New England's easy path to a winning record raises questions. Discover how their last-place Strength of Schedule impacts Texans' potential advantage.
There's been much controversy in the social media space as of late about the legitimacy of teams like the Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots due to how low they rank in Strength of Schedule according to the NFL's Football Power Index.
Strength of Schedule Explained
According to the resource, Strength of Schedule is measured by the quality of opposing teams on any given team's schedule during the regular season. Based on the records of those teams faced, a calculation is performed that tells us how strong a team is in light of their opponent's combined performances against the rest of the league.
In other words, the more a team faces the worst-performing rosters in the NFL, the lower they place on the ranking list, while facing difficult teams throughout the year will place a team much higher on the list.
The easier the schedule, the more a team's record and postseason viability can be called into question for authenticity. The harder the schedule, the more a team looks like a serious threat due to having defeated the best of the best every week to make the playoffs.
Patriots' SOS: 32nd
In reference to the aforementioned Patriots, they finished the season ranked dead-last (#32) in Strength of Schedule. Meaning, they acquired a 14-3 record against the easiest schedule in the entire NFL, according to the combined seasonal performances of the teams they faced. This reality has cast a bit of a shadow on a resurgent season for the Patriots.
Across all 17 games in the regular season, they faced (with results):
- Las Vegas Raiders (3-14): L
- Dolphins (7-10): W
- Steelers (10-7): L
- Panthers (8-9): W
- Bills (12-5): W
- Saints (6-11): W
- Titans (3-14): W
- Browns (5-12): W
- Falcons (8-9): W
- Buccaneers (8-9): W
- Jets (3-14): W
- Bengals (6-11): W
- Giants (4-13): W
- Bills (12-5): L
- Ravens (8-9): W
- Jets (3-14): W
- Dolphins (7-10): W
Combined record of opponents: 113-176 (.391), -63 win/loss differential
- Times facing an opponent with a losing record: 14
- Times facing an opponent with 10+ losses: 10
- Victories against an opponent with a losing record: 13
- Times facing an opponent with a winning record: 3 (Steelers, Bills x2)
- Times facing an opponent with 10+ wins: 3 (Steelers, Bills x2)
- Victories against an opponent with a winning record: 1
Note: In the AFC Wildcard round, the Los Angeles Chargers (11-6) became only the third different team (fourth total game) with a winning record that New England has faced this year.
The Patriots defeated the Chargers 16-3, which gave them only their second victory of the year against a team with a winning record (now 2-2).
This Sunday afternoon, at 2:00 p.m. from Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, The Houston Texans (12-5) will be only the fourth different team (fifth total game) with a winning record New England will face this season. Along with that, Houston sports the best defense that the Patriots will face for the rest of the postseason.
With the Patriots seemingly less battle tested than ideal, the Texans and their sixth-strongest NFL Strength of Schedule mark might be able to take advantage and bring a level of pressure that could prove to be New England's undoing.
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