When we talk about strength of schedule in the National Football League, we’re talking about how difficult teams are on a schedule on the basis of how those teams played last year. Of course, we’ve seen that teams can see their fortunes change considerably from one year to the next, so strength of schedule can be helpful — or it can be misleading. As you consider your NFL betting for the upcoming season, though, here are some teams who appear to be facing difficult roads this fall.
Toughest NFL Betting Schedules in 2018
The NFC East
Philadelphia is the defending Super Bowl champion — and they have a first-place schedule. But they also have two games against a Washington team that could be scary-good on offense with Alex Smith and two more against a Dallas team that could revert to their 2016 form on offense, with a revamped O-line and both Dak and Zeke out there for a full season. The NFC East has to play the AFC South, which means games against three tough teams — Houston, Tennessee and Jacksonville.
L.A. Chargers
The Chargers have a “home” game in London, and they play their other seven home games at a soccer stadium — StubHub Field in Carson — while they wait their own new stadium to be finished. They go from Week Six to Week Ten without playing in front of their home fans as well, as they have that “home” game overseas, two road games and a bye week during that stretch.
Oakland Raiders
Oakland has a home opener on Monday Night Football against the Rams and then travels until Week Four. They also have a Christmas Eve contest in prime time and then a short week before their Week Seventeen finale in Kansas City. Given that the team is bringing in a new coach, the opening will be an adjustment, and then things don’t get easier after that.
L.A. Rams
The Rams have a “home” game against Kansas City in Mexico City, but that’s just part of a series of ten weeks in which they play at the Coliseum just twice, and then they host Philadelphia in Week Fifteen. The Rams have to play three consecutive road games in October thanks to the fact that they share the stadium with USC. The Rams do get to play the Cardinals twice, but still…
Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals open with three of four games away from Paul Brown Stadium. They also play the NFC South, which means that they have four tough interconference games — the Falcons, Saints, Buccaneers and Panthers all have designs on the playoffs and could all finish above .500, while the Bengals are definitely in need of a rebuild.
Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore has three straight road games from Weeks Four through Six, and they have four of six on the road overall to open the season, including a trip to Cincinnati in Week Two. Plus, like Cincinnati, they have those four NFC South teams to deal with.
Atlanta Falcons
That opener in Philadelphia will be tough enough, but they also face Green Bay and Pittsburgh on the road — and they finish at Carolina and at Tampa Bay. They also play New Orleans on the road on Thanksgiving. So they have plenty of potential pitfalls awaiting them.
New Orleans Saints
Weeks Thirteen through Fifteen are all on the road for the Saints, as they face Dallas, Tampa Bay and Carolina away from home — and if you add Thanksgiving to that mix, they have to play three games that aren’t on Sunday during that stretch, adding to some chaos in their logistical scheduling.
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