 | 19 | 0 | .441 |
Atlanta | 15 | 18 | 0 | .455 |
Minnesota | 15 | 18 | 0 | .455 |
New England | 15 | 18 | 0 | .455 |
Dallas | 15 | 18 | 1 | .456 |
Cleveland | 14 | 16 | 2 | .469 |
Kansas City | 15 | 17 | 0 | .469 |
Carolina | 16 | 18 | 0 | .471 |
Buffalo | 17 | 17 | 0 | .500 |
Jacksonville | 16 | 16 | 0 | .500 |
Seattle | 17 | 16 | 1 | .515 |
Cincinnati | 17 | 15 | 0 | .531 |
NY Jets | 18 | 15 | 0 | .545 |
Philadelphia | 19 | 15 | 0 | .559 |
Pittsburgh | 19 | 13 | 1 | .591 |
Houston | 18 | 12 | 0 | .600 |
LA Rams | 21 | 14 | 0 | .600 |
Tennessee | 20 | 13 | 1 | .603 |
Indianapolis | 17 | 11 | 1 | .603 |
Chicago | 19 | 12 | 0 | .613 |
Tampa Bay | 21 | 13 | 0 | .618 |
Baltimore | 19 | 10 | 1 | .650 |
Arizona | 24 | 9 | 0 | .727 |
San Francisco | 26 | 6 | 0 | .813 |
—Ian Allan