Read this for a description of APR.
How This Was Computed
The unweighted version of APR (i.e., all games have the same weight) is computed for all regular season games.
The 16-game schedules are collated for each team.
For each schedule, every team on the schedule is mapped to its power index computed in step 1. This yields a list of 16 power index values for each team (divisional opponents are counted twice; no adjustment is made for home vs away games).
The list of power index values is then averaged, yeilding a "Strength of Schedule" power index for each team.
As usual, a higher power index value indicates a more difficult schedule.
The Schedule Power Table
Ordered from weakest schedule (top) to strongest schedule (bottom).
| Schedule Power | Team | Playoffs? |
| 1.239 | Buffalo Bills | |
| 1.244 | San Francisco 49ers | |
| 1.249 | New York Jets | |
| 1.251 | Miami Dolphins | AFC #3 |
| 1.252 | New England Patriots | |
| 1.262 | Arizona Cardinals | NFC #4 |
| 1.267 | Seattle Seahawks | |
| 1.268 | Denver Broncos | |
| 1.278 | Atlanta Falcons | NFC #5 |
| 1.281 | San Diego Chargers | AFC #4 |
| 1.283 | New Orleans Saints | |
| 1.283 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | |
| 1.283 | Tennessee Titans | AFC #1 |
| 1.284 | St. Louis Rams | |
| 1.290 | Carolina Panthers | NFC #2 |
| 1.293 | Washington Redskins | |
| 1.293 | Chicago Bears | |
| 1.294 | New York Giants | AFC #1 |
| 1.295 | Philadelphia Eagles | NFC #6 |
| 1.296 | Green Bay Packers | |
| 1.297 | Oakland Raiders | |
| 1.299 | Kansas City Chiefs | |
| 1.302 | Dallas Cowboys | |
| 1.303 | Minnesota Vikings | NFC #3 |
| 1.311 | Baltimore Ravens | AFC #6 |
| 1.314 | Indianapolis Colts | AFC #5 |
| 1.315 | Houston Texans | |
| 1.321 | Jacksonville Jaguars | |
| 1.328 | Detroit Lions | |
| 1.328 | Pittsburgh Steelers | AFC #2 |
| 1.344 | Cincinnati Bengals | |
| 1.346 | Cleveland Browns |
Comments:
The range of values is actually pretty compact; relatively small differences in schedules can make a big difference in where a team ends up (c.f. the Titans compared to the rest of the AFC South).
Every AFC East team is in the weakest 8, and all are weaker the Arizona Cardinals and the San Diego Chargers.
Every NFC West team except the St. Louis Rams is also in the weakest 8.
Every AFC North team is in the strongest 8.
Every AFC South team except the Tennessee Titans is also in the stronget 8.
There's no obvious correlation between schedule power and playoff appearance—the playoff teams seem to be scattered pretty evenly; and both the #1 seeds and the NFC #2 seed are pretty near the middle of the pack.
The Browns and Bengals placement make it hard for the Lions to argue that they went winless because of injuries, a tough schedule, and a bad team (though to be fair, the Browns got their four wins before Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn were both on IR).
