Ranking NFL 2022 Season Strength of Schedules
In NFL and fantasy statistics, strength of schedule (SOS) refers to a team’s difficulty of schedule according to the teams they face. The strength of schedule is stronger if the teams faced are good relative to the whole league. Unlike most sports, football teams don’t go against every football team in the league (16 regular season games vs. 32 teams in the NFL). Ranking NFL strength of schedule is important because it’s a helpful determining factor for how good a team is, especially comparing teams with similar or the same records. Naturally, a team that won against tougher opponents is better than a team that loses against those same opponents or only won against much easier opponents.
The lower the SOS score, the harder a team’s schedule is. For teams with high SOS scores, if the records predicted aren’t reached, then the actual regular season record achieved is most likely higher, while if teams with low SOS scores don’t reach predicted records, then their actual regular season record achieved is most likely lower. It has been a relatively powerful and accurate tool for determine records a team faces and helps with tiebreakers for qualifying for playoffs. Using statistics for how good a team is compared to the rest of the league, here’s the ranking of all strength of schedules, from hardest schedule to easiest schedule. Note that these scores aren’t just calculated using win percentages, but other statistics like previous records against a specific team.
ALSO READ: Rules of NFL Playoff Tiebreakers
1 – Los Angeles Rams (hardest schedule)
- SOS Score: 0.83
- 2021 Record: 12-5
- 2022 Projected Wins: 10.5
- Opponents’ 2021 Win%: 0.510
2 – Kansas City Chiefs
- SOS Score: 1.83
- 2021 Record: 12-5
- 2022 Projected Wins: 10.5
- Opponents’ 2021 Win%: 0.533
3 – Las Vegas Raiders
- SOS Score: 5.40
- 2021 Record: 10-7
- 2022 Projected Wins: 8.5
- Opponents’ 2021 Win%: 0.528
4 – Arizona Cardinals
- SOS Score: 6.14
- 2021 Record: 11-6
- 2022 Projected Wins: 9.5
- Opponents’ 2021 Win%: 0.543
5 – Seattle Seahawks
- SOS Score: 9.25
- 2021 Record: 7-10
- 2022 Projected Wins: 5.5
- Opponents’ 2021 Win%: 0.517
6 – Los Angeles Chargers
- SOS Score: 10.34
- 2021 Record: 9-8
- 2022 Projected Wins: 10.5
- Opponents’ 2021 Win%: 0.519
7 – Pittsburgh Steelers
- SOS Score: 10.52
- 2021 Record: 9-7-1
- 2022 Projected Wins: 7.5
- Opponents’ 2021 Win%: 0.512
8 – Atlanta Falcons
- SOS Score: 11.00
- 2021 Record: 7-10
- 2022 Projected Wins: 4.5
- Opponents’ 2021 Win%: 0.524
9 – Denver Broncos
- SOS Score: 11.40
- 2021 Record: 7-10
- 2022 Projected Wins: 10.5
- Opponents’ 2021 Win%: 0.509
10 – San Francisco 49ers
- SOS Score: 12.45
- 2021 Record: 10-7
- 2022 Projected Wins: 9.5
- Opponents’ 2021 Win%: 0.533
11 – Carolina Panthers
- SOS Score: 12.80
- 2021 Record: 5-12
- 2022 Projected Wins: 5.5
- Opponents’ 2021 Win%: 0.512
12 – Cincinnati Bengals
- SOS Score: 13.20
- 2021 Record: 10-7
- 2022 Projected Wins: 9.5
- Opponents’ 2021 Win%: 0.536
13 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- SOS Score: 13.22
- 2021 Record: 13-4
- 2022 Projected Wins: 11.5
- Opponents’ 2021 Win%: 0.535
14 – New Orleans Saints
- SOS Score: 13.22
- 2021 Record: 9-8
- 2022 Projected Wins: 7.5
- Opponents’ 2021 Win%: 0.528
15 – Miami Dolphins
- SOS Score: 15.50
- 2021 Record: 9-8
- 2022 Projected Wins: 8.5
- Opponents’ 2021 Win%: 0.481
16 – New England Patriots
- SOS Score: 16.15
- 2021 Record: 11-6
- 2022 Projected Wins: 8.5
- Opponents’ 2021 Win%: 0.498
17 – New York Jets
- SOS Score: 16.19
- 2021 Record: 4-13
- 2022 Projected Wins: 5.5
- Opponents’ 2021 Win%: 0.495
18 – Cleveland Browns
- SOS Score: 16.87
- 2021 Record: 8-9
- 2022 Projected Wins: 8.5
- Opponents’ 2021 Win%: 0.495
19 – Baltimore Ravens
- SOS Score: 17.38
- 2021 Record: 8-9
- 2022 Projected Wins: 9.5
- Opponents’ 2021 Win%: 0.474
20 – Tennessee Titans
- SOS Score: 17.79
- 2021 Record: 12-5
- 2022 Projected Wins: 9.5
- Opponents’ 2021 Win%: 0.471
21 – Buffalo Bills
- SOS Score: 18.31
- 2021 Record: 11-6
- 2022 Projected Wins: 11.5
- Opponents’ 2021 Win%: 0.512
22 – Houston Texans
- SOS Score: 21.24
- 2021 Record: 4-13
- 2022 Projected Wins: 4.5
- Opponents’ 2021 Win%: 0.488
23 – Jacksonville Jaguars
- SOS Score: 23.09
- 2021 Record: 3-14
- 2022 Projected Wins: 6.5
- Opponents’ 2021 Win%: 0.469
24 – Indianapolis Colts
- SOS Score: 26.75
- 2021 Record: 9-8
- 2022 Projected Wins: 9.5
- Opponents’ 2021 Win%: 0.469
25 – Green Bay Packers
- SOS Score: 26.76
- 2021 Record: 13-4
- 2022 Projected Wins: 11.5
- Opponents’ 2021 Win%: 0.478
26 – Minnesota Vikings
- SOS Score: 26.97
- 2021 Record: 8-9
- 2022 Projected Wins: 8.5
- Opponents’ 2021 Win%: 0.484
27 – Chicago Bears
- SOS Score: 28.07
- 2021 Record: 6-11
- 2022 Projected Wins: 6.5
- Opponents’ 2021 Win%: 0.471
28 – Dallas Cowboys
- SOS Score: 29.22
- 2021 Record: 12-5
- 2022 Projected Wins: 10.5
- Opponents’ 2021 Win%: 0.462
29 – Detroit Lions
- SOS Score: 29.79
- 2021 Record: 3-13-1
- 2022 Projected Wins: 6.5
- Opponents’ 2021 Win%: 0.467
30 – Washington Commanders
- SOS Score: 30.48
- 2021 Record: 7-10
- 2022 Projected Wins: 7.5
- Opponents’ 2021 Win%: 0.462
31 – Philadelphia Eagles
- SOS Score: 33.56
- 2021 Record: 9-8
- 2022 Projected Wins: 8.5
- Opponents’ 2021 Win%: 0.464
32 – New York Giants (easiest schedule)
- SOS Score: 33.63
- 2021 Record: 4-13
- 2022 Projected Wins: 8.5
- Opponents’ 2021 Win%: 0.465
First preseason game of the NFL is on August 4th, with the first official week of NFL football starting from September 8th.
Every team's strength of schedule for next season. 👀 (by @Upwork)
📺: 2022 NFL Schedule Release — Tonight at 8pm ET on @NFLNetwork pic.twitter.com/VCIjmsNK13
— NFL (@NFL) May 12, 2022
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