NFL Betting: Top 5 Toughest Schedules
By Covers.com
It doesn't seem fair, but the New England Patriots got the easiest schedule based on opponents' 2011 records. Their opponents went 116-140 (.453).
Let's look at teams that don't have it so easy. Here are the five teams facing the toughest schedules.
NEW YORK GIANTS
2011 record: 9-7 SU, 8-7-1 ATS
Odds to win Super Bowl: 12/1; NFC: 7/1
The Super Bowl champs’ opponents went a combined 140-116 (.547), best in the NFL.
That’s their reward for winning the division last year, and also the luck of the draw. The NFC East faces the AFC North and NFC South, two of the better divisions.
The Giants don’t get their bye until Week 11. Teams prefer it in the middle of the season.
Then they face a brutal closing stretch that makes it hard to envision them repeating last year’s dramatic finish: vs. Green Bay, at Washington, vs. New Orleans, at Atlanta, at Baltimore, vs. Philly.
Giants fans have to hope their team doesn’t need the regular-season finale. The Eagles have won seven of eight over the G-Men, and haven’t lost at the Meadowlands since 2007.
DENVER BRONCOS
2011 record: 8-8 SU, 7-9 ATS
Odds to win Super Bowl: 12/1; AFC: 6/1
Denver is in the same boat as the Giants, getting a first-place schedule along with the AFC North and NFC South. Which means Pittsburgh, Baltimore, New Orleans, etc. So it’s no surprise Denver’s opponents went a combined 139-117 (.543), second-toughest behind the Giants.
Peyton Manning faces five playoff teams in the first seven games, plus division rivals San Diego and Oakland.
Thanks to Manning, the Broncos play the max five primetime games and it’s possible they could be flexed into a sixth. The only good news is the bye comes in Week 7, following one of Denver’s two Monday night games.
"We have a schedule for everything," coach John Fox told the Denver Post, "whether it's Thursday night to the following Sunday or it's a short week, Sunday night, Monday night. I think it's pretty much understood in this league that if you have success, you're going to play more prime-time night games. You have to adjust."
BALTIMORE RAVENS
2011 record: 12-4 SU, 8-7-1 ATS
Odds to win Super Bowl: 12/1; AFC: 5/1
Baltimore and San Francisco are the only teams that play both of last year’s Super Bowl teams, the Patriots and Giants. Ravens’ opponents went a combined 134-122 (.523), tied for fourth-hardest.
Baltimore gets two short turnarounds in the first four weeks. The Ravens open at home against Cincinnati on Monday night, then visit Philly for an early Sunday game. After hosting New England on Sunday night, Sept. 23, they host Cleveland on Thursday.
How about back-to-back road games in Pittsburgh (Nov. 18) and San Diego (Nov. 25)?
Thanks to a raft of early and late home games, the Ravens play only two games at M&T Bank Stadium – where they went 8-0 last season – in all of October and November.
DALLAS COWBOYS
2011 record: 8-8 SU, 5-10-1 ATS
Odds to win Super Bowl: 30/1; NFC: 15/1
Dallas better start fast, because another December swoon is a distinct possibility.
The Cowboys missed the playoffs with a 1-3 finish last season, making them 30-43 in December since 1994. This year’s December schedule: vs. Philly, at Cincy, vs. Pittsburgh, vs. New Orleans, at Washington.
The Dallas Morning News posed this question to readers when the schedule was released: Do you expect another December collapse from the Cowboys?
The bye comes in Week 5, much earlier than coaches like. The Cowboys will need it for their post-bye gauntlet of four road games in five weeks (at Baltimore, at Carolina, vs. Giants, at Atlanta, at Philly).
Dallas does get five of its final seven at home, where it went 5-3 SU but 2-6 ATS last season.
CLEVELAND BROWNS
2011 record: 4-12 SU, 7-7-2 ATS
Odds to win Super Bowl: 200/1; AFC: 100/1
Poor Cleveland. The Browns failed to trade up for Robert Griffin III, then got dealt the third-toughest schedule and hardest for a non-playoff team. Their opponents went 135-121 (.527) last year.
Cleveland faces only four teams that had losing records. One of those is Washington (Dec. 16), the team that outmaneuvered the Browns and traded for the No. 2 pick. Picture RGIII, with nearly a full season under his belt, against battered and weak-armed Colt McCoy.
The Browns also play the Super Bowl champs for the fourth time in five years.
Cleveland got one primetime game, Thursday night, Sept. 27 at Baltimore. Consider that a charity appearance, as the NFL gives every team at least one chance in the spotlight.