NFL Strength of schedule 2022: Top 5 teams with the easiest schedule
When we talk about having the easiest NFL schedule, the reality is that it is still a mystery. What teams will look like when training camp opens, to what they'll look like in Week 1, to what they'll look like in Week 15 is completely up in the air.
Having Jacksonville travel to your city for a home game might seem like a walk in the park when you look at the schedule before the season starts. But what happens if Trevor Lawrence and company mesh well in the NFL preseason and many of their problems were Urban Meyer's fault?
While the mystery of who will be competitive in the 2022 NFL season remains, it is still fun to take a look at which teams seem to have a schedule advantage heading into the regular season.
Among the Week 1 NFL storylines:
—Russell Wilson’s first game w/ #Broncos is in Seattle vs #Seahawks on MNF
—Carson Wentz’s first game w/ #Commanders is the same his last with the #Colts: vs #Jaguars, this time with Doug Pederson
—#Buccaneers-#Cowboys again, this time in Texas
Here are the top 5 teams with the easiest schedules heading into the 2022 NFL season.
#5: Detroit Lions
Strength of schedule: .467 (28th)
When Jared Goff is your starting NFL quarterback, I'm not sure any game on the schedule can be looked at as "easy." But the Lions are a NFL team that is on the rise.
Head coach Dan Campbell has enstilled an intense work ethic in his team, and after adding number two overall pick Aidan Hutchinson, the talent on the roster continues to improve.
The NFC North could be in a for a down year as a whole, making the Lions' schedule more favorable. We aren't sure what the Packers are going to look like without Davante Adams and the Vikings and Bears have talent, but they are both under new regimes.
The Lions start off the season playing the Eagles, Commanders, Vikings and Seahawks - all four winnable games.
#4: Seattle Seahawks
Strength of schedule: .517 (11th)
I don't think the Seattle Seahawks are going to be a very good football team and they know it. Settling on Drew Lock as the starter really means that you are hoping to get one of the 2023 potential NFL franchise quarterbacks.
Nevertheless, the Seahawks have a favorable schedule. There will be a lot of emotion in the building in week 1 when Russell Wilson comes back for their Monday Night Football tilt. Week 3-6 provide some relief against the likes of the Lions, Falcons, Saints and the turbulent Cardinals.
They also avoid playing Tampa Bay in Florida thanks to a visit to Germany, and have a bye after traveling back from Europe.
#3: Dallas Cowboys
Strength of schedule: .462 (T-31)
America's team looks primed to repeat as NFC East champions thanks to a very favorable schedule.
They begin the season with two tough contests against the Buccaneers and Bengals, but get both at home. A true treat for Cowboys fans is how they end the season.
Starting with the Giants in Week 12 and ending with the Commanders in week 18, Dallas has a stretch where they figure to play some of the NFL's worst teams (including the Texans and Jaguars).
#2: Indianapolis Colts
Strength of schedule: .462 (T-31)
The old saying goes, "It's not how you start, but how you finish" - and there is no doubt this is true, but a good start does help.
No team in the NFL begins the season with an easier stretch than the Colts, who play the Texans and Jaguars in the first two weeks of the season. While both are away games, no one is going to confuse those locations for Arrowhead Stadium.
The Colts get the advantage of not having to play on Christmas Day (they play in the MNF on the 26) and finish the season against the Giants and Texas, this time at home.
#1: New York Giants
Strength of schedule: .469 (29th)
This is a make it or break it year for quarterback Daniel Jones and the schedule does allow him some room to breathe.
With new head coach Brian Daboll at the helm, the Giants should be a more efficient team on offense and just better organized as a whole.
The highs & lows of trying to figure out the schedule 😅 https://t.co/hIf5jVWzyp
They don't really have a scary stretch in their schedule and instead have what appears to be a simple path from Week 7 (starting with the Jaguars) to the end of the year where they can at least be competitive with key games against NFL rivals Washington and Philadelphia twice.