The NFL Schedule has finally arrived and the football floodgates are open. We have information about the 2015 season, which we can analyze. Following the 2015 NFL Draft, the rosters will pretty much be set. And before we know it, it’ll be flagfest 2015 (preseason).
There’s a number of interesting schedules this year, and so we broke them down for you in “Yearbook Superlative” format.
Least Likely To Succeed (Toughest Schedule): Bengals
Is it finally the year that the NFL extinguishes the Bengals ginger? Andy Dalton has limped along as a Top 20 quarterback for the last few years, but now the 27-year-old is limping into an NFL jungle that’s ready to tear him limb-from-limb. He’ll see the Chiefs, Seahawks, Bills, Texans and Cardinals from weeks four through 11. Then he and the Bengals will finish the season with the Steelers, 49ers, Broncos and Ravens. Baltimore and San Francisco are certainly looking shaky, but “shaky” for them is still formidable.
The Bengals have tools on offense with Dalton, A.J. Green, Jeremy Hill and Gio Bernard. They’ve got the tools on defense with Geno Atkins and Ray Maualuga. But it’s the rest of the guys everyone is going to worry about — especially Marvin Lewis, who may turn into the Mike Smith of 2015. Perhaps Lewis will be the tenured coach that surprisingly gets cut loose.
Runner-up: Steelers
Most Likely to Succeed (Easiest Schedule): Colts
There is murmuring that the Patriots have the easiest schedule AGAIN, but this year may be the first in recent memory where theirs isn’t — there are a lot of young teams turning the corner on their schedule, along with a Week 4 bye and road trips during the playoff push.
I’ll take one the NFL’s most improved teams: the Colts. They face the Titans and Jaguars twice, the AFC East and the NFC South. Andrew Luck is yawning.
The rich get richer, as Luck will be throwing to big-bodied wide receiver Andre Johnson and, of course, shifty T.Y. Hilton. Tight ends Dwayne Allen and Coby Fleener are like a JV Gronk-Hernandez — and that’s still pretty good. And thank fucking god, the witch is dead (Trent Richardson has left the building). Frank Gore will continue to defy age. And Boom Herron will be a sneaky fantasy pickup, as he showed in the Playoffs that he’s more than trustworthy. Most important, the formerly-leaky offensive line is going to solidify. As a result, Luck will throw fewer interceptions (especially against these shitty defenses) and suddenly, he’ll be in the discussion to be “The Best Quarterback in The NFL.”
The defense has a nice mix of experience (see: Trent Cole, Robert Mathis, D’Qwell Jackson), and young talent (see: Arthur Jones, Vontae Davis).
Runner-up: Falcons (more on this at the bottom)
Best Monday Night Football Game: Bills at Patriots – Week 11
It’s slim pickings for Monday Night Football, as was the case last year. But the Bills are like Rex Ryan post-Atkins diet — it’s a whole different look. Combine Rex’s defensive schemes with the talent in Buffalo, and that defense is going to be jaw-dropping good. And Rex also knows how to dial it up against Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. Former Brady backup, Matt Cassel will probably be the starter by week 11, and will be doing his best Alex Smith impression. The result will be a surging Bills squad eager to beat the defending Super Bowl Champions, who will still be figuring how to put it all together on defense with Malcolm Butler as their No. 1 cornerback.
Runner-ups: Bengals-Broncos (This could be a snoozefest if Bengals collapse, and Mannings’ health deteriorates.) Lions vs. Seahawks (Come on… Week 4? The stakes aren’t high enough.)
Here’s a look at the complete schedule:
ESPN’s 2015 Monday Night Football Schedule: pic.twitter.com/AOvRDg5PKg
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) April 22, 2015
Best Thursday Night Football Game: Chargers at Raiders
What if the Raiders go 10-6 next year? It’s not out of the question. They’re going to get one of the best defensive lineman in the draft this year, who will play with Khalil Mack, Charles Woodson and Justin Tuck. And Derek Carr looked like one of the best rookie quarterbacks last year. Mychal Rivera has emerged, and Michael Crabtree has arrived (from the 49ers).
So, the Raiders may be one of the NFL’s best stories, and they’ll take on division-rival Chargers for wildcard-clinching implications on Christmas Eve in Oakland. Plus, there’s a subplot possibility that one or both of these teams could be headed to LA. That’s good drama on and off the field.
