2022 NFL strength of schedule rankings for all 32 teams

By Kevin Kelley -

2022 NFL Strength of Schedule rankings for all 32 teams have been calculated for the upcoming season, and a couple of different methods are available.

The first method, the winning percentage method, is not an exact science due to player trades, free agency, injuries, and the draft. This method is based solely on the combined record of a team’s opponents from the previous season.

Below are the strength of schedule rankings using the winning percentage method, which includes the combined opponent record and winning percentage from the 2021 season.

Winning Percentage Method

Rank Team Opp. Record (2021) Opp. Winning % (2021)
1 LA Rams 164-125-0 .567
2 Arizona Cardinals 157-132-0 .543
3 Cincinnati Bengals 154-133-2 .536
4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 154-134-1 .535
T-5 San Francisco 49ers 154-135-0 .533
T-5 Kansas City Chiefs 154-135-0 .533
T-7 Las Vegas Raiders 152-136-1 .528
T-7 New Orleans Saints 152-136-1 .528
9 Atlanta Falcons 151-137-1 .524
10 LA Chargers 150-139-0 .519
11 Seattle Seahawks 149-139-1 .517
T-12 Pittsburgh Steelers 148-141-0 .512
T-12 Carolina Panthers 147-140-2 .512
T-12 Buffalo Bills 147-140-2 .512
15 Denver Broncos 147-142-0 .509
16 New England Patriots 143-144-2 .498
T-17 New York Jets 142-145-2 .495
T-17 Cleveland Browns 142-145-2 .495
19 Houston Texans 141-148-0 .488
20 Minnesota Vikings  139-148-2 .484
21 Miami Dolphins 138-149-2 .481
22 Green Bay Packers 137-150-2 .478
23 Baltimore Ravens 136-151-2 .474
T-24 Chicago Bears 135-152-2 .471
T-24 Tennessee Titans 136-153-0 .471
T-26 Jacksonville Jaguars 135-153-1 .469
T-26 Indianapolis Colts 135-153-1 .469
28 Detroit Lions 135-154-0 .467
29 New York Giants 134-154-1 .465
30 Philadelphia Eagles 133-154-2 .464
T-31 Washington Commanders 133-155-1 .462
T-31 Dallas Cowboys 133-155-1 .462

The Los Angeles Rams, the reigning Super Bowl champions, have the toughest schedule in 2022 using the winning percentage method, just ahead of the Arizona Cardinals. Cincinnati is third, followed by Tampa Bay in fourth and San Francisco and Kansas City in a tie for fifth.

The distance from first (LA Rams) to fifth-place (San Francisco, Kansas City) is 10 games in the win column.

The Dallas Cowboys and Washington Commanders have the easiest schedule in 2022, according to the winning percentage method. The remainder of the NFC East, the New York Giants (29th) and Philadelphia Eagles (30th), round out the bottom four.

Sharp Football Analysis offers an alternative NFL strength of schedule ranking this season based on projected win totals from Vegas oddsmakers.

Sharp uses 2022 projected win totals because this method is “…much better than so many widely used metrics that use the previous season’s record.” Below are their rankings using that method.

Projected Win Totals Method

Rank Team
1 Washington Commanders
2 Chicago Bears
3 Philadelphia Eagles
4 Indianapolis Colts
5 Seattle Seahawks
6 Dallas Cowboys
7 Jacksonville Jaguars
8 New York Giants
9 Cleveland Browns
10 Minnesota Vikings
11 Miami Dolphins
12 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
13 Green Bay Packers
14 Baltimore Ravens
15 New Orleans Saints
16 Detroit Lions
17 Carolina Panthers
18 Denver Broncos
19 Tennessee Titans
20 Buffalo Bills
21 Atlanta Falcons
22 Los Angeles Chargers
23 Houston Texans
24 New England Patriots
25 Arizona Cardinals
26 Cincinnati Bengals
27 Pittsburgh Steelers
28 Las Vegas Raiders
29 San Francisco 49ers
30 Los Angeles Rams
31 New York Jets
32 Kansas City Chiefs

Using the Vegas win total method, the Washington Commanders have the toughest schedule in 2022, while the Kansas City Chiefs have the easiest.

To compare, the Commanders have the toughest schedule using Vegas win totals, while they are tied for 31st using the winning percentage method. The Kansas City Chiefs, who are deemed to have the easiest schedule using Vegas win totals, are tied for 5th toughest using the winning percentage method.

The 2022 NFL Schedule is set for release on Thursday, May 12 at 8:00pm ET. Week 1 of the 2022 season will be revealed on Thursday morning.

NFL Schedules