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“NFL-Ranking the Schedules”

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Who has the Best 2024-NFL Schedule?  Who has the Worst”
Courtesy Pro Football Focus
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NFL’s Best 2024 Schedules
Atlanta Falcons
Let’s start with this: According to Pro Football Network’s strength of schedule metrics, the Falcons will have the NFL’s easiest schedule in 2024.

New head coach Raheem Morris and quarterback Kirk Cousins won’t have to face a difficult slate as they aim to bring the NFC South crown to Atlanta for the first time since 2016. None of the Falcons’ final eight opponents made the playoffs last season.

Meanwhile, Atlanta will only play back-to-back road games once in 2024. Even then, those away matchups against the New Orleans Saints and Denver Broncos in Weeks 10 and 11 will lead right into the Falcons’ Week 12 bye.

Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati’s schedule ranks as the fourth-easiest by our SOS metrics. While the AFC North is one of the NFL’s most competitive divisions, the Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Cleveland Browns’ schedules rank among the league’s 10 most challenging.

The Bengals will benefit from a fourth-place schedule in 2024, and they’ll also enjoy less travel time than most other teams. Cincinnati will travel just 10,611 miles next year, the second-fewest in the NFL.

Detroit Lions
The Lions will kick off the Sunday Night Football schedule with a Week 1 game against Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams. Jared Goff beat his former team in the NFC Wild Card Round — can he do it again in 2024?

Goff and the Detroit offense should be firing on all cylinders next season, especially after the NFL gifted them a points-friendly schedule. The Lions won’t play a game outdoors until they face the Green Bay Packers in Week 9, and they’ll only play outside three times all season.

Philadelphia Eagles
While the Eagles will have to leave the country to play the NFL’s first-ever Brazil game in Week 1, the rest of their schedule is pretty favorable.

Philadelphia’s schedule is the league’s 10th-easiest by PFN’s SOS. Nick Sirianni and Co. won’t have to face a team coming off a bye week in 2024, meaning they’ll never be at a rest disadvantage.

The Eagles get to close the season with the Carolina Panthers, Washington Commanders, and New York Giants as three of their final five opponents.

NFL’s Worst 2024 Schedules
New England Patriots
It doesn’t get much worse than this. The Patriots have the hardest schedule in the NFL and will travel the fourth-most miles (25,071) in 2024.

Three of New England’s first four games are on the road, including daunting matchups against the Bengals, New York Jets, and San Francisco 49ers. The Pats get two home games after that stretch, but they’re against the Miami Dolphins and Houston Texans, two of the AFC’s best clubs.

There’s no reprieve on New England’s schedule. They have a late bye (Week 14), then have to face Josh Allen and the Bills twice in three weeks to close the season. Good luck, Drake Maye!

Pittsburgh Steelers
If Mike Tomlin’s club wants to sneak into the playoffs again, it will have to overcome an overwhelming end-of-season gauntlet.

The Steelers will play seven games in 38 days from Week 11 through 17 — that’s a game every 5.43 days, on average. They’ll have two games with just four days of rest, including a Christmas Day matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Here’s how Pittsburgh’s schedule concludes: vs. BAL, at CLE, at CIN, vs. CLE, at PHI, at BAL, vs. KC, vs. CIN. It’s the hardest closing stretch in the league by a wide margin.

Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins will take cross-country flights to face the Seattle Seahawks in Week 3 and the Los Angeles Rams in Week 10. Miami reportedly preferred those West Coast games in back-to-back weeks, but the NFL scheduled them months apart.

Moreover, the Dolphins will have a 47-day stretch with one home game on the docket. From Weeks 3 through 7, Miami’s only appearance at Hard Rock Stadium will be a Week 4 Monday night game against the Tennessee Titans.

Plus, the Dolphins have post-December 1 games in cold-weather locations, with matchups against the Packers (Week 13), Browns (Week 16), and Jets (Week 17) on the docket.

Kansas City Chiefs
Although they’re the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Chiefs will face the NFL’s ninth-easiest schedule in 2024. That’s the good news.

Conversely, Kansas City is scheduled to play eight standalone games next year, more than any other team in the league. Moreover, the Chiefs have a brutal stretch near the end of the season, when they’ll face the Browns, Texans, and Steelers in a 10-day span.

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