Carson Wentz has had his troubles this year, but I wonder if he’ll get a boost from the schedule down the stretch it lays out pretty favorably for the Eagles.
Who you’re playing, after all, is something close to half of the equation. Running backs are going to tend to look good when they’re playing against Houston. They’re going to tend to struggle against Tampa Bay.
With Wentz, the schedule indicates he’ll have one of the most favorable schedule for quarterbacks over the next five weeks. His next five are against defenses that are currently allowing an average of 279 passing yards and 1.89 TD passes per game.
All five of the easiest pass schedules, as luck would have it, belong to quarterbacks who’ve tended to pass the ball: Giants, Ravens, Bears and Washington.
That’s using 6 points for TD passes and 1 for every 10 yards. (If you want to use 4 for TD passes and 1 for every 20 yards, the ordering will be very similar.)
On this, I’m looking at the next five weeks for most teams. For teams that haven’t had their bye yet, I’m looking at Weeks 11-16 (next five games).
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE, PASSING (next 5 G) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Rk | Team | Yards | TDP | Points |
1. | NY Giants | 282 | 1.87 | 39.4 |
2. | Philadelphia | 279 | 1.89 | 39.3 |
3. | Baltimore | 264 | 2.07 | 38.8 |
4. | Chicago | 268 | 1.93 | 38.4 |
5. | Washington | 266 | 1.96 | 38.3 |
6. | New Orleans | 271 | 1.82 | 38.1 |
7. | LA Chargers | 274 | 1.77 | 38.0 |
8. | Indianapolis | 263 | 1.87 | 37.5 |
9. | Jacksonville | 262 | 1.87 | 37.4 |
10. | Atlanta | 253 | 1.94 | 36.9 |
11. | Tampa Bay | 264 | 1.73 | 36.8 |
12. | Cleveland | 265 | 1.72 | 36.8 |
13. | NY Jets | 273 | 1.56 | 36.6 |
14. | Las Vegas | 259 | 1.73 | 36.3 |
15. | Minnesota | 254 | 1.79 | 36.2 |
16. | Detroit | 258 | 1.72 | 36.0 |
17. | Tennessee | 256 | 1.71 | 35.9 |
18. | Pittsburgh | 252 | 1.77 | 35.8 |
19. | Kansas City | 257 | 1.70 | 35.8 |
20. | Seattle | 257 | 1.63 | 35.5 |
21. | LA Rams | 252 | 1.72 | 35.5 |
22. | Carolina | 251 | 1.73 | 35.5 |
23. | Miami | 254 | 1.69 | 35.5 |
24. | Arizona | 267 | 1.46 | 35.4 |
25. | Dallas | 244 | 1.81 | 35.2 |
26. | New England | 251 | 1.67 | 35.1 |
27. | Cincinnati | 246 | 1.70 | 34.8 |
28. | Denver | 252 | 1.60 | 34.7 |
29. | Buffalo | 236 | 1.70 | 33.8 |
30. | San Francisco | 239 | 1.66 | 33.8 |
31. | Green Bay | 245 | 1.47 | 33.3 |
32. | Houston | 235 | 1.42 | 32.0 |
For rushing, the Colts, Bears and Packers appear to have the easiest upcoming schedules. The Falcons, Jaguars and Eagles seem to have the hardest run schedules.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE, RUSHING (next 5 G) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Rk | Team | Yards | TDP | Points |
1. | Indianapolis | 136 | 1.27 | 21.2 |
2. | Chicago | 133 | 1.24 | 20.8 |
