The Cleveland Browns have been a feel-good story after doubling their win total over the past two season in just five 2018 games. Can they keep it up? It will be a tough climb with their schedule.
ESPN’s NFL Football Power Index (FPI) projects the Browns to have the second most difficult remaining schedule in the league. But how does your team’s schedule stack up through Week 17? As you read through our Week 6 NFL Power Rankings, we have strength-of-schedule (SOS) ranks based on FPI for every team.
How we rank the teams: Our power panel — a group of more than 80 writers, editors and TV personalities — evaluated how all 32 teams stack up through the first five weeks of the season.
Record: 5-0
Week 5 ranking: 1
Rest-of-season SOS ranking: 16th. The Rams’ toughest remaining game is Week 9 at the Saints, where they have a 57 percent chance to win, according to FPI. The Rams are the only team in the NFL favored to win all of their remaining games. — Doug Clawson
Record: 5-0
Week 5 ranking: 2
Rest-of-season SOS ranking: 23rd. The Chiefs’ toughest game of the season, according to FPI, will be Sunday night at the Patriots, where they have a 33 percent chance to win. The Chiefs are the fifth team to enter a road game at the Patriots with a record of 5-0 or better since Bill Belichick became head coach in 2000. Two of the previous four such teams lost. — Joey Koontz
Record: 3-2
Week 5 ranking: 5
Rest-of-season SOS ranking: 29th. The Patriots’ toughest remaining game will be in Week 15 in Pittsburgh, where FPI gives them a 45 percent chance to beat the Steelers. Tom Brady is 11-2 in his career against the Steelers, including the playoffs. That is the best record by a starting quarterback against the Steelers in the Super Bowl era (minimum 10 starts). — Matt Williams
Record: 4-1
Week 5 ranking: 4
Rest-of-season SOS ranking: 1st. The Saints’ most difficult remaining game comes in Week 7, when they travel to Baltimore. FPI gives New Orleans a 38 percent chance of winning. — ESPN
Record: 3-2
Week 5 ranking: 3
Rest-of-season SOS ranking: 17th. The Jaguars’ toughest game left on the schedule is actually this Sunday when they travel to face the Cowboys, where FPI gives Jacksonville a 44 percent chance to win. The Jaguars are 5-2 since the start of last season, including the playoffs, in games as the FPI underdog. — Koontz
Record: 4-1
Week 5 ranking: 8
Rest-of-season SOS ranking: 13th. The Bengals’ toughest remaining game is Week 11 at the Ravens, where they have a 28 percent chance to win, according to FPI. The Bengals eliminated the Ravens from playoff contention in Week 17 last season with a 31-27 win in Baltimore. — Clawson
Record: 3-1
Week 5 ranking: 10
Rest-of-season SOS ranking: 22nd. The Bears’ toughest remaining game is a Week 17 road game against the Vikings, where they have a 40 percent chance to win, according to FPI. This is actually just one of the Bears’ two remaining games in which they are not projected to win. The other is Week 14 against the Rams, where Chicago has a 41 percent chance to win. — Williams
Record: 3-1
Week 5 ranking: 11
Rest-of-season SOS ranking: 3rd. The Panthers’ toughest remaining game, according to FPI, is a Week 10 matchup in Pittsburgh against the Steelers. FPI gives Carolina a 30 percent chance to win, and has been on point for the Panthers as it has correctly predicted their past 13 games. — Sopan Shah
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Adam Schefter details the implications that Jay Ajayi’s ACL injury has on his future and the Eagles’ running game.
