We still don't know exactly when teams will play, but knowing the opponents is good enough to determine each teams strength of schedule. According to CBS Sports, the NFC West and NFC South divisions are in for a brutal go at it in 2016, while the NFC East and NFC North are getting some cake walks. In case you were wondering, the AFC eats up the middle of the pack.
Coincidentally, that is exactly where the defending Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos fall into line. The AFC West take up spots 13-16, with the Broncos with the fourteenth most difficult schedule next season. This bodes well for a run to repeat.
Here's the 2016 strength of schedule for each NFL team.
Rank | Team | SOS |
---|---|---|
T-1 | San Francisco 49ers | .555 |
T-1 | Atlanta Falcons | .555 |
3 | Los Angeles Rams | .551 |
4 | New Orleans Saints | .547 |
T-5 | Seattle Seahawks | .543 |
T-5 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | .543 |
T-7 | Arizona Cardinals | .531 |
T-7 | New York Jets | .531 |
9 | New England Patriots | .523 |
10 | Buffalo Bills | .520 |
11 | Miami Dolphins | .516 |
12 | Carolina Panthers | .512 |
13 | San Diego Chargers | .508 |
14 | Denver Broncos | .504 |
15 | Oakland Raiders | .500 |
16 | Kansas City Chiefs | .496 |
17 | Washington Redskins | .492 |
18 | Minnesota Vikings | .488 |
T-19 | Houston Texans | .484 |
T-19 | Baltimore Ravens | .484 |
21 | Cleveland Browns | .480 |
22 | Indianapolis Colts | .477 |
T-23 | Pittsburgh Steelers | .473 |
T-23 | Tennessee Titans | .473 |
T-23 | Jacksonville Jaguars | .473 |
26 | Philadelphia Eagles | .469 |
T-27 | Cincinnati Bengals | .465 |
T-27 | Detroit Lions | .465 |
T-27 | Dallas Cowboys | .465 |
T-30 | Chicago Bears | .461 |
T-30 | New York Giants | .461 |
32 | Green Bay Packers | .457 |
If you think this doesn't matter at all, then it should be noted that three of the five teams to start with the easiest strength of schedule ended up in the playoffs, with one missing the playoffs despite winning ten games. So take a hard look at the bottom five teams on this list and more than likely three of them will be fighting for a Super Bowl berth.
Who do you think will make the playoffs from each conference next year?