The numbers suggest Carolina and Atlanta are set up for fast starts this season. The Colts, Dolphins and Rams, meanwhile, could be hurt by scheduling early.
That’s what last year’s win-loss records suggest, anyway. You take last year’s win-loss records and plug them into the 2021 schedule, and they give a hint of which teams might be helped (or hurt) by scheduling early.
Four teams will play their first five games against teams that didn’t win more than 40 percent of their games last year: Panthers, Falcons, Broncos, Jets. Four other teams, meanwhile, will open with five games against teams that collectively won at least 60 percent of their games: Colts, Dolphins, Rams, Raiders.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE: first five games | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Team | W | L | T | Pct |
Carolina | 28 | 51 | 1 | .356 |
Atlanta | 30 | 49 | 1 | .381 |
Denver | 32 | 48 | 0 | .400 |
NY Jets | 32 | 48 | 0 | .400 |
Jacksonville | 32 | 47 | 1 | .406 |
Dallas | 33 | 46 | 1 | .419 |
NY Giants | 34 | 46 | 0 | .425 |
Tennessee | 34 | 46 | 0 | .425 |
Arizona | 35 | 45 | 0 | .438 |
Philadelphia | 35 | 45 | 0 | .438 |
Houston | 37 | 43 | 0 | .463 |
Tampa Bay | 37 | 43 | 0 | .463 |
New Orleans | 38 | 42 | 0 | .475 |
Chicago | 38 | 41 | 1 | .481 |
New England | 39 | 41 | 0 | .488 |
Green Bay | 39 | 40 | 1 | .494 |
Cleveland | 40 | 40 | 0 | .500 |
Minnesota | 40 | 39 | 1 | .506 |
Cincinnati | 41 | 39 | 0 | .513 |
Washington | 42 | 38 | 0 | .525 |
San Francisco | 42 | 37 | 1 | .531 |
Baltimore | 43 | 37 | 0 | .538 |
Pittsburgh | 43 | 36 | 1 | .544 |
Detroit | 45 | 35 | 0 | .563 |
Seattle | 45 | 35 | 0 | .563 |
LA Chargers | 46 | 34 | 0 | .575 |
Kansas City | 46 | 33 | 1 | .581 |
Buffalo | 47 | 33 | 0 | .588 |
Las Vegas | 48 | 32 | 0 | .600 |
LA Rams | 50 | 30 | 0 | .625 |
Miami | 50 | 30 | 0 | .625 |
Indianapolis | 54 | 26 | 0 | .675 |
—Ian Allan