Tag: opponents

Broncos will face these opponents in 2024 NFL season

Before the schedule is announced in May, here is a look at the Broncos’ opponents for the 2024 NFL season.

Welcome to the NFL offseason.

We do not have the Denver Broncos’ 2024 schedule yet (that will arrive in May), but we do know all of the team’s opponents.

Intriguing matchups on the team’s schedule will include tough road matchups against the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals, plus coach Sean Payton’s return to Louisiana to face his old team, the New Orleans Saints.

After going 8-9 in his first season with the Broncos in 2023, Payton will aim to get Denver back into the playoff hunt in 2024. The Broncos have not returned to the postseason since they won Super Bowl 50 in 2015.

Here’s a look at the team’s list of 2024 opponents.

Home Away
Kansas City Chiefs Kansas City Chiefs
Las Vegas Raiders Las Vegas Raiders
Los Angeles Chargers Los Angeles Chargers
Cleveland Browns Baltimore Ravens
Pittsburgh Steelers New Orleans Saints
Atlanta Falcons Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Carolina Panthers Cincinnati Bengals
Indianapolis Colts New York Jets
Seattle Seahawks

 

Ranking all 32 teams (including the Saints) by their 2024 strength of schedule

Ranking all 32 teams (including the New Orleans Saints) by their 2024 strength of schedule, from toughest to easiest:

The New Orleans Saints had an easy schedule on paper in 2023 but weren’t able to do much with it. They’ll have another shot at it this season as they have the easiest schedule in the league.

A big reason for that ranking is the fact that the NFC South was as weak as it was last season, which includes the Panthers having the worst record in the league. In addition to the NFC South, the Saints also face the NFC and AFC West.

Here is every team ranked by their strength of schedule in 2024, based on their opponents’ combined records during the 2023 season according to pro football researcher Ivan Urena, from toughest to easiest:

What went right, what went wrong for the Saints in 2023

What went right and what went wrong for the New Orleans Saints in 2023? And what’s the bottom line? Taking a look back before moving on to 2024:

You can’t move forward without learning from the mistakes in your past — and at the same time, the New Orleans Saints made some good decisions and did enough things well to end the 2023 season with a winning record. That can’t be overlooked (though it can certainly be overrated, which we’ll get to in a bit).

So with the calendar turning over to 2024, we’re taking a look back at the 2023 campaign to see what went right, what went wrong, and settle on the bottom line; as well as previewing what comes next for a Saints team that insists they’re closer to making some noise in the playoffs than many critics believe:

Once again, the Saints have the easiest strength of schedule going into 2024

Once again, the Saints have the easiest strength of schedule going into 2024. But Dennis Allen’s team has yet to show that matters:

This might sound familiar: the New Orleans Saints are going to enjoy the NFL’s easiest strength of schedule once again in 2024, after having played the weakest slate of opponents in 2023. They’re tied with the division-rival Atlanta Falcons with a 2024 strength of schedule at .453 (131-158). We’ve previewed their full list of opponents here.

But how much does this matter? Saints head coach Dennis Allen couldn’t guide his team to a division title or even a playoff berth despite facing so many bad teams and backup quarterbacks this season. The quality of opponents might not be a big deal when the team is poorly coached and underperforming.

Still, the Saints did finish the 2023 campaign with a winning record (by a single game, admittedly, at 9-8), and internally they’re looking at that as reason for optimism. And frankly they aren’t entirely wrong to do so. Derek Carr finally hit his stride in the final six weeks of the season and led the league’s best scoring offense down the stretch. If the Saints can carry that momentum into 2024 and start strong, maybe it can buoy them to greater success while addressing their weaknesses in the offseason.

Playing in such a vulnerable division helps. All four NFC South teams rank inside the five easiest schedules of 2024. And they’re all mired in mutual mediocrity. Both the Falcons and Carolina Panthers will be introducing new head coaches this year, and it’s still uncertain whether the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a sure thing at quarterback in Baker Mayfield.

But this projection of an easy schedule might not be what it appears. On top of that, the Saints are going to match up with eight teams who made the playoffs in 2023. They went 1-5 against this year’s playoff teams. And a new head coach can turn a bad organization around in a hurry (just look at what DeMeco Ryans and C.J. Stroud have accomplished with the Houston Texans). New Orleans will kick off with teams led by first-year head coaches in at least seven games in 2024.

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2024 Cowboys schedule: List of opponents set

The Cowboys have some tough opponents on their 2024 schedule, as the regular season’s conclusion sets things in stone. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys’ regular season has reached its conclusion, and now the focus shifts to the playoffs for the boys in silver and blue. For the 20th season in a row, the NFC East has a new reigning champion as the Philadelphia Eagles were unable to defend their 2023 title. Dallas’ reached 12 wins for the third consecutive season, and earned the division title outright thanks to their 38-10 drubbing of Washington while the Eagles fell flat against New York.

Finishing first in the NFC East finalizes the list of opponents Dallas will face in 2024. The actual schedule won’t be revealed until March, but here’s a look at the 14 different opponents the club will square off with.

