5 toughest NFL schedules in 2015
By Will Osgood
With the 2015 NFL schedule being released Tuesday night, here are the five most difficult schedules.
The 2015 NFL schedule is officially out! Go crazy fans, go crazy! Or don’t. We’ve known about this for quite awhile already. But now, you have the opportunity to book travel for road trips and such, if you so desire.
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Anyhow, the dates and times do affect, to some small extent which teams have the most difficult schedule. For instance there are a few teams who must play three consecutive road games in 2015.
A few other teams play three games in a matter of 12 days. In other words, those are tough schedules. At the end of the season, those can catch up to a team.
It’s those details–the when and where–which make a schedule more or less difficult. Let’s quickly look at the five teams the schedule makers didn’t do any favors in 2015.
Denver Broncos
Looking quickly at the schedule, the first three games are brutal for the Denver Broncos. They begin starting out hosting the Baltimore Ravens in new head coach Gary Kubiak’s first game. Kubiak, of course, was the Ravens’ offensive coordinator a season ago. Baltimore will be ready.
Then, after what promises to be one of those black-and-blue type games, the Broncos play just four days later at the also very physical Kansas City Chiefs–who double as a division rival.
If that wasn’t enough, Week 3 features a road trip to Detroit to play the Lions on Sunday Night Football. The Lions may not be as good as they were a season ago, but make no mistake, they’ll be ready to play in that contest.
No team should have that brutal a start in the first year under a new head coach.
Chicago Bears
In the exact same vein as with the Broncos, the Chicago Bears have an absolutely brutal beginning to their new head coach’s first season. John Fox, of course, is coming from Denver, but that’s really more a matter of coincidence than anything else.
Still, the Bears open their 2015 campaign against division rival Green Bay at home (luckily). From there, they host the Arizona Cardinals–a 2014 playoff team, and one of the most physical teams in the NFL.
And then, just when the Bears probably thought the schedule would let up, they found out they have to travel to Seattle to play the Seahawks in Week 3.
They finally get some relief by hosting the Raiders in Week 4. But their other game against the Packers is Thanksgiving Night, when the Packers reportedly will retire Packers great Brett Favre’s jersey.
Yeah, good luck John Fox! Good luck.
Philadelphia Eagles
The opening slate isn’t too friendly to Chip Kelly–one of the hot topics of the offseason–and his Philadelphia Eagles. One way or the other, the Eagles will be starting a new quarterback in 2015–most likely Sam Bradford, though maybe it will be Marcus Mariota?
They open in the Georgia Dome against the Falcons in the very first Monday Night Football game of the season. They then host the Dallas Cowboys–from whom they took running back DeMarco Murray this offseason–in the season’s second week at 4:25 PM ET.
They then travel to the Jets in Week 3, who should be improved in 2015. In Week 5 they play the New Orleans Saints who figure to improve from their surprising 7-9 record from a season ago, though that, too, is a home game.
The schedule also includes at Dallas on a Sunday night in Week 9 and then a possible letdown home game the next week against Miami. In Week 12, they will be the Lions’ Thanksgiving morning opponent, which promises to be a tough task.
They then travel to New England on December 6, and two weeks later host the Arizona Cardinals. All in all, quite a tough schedule.
Seattle Seahawks
It’s kind of a given that teams who finished last season strong, would then have more difficult schedules the following year. The NFL and their commitment to parity. The Seahawks, coming off consecutive Super Bowl appearances are no exception.
And unlike last season, they have to play three primetime games on the road. The first of those is in Week 2, when the Packers look to get revenge on them from the NFC Championship Game.
They also play a Monday night home game against Detroit in Week 4, which will almost certainly be something other than a walk in the park. Week 7 features a Thursday night road game in San Francisco. Though the 49ers figure to be a mess, the Thursday night road game simply is not easy.
The next week they travel to Dallas for late afternoon game in “Jerry World.” After their bye week, they host Arizona in primetime, before facing a road contest in Minnesota, which might not be such a cakewalk.
The following week is a primetime contest in Baltimore, which will almost certainly challenge the Seahawks greatly. They finish on the road in Arizona, though that game may not mean anything.
Arizona Cardinals
Only capturing a Wild Card a season ago didn’t help much with the Arizona Cardinals’ 2015 schedule. The Cardinals begin the season hosting a Saints team which will be hungry to start the season off right, after a terribly disappointing 2014 season.
They’re also potentially harmed by the fact they play three road game between October 11 and November 1, all against teams who can be tough at home (Detroit, Pittsburgh and don’t laugh…Cleveland), sandwiched with a Monday night game against the always tough Baltimore Ravens.
After the bye week they travel to Seattle to play in primetime, and then get Cincinnati at home and the Niners on the road which begins a stretch of three games in 12 days. The next week they play at St. Louis (always tough) and then come home to host the Vikings on a Thursday night.
That five game stretch is brutal.
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