Runner-up: Colts at Texans (I can’t wait to see both teams hit the field next year. The Texans defensive line features Vince Wilfork, JJ Watt and JaDeveon Clowney. That’s the best defensive lineman from five years ago, right now and in five years.)
Here’s a look at the complete schedule:
Thursday Night Football is back…http://t.co/cfOZKi249v pic.twitter.com/058IFsbLuF
— NFL Media PR (@InsideNFLMedia) April 22, 2015
Game That Will Matter Least: Bears at 49ers – Week 13
This one is going to be depressing. I’m scared for Colin Kaepernick, who will be the test rat to see if Jim Harbaugh is the QB whisperer everyone has cracked him up to be. Right about the time Harbaugh was rumored to have one foot out of the door in San Fran, Kaepernick started to look stuck in the mud developmentally. Without Harbaugh, will that continue? And who the hell is Jim Tomsula? I’m not impressed.
Jay Cutler is worth as much as his auction football (hint: $0); Brandon Marshall is gone; the Bears’ secondary still blows. Mark my words: John Fox will never make the Playoffs without Tim Tebow or Peyton Manning.
No one will watch this game.
Runner-up: Titans at Jets – Week 14 (Because… duh!)
Game That Will Matter Most: Seahawks at Cardinals – Week 17
The Seahawks franchise looks like the Patriots 10 years ago. Count them in it, so long as they have Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson. That doesn’t mean the final game of the year won’t have big implications — they’ll want to finish strong before the playoffs.
The Cardinals, however, could be a greater wildcard. They return with a more complete offense than they had in 2015 (i.e. they have a quarterback). Carson Palmer is 35, but he looked really good (11 TD, 3 INT) in 2014. Admittedly, they need to reassemble their elite defense, as they lost Todd Bowles to the Jets and a number of important players. Plus, their schedule down the stretch is difficult. But this will be a must-win game.
This could be one of the best games of the year.
Runner-up: Steelers at Ravens – Week 16 (This will be a dogfight with divisional and playoff implications.)
Most Important Fantasy Football games: Steelers at Seahawks – Week 12
Le’Veon Bell. Ben Roethlisberger. Antonio Brown. Martavis Bryant. Heath Miller. Marshawn Lynch. Jimmy Graham. Russell Wilson. Both their defenses. Need I say more? Well, I can’t… that’s all there is to say.
(Note: This is working under the assumption this is your final regular season game of the year.)
Runner-ups: Patriots at Broncos – Week 12.
Random Notes:
– Will rookie quarterbacks Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston open season against each other? The Titans play the Buccaneers at 4:25p during Week 1.
– The Patriots will only have four games at 1pm (the rest of the games will be at 4:00 pm or primetime), yet they are only playing four 2014 playoff teams.
– Tom Brady and Peyton Manning will face for the 17th time. The “who’s better?” debate is quiet for now… but then again, it was quiet at this time last year, and people were leaning toward Manning.
– The Packers play the Seahawks in Week 2. Sure, it’s great we get to see the playoff rematch when there’s fresh blood. But I can’t help but wish we could see it when it really matters… in the end of the season.
– The Falcons play four division games in their last five games. That’s an awesome way to sneak into the playoffs in a really fucking bad division. Plus, they have the easiest schedule from a statistical standpoint.
Team with the easiest strength of schedule entering the season has made the playoffs the last 3 years. @AtlantaFalcons have easiest in 2015.
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) April 22, 2015
– With an incredible amount of luck, Tim Tebow could viably be starting against the Patriots during the Eagles-Pats Week 13 matchup. Sam Bradford’s body could combust by that point. And perhaps, Mark Sanchez will have a bad enough game against the Lions’ tough defense that Tebow sneaks into the starting role… Hey, it could happy.
– Thanksgiving will feature Eagles at Lions, Panthers at Cowboys and Bears at Packers… Classic.
– A lot of coaches will face their former teams, because… coaches have free agency now, too:
Notable coaching reunions in 2015. pic.twitter.com/2Xl586Bp8K
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) April 22, 2015
– Sunday Night Football continues to look like the best primetime spot… far and away:
Este es el calendario para el Sunday Night Football. pic.twitter.com/VGoVwZPucq
— El Refrigerador NFL (@RefrigeradorNFL) April 22, 2015