Now we know the New Orleans Saints opponents for 2024 season

Now we know the New Orleans Saints opponents for 2024 season, including matchups with the second-place Rams, Packers, and Browns:

The dust is beginning to settle on the 2023 NFL season, meaning we now know which teams the New Orleans Saints will be playing in 2024. Because the Saints finished the year in second-place in the NFC South, they’ll face a couple of other second-place squads from around the league.

New Orleans will host the second-place Los Angeles Rams (NFC West) and Cleveland Browns (AFC North) while visiting the Green Bay Packers (NFC North), despite having made the trip to Green Bay already this year. Look at it as an opportunity for payback after the Packers rallied to overcome a 17-point lead earlier this season and eventually eliminate the Saints from the playoffs altogether.

Here is every team on the 2024 schedule and their 2023 record:

Denver Broncos’ 2024 opponents are now finalized

We now know all of the Broncos’ opponents for the 2024 season, including Sean Payton making a return to New Orleans to face the Saints.

The Denver Broncos’ 2023 season came to an end on Sunday with a 27-14 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, marking the seventh straight year that Denver has missed the playoffs.

With the loss, the Broncos clinched a third-place finish in the AFC West, which means they will face the same-place finishers from the AFC South (Indianapolis Colts), AFC East (New York Jets) and NFC West (Seattle Seahawks) in 2024.

Denver’s list of 2024 opponents also includes a trip to Louisiana, setting up coach Sean Payton with a showdown against his former team, the New Orleans Saints.

Additionally, the team’s road schedule includes a trip east to visit the Baltimore Ravens, the AFC’s No. 1 team in 2023.

While we already know the opponents, the full 2024 NFL schedule with dates and times will not be announced until May. The league has announced its schedule between May 12-13 over the last three years. Fans can expect a similar timeline for this year’s announcement.

While we wait, here’s a look ahead at the Broncos’ future opponents for the 2024 schedule, with eight games at home and nine on the road.

Sunday’s game will determine final 3 opponents on Broncos’ 2024 schedule

The result of the Raiders game will dictate the Broncos’ opponents from the AFC South (home), AFC East (away) and NFC West (away) in 2024.

Sunday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders does not have playoff implications for the Denver Broncos, but it does have 2024 implications.

If the Broncos win on Sunday, they will clinch second place in the AFC West. If Denver loses, Denver will clinch third place in the division. The team’s final standing in the division matters for the Broncos’ 2024 schedule.

We already know most of Denver’s opponents for next year due to the NFL’s rotating scheduling format, but three games are yet to be determined.

The Broncos will face same-place finishers from the AFC South (home), AFC East (away) and NFC West (away). If Denver finishes second in the AFC West, they will face the second-place teams from those respective divisions (and a third-place finish would net third-place opponents).

In addition to the Broncos-Raiders game, the results of three other games will also come into play this weekend because the AFC South is wide open and the AFC East is going down to the wire.

With the final three teams yet to be finalized, here’s a quick look at Denver’s known 2024 opponents so far.

NFL announces kickoff time for Week 18 Saints-Falcons game

The NFL announced its kickoff time for Week 18’s penultimate Saints-Falcons game, along with other matchups fans should be monitoring:

There it is: the NFL announced that the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons will kick off in Week 18 at noon CT on Sunday, Jan. 7. There are a couple of paths the Saints can take to get to the playoffs, but everything starts with a win at the Caesars Superdome. The game will be broadcast on CBS.

So what other games should be on Saints fans’ radar? The most important matchup is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers-Carolina Panthers tilt which will be broadcast in the same window on FOX. If the Saints and Panthers both win, New Orleans clinches the NFC South and a home playoff game.

But if the Buccaneers win, they’ll take the division for themselves and send the Saints scurrying for a wild-card seed. If that’s the case, here are the games to watch, and who fans should be rooting for marked in bold text:

  • Chicago Bears (7-9) vs. Green Bay Packers (8-8); 3:25 p.m. CT on CBS
  • Seattle Seahawks (8-8) vs. Arizona Cardinals (4-12); 3:25 p.m. CT on FOX

If the Packers win and the Seahawks lose, Green Bay gets the seventh playoff seed. The reverse is also true. Both teams need to lose for the Saints to clinch that seventh playoff seed. The Saints dug themselves quite a hole. They’ll  need help getting out of it, but their season isn’t over just yet.

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WATCH: Breakdown of 2023 season shows how Saints benefit from poor schedule

WWL’s Doug Mouton has an excellent of how the Saints have benefitted from a weak schedule and what the results say about New Orleans.

“The Saints are better than the bad, but not as good as the mediocre.”

This viral video breakdown by WWL’s Doug Mouton does an excellent job showcasing how the Saints have benefited from their weak schedule. New Orleans remains in the playoff race without defeating a good team this year. That’s partially due to a weak division as well.

New Orleans has won every game against the scrubs, lost every game against the good teams, and lost all but one matchups against teams in the middle of the pack. So, where does that put the Saints? At the end of the season, the Saints could end with a winning record without having beaten a team worth bragging about.

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