By Marc Lawrence, PlaybookSports.com — With the NFL schedule set to be released tomorrow at 8:00 PM ET, it’s worth noting some insights from the Playbook Strength of Schedule model.
Based on each team’s opponents’ projected season win totals (see page 16 in last season’s PLAYBOOK Football Preview Guide magazine), of the 16 teams predicted to have the easiest 2023 schedules, 11 finished with winning records (Baltimore, Cleveland, Detroit, Green Bay, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, and Tampa Bay).
Of the 16 teams facing the hardest 2023 schedules, 8 finished with a winning record (Buffalo, Cincinnati, Dallas, LA Rams, Miami, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Seattle), while the other 8 finished with a losing record (Arizona, Denver, LA Chargers, Las Vegas, New England, New York Giants, New York Jets, and Washington).
Among the 6 teams forecasted to have winning records with easier schedules, all 6 indeed had winning records (Baltimore, Cleveland, Detroit, Jacksonville, Kansas City, and New Orleans).
Additionally, of the 8 teams projected to finish below .500 with harder-than-average schedules, 6 ended up with losing records (Arizona, Denver, Las Vegas, New England, New York Giants, and Washington).