3. | Green Bay | 121 | 1.22 | 19.4 |
4. | Detroit | 128 | 1.11 | 19.4 |
5. | Carolina | 125 | 1.13 | 19.3 |
6. | LA Chargers | 119 | 1.21 | 19.2 |
7. | Pittsburgh | 127 | 1.08 | 19.2 |
8. | Miami | 130 | 1.02 | 19.1 |
9. | Denver | 120 | 1.14 | 18.9 |
10. | San Francisco | 127 | 1.01 | 18.8 |
11. | Cleveland | 119 | 1.13 | 18.7 |
12. | Seattle | 120 | 1.09 | 18.6 |
13. | Baltimore | 124 | 1.02 | 18.5 |
14. | New Orleans | 120 | 1.09 | 18.5 |
15. | Minnesota | 121 | 1.07 | 18.5 |
16. | Tennessee | 116 | 1.13 | 18.4 |
17. | Cincinnati | 124 | 1.00 | 18.4 |
18. | New England | 126 | .96 | 18.3 |
19. | NY Jets | 110 | 1.18 | 18.1 |
20. | Arizona | 111 | 1.16 | 18.0 |
21. | Tampa Bay | 118 | 1.00 | 17.8 |
22. | Washington | 120 | .96 | 17.8 |
23. | Las Vegas | 114 | .98 | 17.2 |
24. | Houston | 114 | .96 | 17.2 |
25. | NY Giants | 112 | .93 | 16.8 |
26. | Buffalo | 118 | .83 | 16.8 |
27. | Kansas City | 105 | 1.03 | 16.6 |
28. | Dallas | 118 | .76 | 16.4 |
29. | LA Rams | 111 | .86 | 16.2 |
30. | Philadelphia | 101 | .98 | 16.0 |
31. | Jacksonville | 111 | .78 | 15.8 |
32. | Atlanta | 92 | .85 | 14.3 |
Strictly for touchdowns (combined rushing/receiving but not returns) the Bears project to have the easiest upcoming schedule. That seems like a wasted opportunity, considering how they’ve struggled. The Colts, Ravens and Chargers are also up there.
The Texans, Bills and Cowboys have the hardest upcoming schedules.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE, TOUCHDOWNS (next 5 G) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Rk | Team | Run | Pass | Total |
1. | Chicago | 1.24 | 1.93 | 3.18 |
2. | Indianapolis | 1.27 | 1.87 | 3.13 |
3. | Baltimore | 1.02 | 2.07 | 3.09 |
4. | LA Chargers | 1.21 | 1.77 | 2.98 |
5. | Washington | .96 | 1.96 | 2.92 |
6. | New Orleans | 1.09 | 1.82 | 2.91 |
7. | Carolina | 1.13 | 1.73 | 2.87 |
8. | Philadelphia | .98 | 1.89 | 2.87 |
9. | Minnesota | 1.07 | 1.79 | 2.86 |
10. | Cleveland | 1.13 | 1.72 | 2.86 |
11. | Pittsburgh | 1.08 | 1.77 | 2.84 |
12. | Tennessee | 1.13 | 1.71 | 2.84 |
13. | Detroit | 1.11 | 1.72 | 2.83 |
14. | NY Giants | .93 | 1.87 | 2.80 |
15. | Atlanta | .85 | 1.94 | 2.79 |
16. | Denver | 1.14 | 1.60 | 2.73 |
17. | NY Jets | 1.18 | 1.56 | 2.73 |
18. | Tampa Bay | 1.00 | 1.73 | 2.73 |
19. | Kansas City | 1.03 | 1.70 | 2.72 |
20. | Seattle | 1.09 | 1.63 | 2.72 |
21. | Las Vegas | .98 | 1.73 | 2.71 |
22. | Miami | 1.02 | 1.69 | 2.71 |
23. | Cincinnati | 1.00 | 1.70 | 2.70 |
24. | Green Bay | 1.22 | 1.47 | 2.69 |
25. | San Francisco | 1.01 | 1.66 | 2.67 |
26. | Jacksonville | .78 | 1.87 | 2.64 |
27. | New England | .96 | 1.67 | 2.62 |
28. | Arizona | 1.16 | 1.46 | 2.61 |
29. | LA Rams | .86 | 1.72 | 2.58 |
30. | Dallas | .76 | 1.81 | 2.57 |
31. | Buffalo | .83 | 1.70 | 2.52 |
32. | Houston | .96 | 1.42 | 2.38 |
—Ian Allan