Sharp Football Analysis released its strength-of-schedule rankings for the 2024 NFL season, and the Indianapolis Colts have the seventh-easiest schedule by these projections.
Here are the 10 teams with the easiest schedules according to Sharp:
1. Atlanta Falcons
2. Los Angeles Chargers
3. Chicago Bears
4. New York Jets
5. New Orleans Saints
6. Cincinnati Bengals
7. Indianapolis Colts
8. Miami Dolphins
9. Philadelphia Eagles
10. Carolina Panthers
To calculate these rankings, Sharp used the projected win totals that were determined by the oddsmakers for each of the teams’ opponents.
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The Colts not only have the easiest strength of schedule within the AFC South, but the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans have two of the more difficult schedules by this metric, ranking 26th and 27th, respectively. Jacksonville, meanwhile, is ranked 14th.
The Colts nondivisional opponents are: Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Miami, Pittsburgh, Green Bay, Minnesota, New England, the New York Jets, Denver and the New York Giants.
Of those teams, Buffalo, Detroit, Miami, Green Bay and Pittsburgh made the playoffs last season. The Colts will play each of those teams, except for Green Bay, at home.
As of now, we know who the Colts will play, but we won’t know the exact schedule until May.
Once that is released, other contributing factors that can make a schedule either more or less daunting include how many air miles have to be traveled, when the bye week is, how long the longest road trip is and when it takes place. On top of that, other factors include: Is there a stretch of games against top-tier opponents, and will the Colts play more home or road games in that final month of the season?
After finishing 9-8 last season and just missing out on the playoffs, the Colts have their sights set on making it back to the playoffs with Anthony Richardson back under center.