Quote:
Originally Posted by Mile High Mania
On paper before the season, it looks fairly significant… no so much though as it plays out. Yeah, the Bills are the biggest difference, but that’s expected. It’s not as if Denver and Chargers have been feasting on winless teams and KC has run through this gauntlet of mega teams.
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So, if it doesn't make a difference, then why do it? How about next year we give the Broncos the "most difficult" schedule and the Chiefs the "easiest" schedule? You say it's only "on paper," but if you take a look at the current standings, you'll notice that those 2 AFC games that the Chiefs have scheduled differently than the Broncos were both against teams either in first place in their division or nearly so, but both well above .500. OTOH, the Broncos had those 2 games against a last place team, and another that while in 2nd place in their division is still under .500.
The NFL is an extremely difficult league in which to win. Having 12% of your games against competition that is clearly much better than average, versus 12% of your schedule against competition that is either clearly much worse than average or around average is a decided advantage.
The competition for the #1 seed and the final playoff spots will be fierce. A single game decided by the bounce of a football can put teams either in or out of the playoffs. Playing a more difficult schedule makes a big difference.