NFL Remaining Strength of Schedule 2026

NFL remaining strength of schedule Week 1 2026

Click any column to sort. Team names open that team’s hardest stretch. Records fill in after the first Tuesday results load; until then the played-so-far column is hidden.

Ratings and win chances are MockSlate model numbers from the preseason snapshot, not sportsbook lines. Records are from final scores only.

Hardest remaining NFL schedule 2026 by opponent record

No game is final yet, so every remaining opponent record is 0-0 and this measure has no leader. It fills in with the first Tuesday results load.

Hardest remaining NFL schedule 2026 by model rating

Arizona Cardinals face the highest-rated remaining opponents: an average Elo of 1531, with the model favoring them in 1 of 17 remaining games. Every team starts at 1500 and the ratings move with results, so this measure does not depend on how many games anyone has played.

Where record and rating disagree, Week 1

No game is final yet, so every team is tied for first by opponent record and the comparison has nothing to say. The flag turns on in Week 4 once records exist. From then on, a row is flagged when its rank by opponent record and its rank by opponent rating differ by 8 or more places.

How MockSlate measures strength of schedule

Opponent record is the combined win-loss-tie record of a team’s remaining opponents from final scores, shown as a win percentage with ties counting half. It is the number most sites publish. Model rating is the average MockSlate Elo of those same opponents from the current snapshot, next to the count of remaining games where the model gives the team better than a 50% chance, home field and rest included. Records lie early in a season; ratings do not. The two measures stay separate. A blended score cannot be explained in one sentence, so there is none.

Strength of schedule FAQ

How is NFL strength of schedule calculated?

The common method adds up the current records of a team's opponents and reports the combined win percentage, with ties counting half. MockSlate shows that number for the games still to be played and for the games already played. It also shows a second measure that does not depend on records: the average MockSlate rating of the remaining opponents, and how many of those games the model favors the team in, with home field and rest included. The two are printed next to each other and never combined into one score.

Why do strength of schedule rankings differ between sites?

Because sites measure different things. Some use opponents' records from last season, some use current records, some use a power rating or a betting market, and some blend several of those into one number. Each choice ranks teams differently, and a blended number cannot be traced back to a single definition. MockSlate prints two separate measures with their definitions so the reader can see which one is doing the work.

Does strength of schedule predict wins?

Weakly. Opponent records early in a season are mostly noise, which is why this page also shows a rating-based view, and why the record rank and the rating rank are flagged when they disagree. A hard remaining schedule lowers a team's expected wins, but the size of the effect depends on the gap between the teams, and MockSlate has not measured that gap here. Treat the table as a description of the schedule, not a forecast.