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Strength of schedule

Bengals played the league's hardest schedule

That was quite a year the AFC North put together. All four teams finished with winning records, and they did so despite having to play over a third of their games against each other.

With injury issues, Cincinnati (which had been to the AFC Championship game in back-to-back seasons) went 9-8, with Jake Browning handling the offense late in the year. Baltimore, Cleveland and Pittsburgh, meanwhile, all made the playoffs. Combined, they finished with a win-loss record of 43-25.

We may never see such a division again.

By wins and losses, those four teams also played the league’s hardest schedules. Well, almost (Arizona tied with Cleveland and Pittsburgh, with three of those teams facing opponents who went a combined 149-123 in their other games).

The Bengals played the league’s hardest schedule, with opponents going a combined 158-114, while the Ravens ranked next-to-last in schedule difficulty.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE, 2023 (final)
TeamWLPct.
Atlanta114158.419
New Orleans117155.430
Chicago124148.456
Dallas124148.456
Miami124148.456
Green Bay129143.474
Buffalo130142.478
Houston130142.478
Tampa Bay131141.482
Denver132140.485
Las Vegas132140.485
Kansas City133139.489
Philadelphia133139.489
Detroit134138.493
Indianapolis134138.493
NY Jets135137.496
Washington135137.496
Carolina136136.500
Minnesota137135.504
NY Giants137135.504
New England138134.507
Seattle140132.515
Tennessee140132.515
LA Chargers141131.518
San Francisco142130.522
Jacksonville146126.537
LA Rams146126.537
Arizona149123.548
• Cleveland149123.548
• Pittsburgh149123.548
• Baltimore153119.563
• Cincinnati158114.581

—Ian Allan

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