Jalen Hurts and the Eagles have been playing well recently, with at least 3 TDs in five of their last six games. The upcoming schedule indicates they’ll likely keep things going.
Three of their next four games are against the two struggling New York. The other is against Washington (and hopefully the Eagles won’t pull Hurts early this year).
Those opponents are a combined 12-28-0, for a winning percentage of .300 – the lowest of any upcoming schedule in the league. That is, if you look at the next four games for each team, Philadelphia’s schedule looks like it’s going to be the easiest.
Other teams with softer upcoming schedules include the Texans, Vikings and Dolphins. Houston and Miami, of course, have lesser offenses, but get them matched up against the right opponent, and decent stats become possible.
The hardest schedules coming up (next four games for each team) include a bunch of teams with fantasy-relevant offenses – Browns, Steelers, Patriots, Colts, Ravens and Bills.
SCHEDULTRON, NEXT 4 GAMES (wins) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Team | W | L | T | Pct |
Philadelphia | 12 | 28 | 0 | .300 |
Houston | 13 | 28 | 0 | .317 |
Minnesota | 13 | 25 | 2 | .350 |
Miami | 15 | 26 | 0 | .366 |
NY Jets | 16 | 26 | 0 | .381 |
Arizona | 16 | 24 | 1 | .402 |
Dallas | 17 | 23 | 0 | .425 |
Seattle | 18 | 22 | 0 | .450 |
San Francisco | 18 | 22 | 0 | .450 |
Atlanta | 19 | 22 | 0 | .463 |
Denver | 19 | 21 | 1 | .476 |
Tennessee | 19 | 21 | 1 | .476 |
Washington | 20 | 21 | 0 | .488 |
Jacksonville | 21 | 20 | 0 | .512 |
Carolina | 21 | 20 | 0 | .512 |
Tampa Bay | 21 | 20 | 0 | .512 |
LA Chargers | 21 | 20 | 0 | .512 |
NY Giants | 22 | 20 | 0 | .524 |
LA Rams | 22 | 20 | 0 | .524 |
Chicago | 22 | 19 | 1 | .536 |
Detroit | 22 | 19 | 0 | .537 |
Kansas City | 21 | 18 | 1 | .538 |
Cincinnati | 21 | 18 | 1 | .538 |
New Orleans | 22 | 18 | 0 | .550 |
Green Bay | 23 | 18 | 0 | .561 |
Las Vegas | 24 | 18 | 0 | .571 |
Buffalo | 24 | 18 | 0 | .571 |
Baltimore | 25 | 17 | 1 | .593 |
Indianapolis | 25 | 17 | 0 | .595 |
New England | 26 | 16 | 0 | .619 |
Pittsburgh | 26 | 15 | 0 | .634 |
Cleveland | 27 | 14 | 0 | .659 |
If we use points rather than wins and losses, the Eagles still project to have the easiest upcoming schedule. Their next four are against teams currently allowing 27 points per game. Other teams that will be facing softer defenses include the Jaguars, Texans and Cowboys.
Three teams in their next four games will play against defenses on average allowing fewer than 21 points per game, and they’re all notable for fantasy purposes: Bills, Patriots, Colts.
Buffalo has had problems getting its offense going for most of the year. Other than four blowouts against really bad defenses, the Bills have averaged only just over 2 TDs per week. With their next four against the Patriots (twice), Saints and Bucs, I think those problems are going to continue.
SCHEDULTRON, NEXT 4 GAMES (points) | |
---|---|
Team | Points/G |
Philadelphia | 26.98 |
Jacksonville | 25.42 |
Houston | 25.34 |
Dallas | 24.83 |
Seattle | 24.68 |
Miami | 24.60 |
Denver | 24.46 |
NY Jets | 24.25 |
NY Giants | 24.00 |
Arizona | 23.99 |
Minnesota | 23.95 |
San Francisco | 23.88 |
Las Vegas | 23.41 |
Kansas City | 23.40 |
New Orleans | 23.30 |
Carolina | 23.26 |
Green Bay | 23.13 |
Washington | 23.03 |
Pittsburgh | 22.97 |
Cleveland | 22.91 |
Atlanta | 22.65 |
Tampa Bay | 22.62 |
Cincinnati | 22.40 |
Chicago | 22.25 |
Baltimore | 21.92 |
LA Chargers | 21.81 |
Tennessee | 21.77 |
LA Rams | 21.23 |
Detroit | 21.22 |
Indianapolis | 20.94 |
New England | 20.14 |
Buffalo | 20.02 |
—Ian Allan