Who Has The Hardest NFL Schedule This Year?
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The NFL schedule has been released and there are a few teams with some difficult roads ahead. Who has the hardest schedule this year?
The NFL’s Toughest Schedules
The New England Patriots
The New England Patriots have the NFL’s toughest schedule this year. They will face six teams that made the playoffs last season, including four on the road. The Patriots also have a difficult stretch in December, when they will play three of their final four games on the road.
The Green Bay Packers
The Packers have the fourth toughest schedule in 2019, based on the opponents’ 2018 win-loss records.
-9 games against playoff teams from 2018 (Bears (twice), Vikings (twice), Eagles, Cowboys, Chiefs, Patriots, Seahawks)
-2 games against the Lions and Giants, who combined for 11 wins in 2018
-5 prime time games
1. at Chicago Bears – Sunday Night Football in Week 1
2. vs. Minnesota Vikings – Thursday Night Football in Week 2
3. vs. Denver Broncos – Monday Night Football in Week 3
4. at Dallas Cowboys – Sunday Night Football in Week 5
5. vs. Oakland Raiders – Sunday Night Football Flex game in Week 11
6. at New York Giants – Monday Night Football in Week 12
7. vs. Washington Redskins – Sunday night Flex game in Week 14
8. at Minnesota Vikings – Monday Night Football Flex game in Week 16
The Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers have the toughest schedule in the NFL this year. They will face seven teams that made the playoffs last year, including the New England Patriots, Los Angeles Rams, and New Orleans Saints. They also have to play the AFC North rivals Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals twice each.
The NFL’s Easiest Schedules
You might think that the team with the most difficult schedule this year would be the one with the most away games or the most consecutive games against winning teams. But, in fact, it’s neither of those things.
The New York Jets
The New York Jets have the easiest NFL schedule this year. They will face the following teams:
– Buffalo Bills (A)
– Miami Dolphins (A)
– New England Patriots (H)
– San Francisco 49ers (H)
– Arizona Cardinals (A)
– Denver Broncos (A)
– Indianapolis Colts (H)
– Tampa Bay Buccaneers (H)
– Kansas City Chiefs (A)
The Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns have the NFL’s easiest schedule this year. They’ll face just five teams that made the playoffs last season, and two of those games will be against the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Browns’ non-divisional opponents include the Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins and New York Jets. They’ll also play the Pittsburgh Steelers twice and the Baltimore Ravens once.
The San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers have the easiest schedule in the NFL this year. They only have to play six games against teams that made the playoffs last year, and their opponents have a combined record of just 132-122. The 49ers also get to play the NFC South, which was by far the weakest division in football last season.