Record: 2-3
Week 5 ranking: 6
Rest-of-season SOS ranking: 6th. The Eagles’ toughest remaining game, according to FPI, comes in Week 15 when they travel to Los Angeles to play the Rams. FPI gives the Eagles a 20 percent chance to win, and it is part of a stretch in which the Eagles are not favored to win three of four games. — Shah
Record: 3-2
Week 5 ranking: 7
Rest-of-season SOS ranking: 10th. The Ravens’ toughest remaining game is Week 16 at the Chargers, where they have a 39 percent chance to win, according to FPI. The most recent time these teams played at the Chargers, Joe Flacco famously converted on a fourth-and-29 to Ray Rice, in the Ravens’ eventual OT win. — Clawson
Record: 2-2-1
Week 5 ranking: 13
Rest-of-season SOS ranking: 26th. The Vikings will travel to New England in Week 13 for their toughest remaining game, in which they have a 30 percent chance to win, according to FPI. This is part of a four-game stretch in which the Vikings face their toughest tests of the season. Minnesota has a 45 percent chance to beat Chicago in Week 11, a 57 percent chance to win against Green Bay in Week 12 and a 41 percent chance to beat Seattle in Week 14. — Williams
Record: 2-2-1
Week 5 ranking: 15
Rest-of-season SOS ranking: 4th. The Steelers’ toughest remaining game is Week 9 at the Ravens, where they have a 38 percent chance to win, according to FPI. The Steelers lost by 12 points to the Ravens in Week 4 this season, and have been swept in the season series three times by Baltimore, most recently in 2015. — Clawson
Record: 2-2-1
Week 5 ranking: 9
Rest-of-season SOS ranking: 19th. The Packers’ toughest remaining game is Week 8 at the Rams, where they have a 24 percent chance to win, according to FPI. Their next toughest game happens to be the following week, when they play on the road at the Patriots, with a 32 percent chance to win. — ESPN
Record: 3-2
Week 5 ranking: 16
Rest-of-season SOS ranking: 20th. The Chargers’ toughest remaining game will be in Week 13 at the Steelers, where FPI gives Los Angeles a 35 percent chance to win. Last time these teams met in Pittsburgh was in 2012 when the Chargers led by as many as 24 points in their 34-24 win. That remains the Steelers’ largest deficit at any point in a home game in the past 10 seasons. — Koontz
Record: 3-2
Week 5 ranking: 12
Rest-of-season SOS ranking: 18th. The Titans’ toughest remaining game, according to FPI, will be in Week 12 at the Texans, where Tennessee has a 34 percent chance to win. That makes sense, given the Titans have lost their past six road games at the Texans by an average of 19.7 PPG, including a 57-14 blowout last season. — Koontz
Record: 3-2
Week 5 ranking: 14
Rest-of-season SOS ranking: 27th. The Dolphins’ toughest game of the season comes in Week 10 in Green Bay, where they have a 20 percent chance to win, according to FPI. The Dolphins earned an OT victory in their most recent trip to Green Bay, in 2010, improving to 4-2 all time at Lambeau Field. Only the Redskins (3-1-1) have a better all-time road record against the Packers. — Koontz
Record: 2-2
Week 5 ranking: 19
Rest-of-season SOS ranking: 8th. The Redskins’ toughest game this season is at Jacksonville in Week 15, where they have a 35.5 percent chance of winning, according to FPI. — ESPN
Record: 2-2-1
Week 5 ranking: 23
Rest-of-season SOS ranking: 2nd. The Browns’ toughest remaining game is Week 8 at the Steelers, where they have a 16 percent chance to win, according to FPI. Cleveland already has tied the Steelers this season, and they are the only team in NFL history to be tied at some point in the fourth quarter of each of their first five games in a season. — Clawson
Record: 1-4
Week 5 ranking: 17
Rest-of-season SOS ranking: 21st. According to FPI, the Falcons’ toughest remaining game is a Week 12 Thanksgiving night matchup against the Saints, where they have a 35 percent chance to win. That will begin a stretch of six games to end the season for Atlanta where they are favored to win just two of those matchups. — Shah
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Record: 2-3
Week 5 ranking: 22
Rest-of-season SOS ranking: 28th. The Seahawks’ toughest remaining game is also at the Rams, in Week 10, where they have a 19 percent chance to win, according to FPI. Following that game Seattle finishes with five of its final seven games at home. Russell Wilson is 6-7 in his career against the Rams, his most losses against any team. — Clawson
