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The 2022 NFL regular season schedule will be released in full on Thursday, May 12th. Opponents for every team have already been determined so this will just tell us when the matchups will take place. The majority of the schedule is based on either divisional rotation or finishing position. As we head to the regular season and schedule release day, we look at the teams with the hardest strengths of schedule based on their opponents, including their projected win totals.
Kansas City Chiefs (11 projected wins)
The Chiefs watched as their divisional opponents got better in the 2022 offseason. Six games against the Denver Broncos, Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers are going to be no easy task, even with Patrick Mahomes under center. If that wasn’t enough, Kansas City will also face off against the Buffalo Bills, the Los Angeles Rams, the Cincinnati Bengals and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Chiefs have been on top of the NFL since 2018 and are riding six straight divisional titles into the 2022 season. They do so with the hardest strength of schedule in the league and will be put to the test this season.
New York Jets (5 projected wins)
The Jets were active on draft night selecting four players in the first 36 picks. They drafted Ohio State WR Garrett Wilson and Iowa State RB Breece Hall to overhaul their offense. Unfortunately for New York, they still project to be at the bottom of the AFC East. They were able to get better, but so were the New England Patriots, Bills and certainly the Miami Dolphins creating six tough divisional games.
They also have games against the Baltimore Ravens, Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers. The Jets are going to look like a better team, but their schedule is going to be doing them no favors.
Los Angeles Rams (11 projected wins)
The Rams are coming off a Super Bowl victory and are looking to be the first team to repeat as champions since the Patriots in 2004 and 2005. Other than the Seattle Seahawks, the NFC West is shaping up to be one of the more competitive divisions in the entire NFL. Four games against the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers could go either way as we saw last year.
Add in games against the Bills, Dallas Cowboys, Broncos, Raiders, Packers, Chiefs, Chargers and Buccaneers and you can see why the deck is stacked against the Super Bowl champs.