APR's second quarter strength of schedule results, as computed using week 8's power index values. Both the strength of schedule for unplayed (on the left) and played (on the right) games is presented.
As usual, a higher value indicates tougher opponents, and therefore a harder schedule. Teams are ranked from hardest schedule (#1) to easiest (#32).
| Rank | Team | SOS unplayed | Rank | SOS played |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Giants | 0.9712 | 32 | 0.8469 |
| 2 | Chargers | 0.9541 | 22 | 0.8804 |
| 3 | Dolphins | 0.9535 | 20 | 0.8975 |
| 4 | Lions | 0.9512 | 10 | 0.9238 |
| 5 | Vikings | 0.9480 | 9 | 0.9246 |
| 6 | Broncos | 0.9359 | 7 | 0.9329 |
| 7 | Packers | 0.9299 | 24 | 0.8762 |
| 8 | Bears | 0.9214 | 2 | 0.9486 |
| 9 | Buccaneers | 0.9168 | 6 | 0.9348 |
| 10 | Jets | 0.9150 | 19 | 0.9043 |
| 11 | Browns | 0.9145 | 28 | 0.8692 |
| 12 | Chiefs | 0.9144 | 18 | 0.9103 |
| 13 | Colts | 0.9126 | 14 | 0.9170 |
| 14 | Saints | 0.9123 | 26 | 0.8749 |
| 15 | Panthers | 0.9113 | 16 | 0.9134 |
| 16 | Raiders | 0.9111 | 12 | 0.9206 |
| 17 | Titans | 0.9068 | 29 | 0.8681 |
| 18 | Redskins | 0.9067 | 23 | 0.8801 |
| 19 | Steelers | 0.9066 | 25 | 0.8760 |
| 20 | Bengals | 0.8986 | 31 | 0.8662 |
| 21 | Cardinals | 0.8961 | 21 | 0.8851 |
| 22 | Rams | 0.8957 | 1 | 0.9529 |
| 23 | Seahawks | 0.8911 | 13 | 0.9185 |
| 24 | Ravens | 0.8904 | 30 | 0.8679 |
| 25 | Falcons | 0.8764 | 4 | 0.9377 |
| 26 | Eagles | 0.8761 | 11 | 0.9215 |
| 27 | Bills | 0.8723 | 8 | 0.9302 |
| 28 | Cowboys | 0.8692 | 3 | 0.9397 |
| 29 | Patriots | 0.8667 | 17 | 0.9129 |
| 30 | Texans | 0.8622 | 27 | 0.8735 |
| 31 | Jaguars | 0.8536 | 5 | 0.9354 |
| 32 | 49ers | 0.8432 | 15 | 0.9153 |
Comments:
If this is anything close to reality, the Giants are going to have a tough time hanging on to first place in the NFC East. They have a double-whammy of a very tough schedule remaining, along with two division opponents (the Eagles and Cowboys) with very easy remaining schedules.
Yeah, things are looking pretty grim for the Dolphins right now. Their best chance to avoid 0-16 will come a week from Sunday when they face the "Beck or Grossman?" Redskins.
Every team remaining on the Packers' schedule has a winning record except for the Vikings. On the other hand, the Lions and Giants are the only teams better than 4-3, so it's not that bad.
The NFL seems to have back-loaded a lot of divisional games. The 49ers have only played one so far, which means more than half of their remaining games will be against the NFC West teams that are a combined 4-17.
The AFC East could actually come down to the wire in a race between the Bills and Patriots. They don't play their rematch game until week 17.
