hero-image

Who has the hardest schedule in the NFL?

Arizona Cardinals v New England Patriots
Arizona Cardinals v New England Patriots

The NFL schedule can ascertain how powerful or how weak a team will be for the season.

The way to impartially determine which team has the most challenging schedule is to look at their opponents' records from last season.

For so many years, people accused the New England Patriots had the easiest schedule in the NFL. They must have run out of luck, because no one will be able to make that accusation this year. After all, the Patriots have the NFL's most challenging schedule of 2020.

It is the first time during Bill Belichick's reign that the Patriots had faced such a tough schedule. 


The start of the Patriots' demise

The gutted New England Patriots were on a perpetually rough ride.

Their outstanding quarterback, Tom Brady, left the team after 20 years. Brady had led the Patriots to nine Super Bowl appearances and won six of them. Several key players withdrew from this NFL season due to anxieties about the Coronavirus pandemic.

 At .537 opponents' winning percentage makes the Patriots one of the NFL's two teams with a strength of schedule above .530, along with the New York Jets. The Patriots face seven teams that made it to the playoffs last season: the Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans, Buffalo Bills (twice) and Seattle Seahawks, as well as the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs -- the two teams that went to Super Bowl LIV.

In the first four weeks of the season, the Patriots played the Seahawks on the road, the first meeting between the teams since the Patriots defeated Seattle in Super Bowl XLIX. Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson had a fiery start, throwing five touchdowns. Electrifying defensive end L.J. Collier overtook Patriots QB Cam Newton at the one-yard line on the game's last play, giving the Seahawks the win. 

By Week 6, the Patriots faced challenging adversity with a home game against the 49ers, which they lost 33-6, then straddled away games against the Bills and the Jets. The Bills were clearly the superior team despite a tight 24-21 score. A late fumble by Newton deep into Buffalo territory, edging his way into the end zone as the ball and the game slipped through his grasp. 

The last time the New England Patriots didn't make it to the NFL playoffs was the 2008 season. There's a high probability of the Patriots not making it this season, as they sit at 5-6 going into Week 13. For the Patriots to qualify for the playoffs, they might need to win the rest of their games.

You may also like