2022 NFL Schedule Release: Ranking the Eight Teams With the Toughest Schedules

2022 NFL Schedule Release: Ranking the Eight Teams With the Toughest Schedules

Now that the 2022 NFL schedule has been fully released, we can sort through the best matchups and see which teams have the most daunting slate ahead of them in 2022. Based on 2021 opponents' winning percentage, here are the eight teams with the toughest schedules for the upcoming NFL season. Here is our ranking for the eight NFL teams with the toughest schedules in 2022 and the 2022 NFL odds.

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8. New Orleans Saints (.528 opponents' win percentage)

The good news for the Saints is that they get two relatively soft intra-division opponents for four of their games this year. The Falcons and Panthers are both overflowing with problems so those should be relatively easy for Jameis Winston and the Saints. But they also have a stretch of games in the middle of the season where they play the Bengals, Cardinals, Raiders, Ravens, Rams, 49ers, and Buccaneers in an eight-week span. They have some exciting new additions in Tyrann Matthieu and rookie Chris Olave, and New Orleans has aspirations of dethroning Tampa Bay this year.

7. Las Vegas Raiders (.528 opponents' win percentage)

The new-look offense for the Raiders will get immediate divisional tests in three of the first five weeks of the season. They will get their first looks at Russell Wilson on the Broncos in Week 4 and the Houston Texans in Week 7 look to be the only soft matchup in their first two months. New wide receiver Davante Adams will also face tough matchups in Week 1 against the Chargers, Week 2 against the Cardinals, and Week 3 in the Broncos' game. A nice four-week stretch including games against the Jaguars, Colts, and Seahawks will be a welcome sight by the time the Black and Silver get to Week 9.

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6. Kansas City Chiefs (.533 opponents' win percentage)

According to Elias Sports Bureau, the Chiefs are the first team in NFL history to start a season with eight straight games against teams who had a winning record the previous season. So, not only did they lose Tyreek Hill, and not only did the whole division improve around them, but they have a gauntlet of a schedule right off the bat before things lighten up in the second half. New wide receiver additions Juju Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling better be ready to step up right away because early games against the Chargers, Bills, Buccaneers, and 49ers will put this team to the test.

5. San Francisco 49ers (.533 opponents' win percentage)

The 49ers get a tough start to the season with four of their first six games on the road, including three cross-country trips. One of their two home games is against the Super Bowl champion Rams and then they get the Chiefs and Chargers in Weeks 7 and 10. But the last stretch of the season should be a much better experience for San Francisco, with four of six games at home. One of those last two games is against the Seahawks who could be playing for draft position by the time Week 15 rolls around.

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (.535 opponents' win percentage)

Tampa Bay is going to start the 2022 season with a Murderer's Row schedule that includes consecutive games against the Cowboys, Saints, Packers, and Chiefs before things settle down against the Falcons, Steelers, and Panthers. Before the bye week, another tough stretch looms with back-to-back games against the Ravens and Rams followed by a trip to Germany to face the Seahawks. Tom Brady and the Bucs will have every chance they need in the last two weeks to position themselves for the playoffs when they finish with games against the lowly Panthers and Falcons.

3. Cincinnati Bengals (.536 opponents' win percentage)

When you look at the 2022 schedule for the defending AFC champions, the first 12 weeks look rather manageable. No long stretches against elite opponents, no more than two games in a row on the road, and eight of their first 12 games against teams who won nine games or fewer last year. But then Week 13 comes. From that week to the end of the season, the Bengals get the Chiefs, Buccaneers, Patriots, Bills, and Ravens in a six-week stretch. If the Bengals want to reclaim their spot atop the conference in 2022, the late-season schedule is sure going to make them earn it.

2. Arizona Cardinals (.543 opponents' win percentage)

There may be no team more ready for their bye week to come than when the Cardinals get to theirs in Week 13. They will have just finished a stretch of three games out of four on the road including a Week 12 matchup against the 49ers in Mexico City. Also in that stretch includes the Rams, Seahawks, Chargers, and Vikings. Looking at the early-season schedule, Marquise Brown may get his opportunity to truly break out with no DeAndre Hopkins and good wide receiver matchups against the Chiefs, Raiders, Panthers and Seahawks all happening by Week 6.

1. Los Angeles Rams (.567 opponents' win percentage)

As you might expect from a Super Bowl-winning team from Los Angeles, the Rams are not just squarely in the crosshairs of every team looking to dethrone them, but also the NFL looking to put them on an island game wherever they can. The Rams have six primetime games this year, including four straight in Weeks 14-17. The Rams also get a first-place schedule, their own tough divisional matchups, and divisional matchups against the AFC West in 2022. Their opponents' win percentage of .567 is a massive number, which means any soft matchups will be rare. In fact, the Rams only face four teams who won less than nine games last season - the Falcons, Panthers, Seahawks, and Broncos (who look to be much improved this season). It will be quite a tough road to get back to the Super Bowl in 2022. But the retooled offense with the addition of Allen Robinson and a healthy Cam Akers might have what it takes to make it there.

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