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The Indianapolis Colts will be looking to turn things around under a new regime, and there’s a chance they have an easier path to do so based on the strength of their schedule in 2023.
We already know the Colts’ opponents for the upcoming campaign so we can calculate both ways of looking at a team’s strength of schedule. Though flawed, the most common process is looking at a team’s list of opponents based on their performance during the previous season.
For the Colts, they will have the fourth-easiest strength of schedule, courtesy of Bills Wire.
| Rank | Team | Record | Win Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Philadelphia Eagles | 161-123-4 | .566 |
| 2 | Miami Dolphins | 158-127-2 | .554 |
| 3 | New York Giants | 157-129-2 | .549 |
| 3 | New England Patriots | 156-128-3 | .549 |
| 3 | Dallas Cowboys | 156-128-4 | .549 |
| 6 | New York Jets | 155-129-3 | .545 |
| 7 | Buffalo Bills | 155-131-2 | .542 |
| 8 | Washington Commanders | 153-133-2 | .535 |
| 9 | Los Angeles Rams | 152-133-3 | .533 |
| 10 | Las Vegas Raiders | 150-136-2 | .524 |
| 11 | Arizona Cardinals | 148-137-3 | . 519 |
| 12 | Denver Broncos | 148-138-2 | .517 |
| 12 | Seattle Seahawks | 148-138-2 | .517 |
| 12 | Los Angeles Chargers | 149-139-0 | .517 |
| 15 | San Francisco 49ers | 147-139-2 | .514 |
| 16 | Kansas City Chiefs | 147-140-0 | . 512 |
| 17 | Cincinnati Bengals | 146-140-2 | .510 |
| 18 | Chicago Bears | 143-145-1 | .497 |
| 18 | Minnesota Vikings | 143-145-0 | .497 |
| 20 | Detroit Lions | 143-146-0 | .495 |
| 21 | Baltimore Ravens | 138-147-2 | .484 |
| 22 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 138-148-2 | .483 |
| 23 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 135-148-4 | .477 |
| 24 | Green Bay Packers | 137-151-1 | .476 |
| 25 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 134-151-2 | .470 |
| 26 | Cleveland Browns | 131-154-2 | .460 |
| 27 | Carolina Panthers | 130-157-2 | .453 |
| 28 | Tennessee Titans | 127-157-4 | .448 |
| 29 | Indianapolis Colts | 124-162-2 | .434 |
| 30 | Houston Texans | 123-163-2 | .431 |
| 31 | New Orleans Saints | 122-164-3 | .427 |
| 32 | Atlanta Falcons | 119-167-3 | .417 |
Teams undergo massive changes every offseason so it’s somewhat of a flawed process to base a team’s strength on the previous season. So another way to look at it is through projected win totals—another somewhat flawed process.
According to Sharp Football Analysis, the Colts still have the fourth-easiest schedule based on projected win totals. So either way, the result remains the same.
Part of this is due to the fact that the Colts finished with just four wins in 2022. So a portion of the schedule includes teams who finished in third place in their respective divisions just as Indy did.
With a rookie quarterback, expectations should be tempered. However, the perceived easier strength of schedule could lend its way to a smoother transition for a team that introduced 12 rookies via the draft.
The 2023 schedule will be announced at 8:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, May 11.