This table is APR's first quarter strength of schedule results. Each team's "unplayed" strength of schedule was computed by combining the power index value of every team remaining on the schedule (using the week 4 power index values of each team). Similarly, the "played" strength of schedule was computed using the power index of teams already played.
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 | Lions | 0.9797 | 17 | 0.9138 |
2 | Rams | 0.9658 | 13 | 0.9270 |
3 | Bills | 0.9422 | 29 | 0.8227 |
4 | 49ers | 0.9418 | 19 | 0.8934 |
5 | Seahawks | 0.9404 | 10 | 0.9344 |
6 | Cardinals | 0.9378 | 2 | 0.9833 |
7 | Vikings | 0.9330 | 20 | 0.8816 |
8 | Jets | 0.9285 | 16 | 0.9194 |
9 | Bears | 0.9268 | 23 | 0.8670 |
10 | Patriots | 0.9225 | 15 | 0.9195 |
11 | Packers | 0.9214 | 11 | 0.9317 |
12 | Titans | 0.9048 | 5 | 0.9575 |
13 | Redskins | 0.9040 | 27 | 0.8267 |
14 | Giants | 0.9021 | 25 | 0.8333 |
15 | Dolphins | 0.9012 | 3 | 0.9784 |
16 | Saints | 0.8935 | 32 | 0.7879 |
17 | Texans | 0.8930 | 21 | 0.8802 |
18 | Jaguars | 0.8872 | 1 | 0.9851 |
19 | Cowboys | 0.8860 | 14 | 0.9241 |
20 | Chiefs | 0.8854 | 28 | 0.8232 |
21 | Ravens | 0.8832 | 9 | 0.9400 |
22 | Browns | 0.8817 | 8 | 0.9436 |
23 | Bengals | 0.8808 | 22 | 0.8735 |
24 | Steelers | 0.8723 | 18 | 0.8999 |
25 | Colts | 0.8682 | 7 | 0.9503 |
26 | Panthers | 0.8673 | 26 | 0.8319 |
27 | Chargers | 0.8543 | 31 | 0.8017 |
28 | Buccaneers | 0.8498 | 24 | 0.8345 |
29 | Eagles | 0.8497 | 6 | 0.9539 |
30 | Raiders | 0.8275 | 12 | 0.9282 |
31 | Falcons | 0.8270 | 30 | 0.8107 |
32 | Broncos | 0.8162 | 4 | 0.9705 |
Comments:
More bad news for the Lions. Their schedule doesn't look that bad. I think it's just more there really aren't many easy opponents on it (and given the way the Lions lost to the Titans and Vikings, I'm not sure what would qualify as an easy opponent for them).
It won't be getting easier for the Jets, either. They still have 3 more games against the NFC West, none of which look like push-overs anymore.
The Bills have the biggest swing from easiest to hardest. Which is not good news for a team that's only beaten the Chiefs and Browns so far.
Are the Eagles the best team in the NFC East? They're the only team (so far) to have a win outside the division and bad NFC South teams. If they can stop the turnovers, they could have an easy path to winning the NFC East.
The Falcons are benefitting from a (so far) pretty weak division. APR has the Buccaneers, Panthers, and Saints all in the bottom 5 teams, and the Falcons sill have 5 divisional games left to play.
The Broncos have the biggest swing from hardest to easiest. They have yet to play the Saints, Panthers, Chiefs (twice), Buccaneers, and Browns. So, yeah. Peyton Manning should have a chance to make another playoff run this year.