Record: 2-3
Week 5 ranking: 18
Rest-of-season SOS ranking: 7th. The Broncos’ toughest remaining game comes in Week 8 at the Chiefs. They currently have just a 20 percent chance to win that game, according to FPI, which is their lowest percentage since the 2011 divisional round against the Patriots. Denver had just a 6 percent chance to win that game and lost 45-10. — Koontz
Record: 2-2
Week 5 ranking: 20
Rest-of-season SOS ranking: 15th. The Buccaneers’ toughest remaining game falls in Week 15 at Baltimore, a matchup that Tampa Bay has a 20 percent chance of winning, according to FPI. That game is third in a stretch of six to end the season in which Tampa Bay is not favored to win. — Shah
Record: 2-3
Week 5 ranking: 25
Rest-of-season SOS ranking: 9th. The Lions’ toughest remaining game is a Week 13 home game versus the Rams, where they have a 26.5 percent chance to win, according to FPI. Detroit already has won two home games this season in which they were not favored — Week 3 versus the Patriots and Week 5 versus the Packers. — ESPN
Record: 2-3
Week 5 ranking: 26
Rest-of-season SOS ranking: 32nd. The Texans’ toughest remaining game comes in Week 16 at the Eagles, where FPI gives Houston a 34 percent chance to win. Last time they faced a defending Super Bowl champion was just last year in Week 3, when they hung tough with the Patriots but ultimately lost 36-33 thanks to a Tom Brady touchdown pass to Brandin Cooks with 23 seconds remaining. — Koontz
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Ryan Clark and Tim Hasselbeck weigh in on the Giants’ quarterback situation and the confidence the front office has in franchise QB Eli Manning.
Record: 2-3
Week 5 ranking: 21
Rest-of-season SOS ranking: 14th. The Cowboys will travel to Philadelphia in Week 10 for their toughest game of the season, followed by a trip to Atlanta for their second-toughest game of the season, according to FPI. The Cowboys have a 28 percent chance to beat the Eagles, and a 34 percent chance to beat the Falcons the week after. — Shah
Record: 1-4
Week 5 ranking: 24
Rest-of-season SOS ranking: 31st. The Colts’ toughest remaining game will be in Week 13 at the Jaguars, where FPI gives Indianapolis a 32 percent chance to win. The Colts have already won a game this season in which they had worse odds to win: In Week 2, FPI gave them a 30 percent chance to beat the Redskins on the road, but they won 21-9. — Koontz
Record: 2-3
Week 5 ranking: 29
Rest-of-season SOS ranking: 24th.The Jets’ toughest remaining game will be in Week 17 in New England, where they have a 17 percent chance to beat the Patriots, according to FPI. The Jets have lost nine straight regular-season meetings at New England, their longest road losing streak against a single opponent in the Super Bowl era. — Williams
Record: 1-4
Week 5 ranking: 28
Rest-of-season SOS ranking: 25th. According to FPI, the Giants’ toughest game left on their schedule falls in Week 12 in a matchup against the Eagles in Philadelphia. FPI gives the Giants a 28 percent chance to beat the Eagles, something they’ve done only once in their past eight tries. — Shah
Record: 2-3
Week 5 ranking: 31
Rest-of-season SOS ranking: 30th. The Bills’ toughest remaining game will be in Week 16 in New England, where FPI gives them a 13 percent chance to beat the Patriots. However, the Bills upset the Vikings in Week 3 despite having just a 9 percent chance to win, the biggest NFL upset since 2009, according to FPI. — Koontz
Record: 1-4
Week 5 ranking: 27
Rest-of-season SOS ranking: 12th. The 49ers’ toughest remaining game is a Week 17 matchup at the Rams, where they have a 11 percent chance to win, according to FPI. The last time these two teams met without Jimmy Garoppolo playing was Week 3 last season, when the Rams won 41-39. — Clawson
Record: 1-4
Week 5 ranking: 30
Rest-of-season SOS ranking: 11th. The Raiders’ toughest game of the season, according to FPI, will be in Week 12 at the Ravens, where they have a 17 percent chance to win. The Raiders are 1-5 all time in Baltimore, but won the last meeting in 2016 behind Derek Carr‘s four touchdown passes. — Koontz
Record: 1-4
Week 5 ranking: 32
Rest-of-season SOS ranking: 5th. The Cardinals’ toughest remaining game is Week 12 at the Chargers, where they have a 14 percent to win, according to FPI. That begins a six-game stretch for Arizona to end the season where they are the underdog in each game. — Clawson
Source:ESPN
