Who Has The Easiest Schedule In The NFL 2021?
Contents
Who has the easiest schedule in the NFL 2021? We take a look at the teams with the most favorable matchups and the least amount of travel.
Introduction
Who has the easiest NFL schedule in 2021? The San Francisco 49ers have the easiest strength of schedule.
The NFL’s Easiest Schedules In 2021
We’re still a few months away from the 2021 NFL season, but it’s never too early to start looking at which teams have the easiest schedules. The NFL schedule is always difficult to predict, but there are a few teams that always seem to have an easy road ahead. Here are the NFL’s easiest schedules in 2021.
The New England Patriots
In 2021, the New England Patriots have the easiest schedule in the NFL. Their opponents have a combined record of 117-139-0, which is a winning percentage of .457. The Patriots also have the benefit of playing six games against teams that finished in last place in their division in 2020.
The Patriots’ opponents are the Bills (11-5), Dolphins (10-6), Jets (2-14), Steelers (12-4), Texans (4-12), and Titans (11-5).
The New Orleans Saints
In the 2020 NFL season, the New Orleans Saints had one of the toughest schedules in the league. They played six games against teams that made the playoffs, including five against divisional opponents. But things will be much easier for them in 2021.
The Saints’ opponents for next season have a combined record of just 117-139 (.457), which is the second-easiest schedule in the NFL. They’ll play just four games against teams that made the playoffs in 2020 (Buccaneers twice, Rams, Bears) and only three against divisional opponents (Panthers twice, Falcons).
So if you’re looking for a team with a good chance to make a deep run in the playoffs next season, the Saints are definitely worth considering.
The Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams will have the easiest schedule in 2021, according to ESPN’s Football Power Index.
The Rams’ opponents have a combined winning percentage of just .391, which is the lowest in the NFL. The Rams will also benefit from playing six games against teams that finished in the bottom half of the league in 2020.
The Rams’ easiest opponents will be the Detroit Lions, who finished last in the NFL in 2020 with a record of 5-11. The Lions will be led by new head coach Dan Campbell and are not expected to be much improved in 2021.
Other easy opponents for the Rams include the New York Jets (2-14), Jacksonville Jaguars (1-15), and Cincinnati Bengals (4-11-1).
The Rams’ toughest opponents will be the Seattle Seahawks (12-4), who won the NFC West division in 2020. The Seahawks are led by quarterback Russell Wilson, who is one of the best players in the NFL.
Other tough opponents for the Rams include the Arizona Cardinals (8-8), who are a rising team in the NFC West, and the San Francisco 49ers (6-10), who are a talented team that underachieved in 2020.
The Green Bay Packers
Assuming that all teams are at full strength for the 2021 NFL season, the Green Bay Packers have the easiest schedule in the league. Their opponents have a combined record of 119-137 (46.3%) from last season.
The Packers have six games against teams that made the playoffs in 2020 (Bears, Rams, Saints, Seahawks, Steelers, Buccaneers), but only three of those are on the road. They also have a bye week in Week 4, which is always a plus.
The toughest stretch of their schedule will come in Weeks 2-4 when they play the Bears, Saints and Seahawks in consecutive weeks. But after that, things should be fairly easy for Green Bay.
The Dallas Cowboys
The NFL’s Easiest Schedules In 2021: The Dallas Cowboys – The Huffington Post
The NFL’s 32 teams will each play 16 regular-season games in 2021. Based on opponent win percentage from the 2020 season, here are the teams with the easiest and toughest schedules in 2021.
1. Dallas Cowboys – 133
2. Jacksonville Jaguars – 132
3. New York Jets – 131
4. Arizona Cardinals – 130
28. New Orleans Saints – 116
29. Detroit Lions – 115
30. San Francisco 49ers – 114
31. Seattle Seahawks – 113
32. Los Angeles Rams – 112
Conclusion
The answer to this question largely depends on how good the teams are that each NFL team has to play. If a team has a lot of good teams on their schedule, then they will have a harder time winning games and thus will have a tougher schedule. Conversely, if a team has mostly poor teams on their schedule, they will have an easier time winning games and will have an easier schedule. Based on this criteria, we can take a look at the NFL schedules for 2021 and see which teams have the easiest and hardest schedules.
The team with the easiest schedule in the NFL for 2021 is the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins play mostly poor teams, with their only difficult games coming against the New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills, and Seattle Seahawks. The Dolphins should have no problem winning at least 10 games in 2021.
The team with the hardest schedule in the NFL for 2021 is the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens play mostly good teams, with their only easy games coming against the Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, and Jacksonville Jaguars. The Ravens will struggle to win more than 10 games in 2021.