The 2023 NFL schedules have officially been released for all 32 teams, and as fans view which games they want to circle on the calendar, some teams are looking at their opponents knowing they have a real shot to pick up a good amount of wins to make the playoffs.
Strength of schedule is determined based on the win percentage of projected opponents from the previous season, which usually provides a baseline for how hard, or in this case easy, wins are going to come by for each team in the NFL.
While wins each week are, of course, tough through the four quarters, these five teams have it much easier than their counterparts in 2023.
Let’s take a look, starting with the fifth-easiest schedule:
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Head coach Mike Vrabel and the rest of the Titans want to erase how their 2022 season ended, seven straight losses which knocked them out of the playoffs and had them finish 7-10.
While they have some hard opponents to start the season – Los Angeles Chargers in Week 2, Week 4 against the Cincinnati Bengals and Week 6 against the Baltimore Ravens in London – they have a stretch of the Atlanta Falcons, Pittsburgh Steelers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Carolina Panthers and Indianapolis Colts from Weeks 8-13, with many of those winnable games.
The Falcons and Steelers have young quarterbacks with developing talent still on the roster, no more Tom Brady in Tampa Bay means big questions for what the Bucs will look like, and while Jacksonville is always a tough division opponent, Carolina and Indy will likely feature rookie quarterbacks in 2023.
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Tennessee could do the same after drafting Will Levis, but this is still Ryan Tannehill’s offense at the moment and Derrick Henry still runs the football very well. Armed with Vrabel’s knack for a solid defense and the Titans will be looking for some revenge after flopping last season.
The AFC South is a theme in this group, as the Colts get just what they need to start rebuilding under new head coach Shane Steichen, who comes over after a brilliant run with the Philadelphia Eagles as their offensive coordinator.
Armed with the fourth overall pick in the NFL Draft, they selected Anthony Richardson out of Florida, surprising some but not when you view what Steichen has been able to do with a running quarterback like Jalen Hurts.
Richardson may be a project, but he does not have the hardest schedule to go against in his rookie campaign. It is division opponents quickly with the Jags and Houston Texans in Weeks 1 and 2 followed by the Ravens, Los Angeles Rams, Titans and Jags again in that order.
While those may be tough games, the Cleveland Browns, Saints, Panthers and New England Patriots are Weeks 7-10 before the bye week. None of those teams reached the playoffs in 2022.
Indy finishes their season with the Steelers, Falcons, Las Vegas Raiders and Texans in the final four weeks as well.
Much like the Colts, the Texans will be hoping their new head coach-quarterback duo will result in positive steps in 2023.
DeMeco Ryans is defensive-minded coming from the San Francisco 49ers, but C.J. Stroud out of Ohio State went No. 2 overall to hopefully be the team’s quarterback of the future. It did not hurt trading up to No. 3 overall either to take Will Anderson out of Alabama to add an elite rookie talent off the edge either.
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The Texans have some fun pieces to watch, including cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. and running back Dameon Pierce, and they will do so as another AFC South team with a favorable schedule.
The Ravens, Miami Dolphins and Jaguars in Weeks 1, 2 and 3 will be tough sledding, but it opens up after that. Pittsburgh, Atlanta, New Orleans, Carolina and Tampa Bay will be the next five games (the bye week comes in Week 7), before facing the Bengals in Week 10. It does get a bit tough toward the end with the Titans in Weeks 15 and 17 as well as the Jets in Week 14. Also, worth noting that the Broncos (Week 13) and Browns (Week 16) could see vast improvements with better quarterback play in 2023.
Derek Carr joins a new team for the first time in his career and gets a good schedule to make his mark early.
He has the weapons with Michael Thomas (if healthy), Chris Olave, and of course, Alvin Kamara in the backfield to get things going on offense in the Bayou. It will all start with the Tennessee Titans in Week 1, but the Panthers, Packers, Bucs, Patriots and Texans follow that. Those should be winnable situations for New Orleans.
We saw how the NFC South shook out last season – the Bucs won the division with just an 8-9 record – so playing the Bucs, Falcons and Panthers twice this year are toss-ups the Saints hope to go their way.
The Chicago Bears, who owned the worst record in the NFL last season, are also on the schedule.
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The team with the easiest schedule in the NFL is the Falcons, and quarterback Desmond Ridder is being looked at to take a leap in his sophomore season.
The Panthers and Packers begin the season at home, which are good matchups for Atlanta as those can go either way, at least looking on paper. The Lions will be tough, as will the Jags in London in Week 4. But the Texans, Commanders and Bucs follow the London game.
Much like the Saints, the Bears, Colts, and Texans grace the schedule, giving the Falcons a chance to make a push in a wide-open NFC South.
