Ian Allan

They don't call it the NFC Worst for nothing. Since the NFL went to an eight-division setup in 2002, the teams that have played the easiest schedules have all come from the NFC West division - Seahawks, Rams and Cardinals.

What does it mean? That the teams in that division, including the 49ers, haven't tended to be very good. That division has tended to have lots of teams with losing records, and that's helped the teams in that division tend to play the easiest schedules in the league.

At the other end of the spectrum, the four teams that have played the most difficult schedules have come from four different divisions - Oakland, Buffalo, Washington and Jacksonville.

These numbers are based on how teams' opponents have fared in games against other teams. Seattle's opponents, for example, have gone only 654-785-1 in games against other teams in the last six years. Teams' own games aren't included; otherwise, they tend to pollute the results. The Patriots, for example, went 16-0 last season; if their opponents had gone a combined 124-132, you might think the Patriots had played an easy schedule, when in fact those teams would have gone 124-116 in games against other teams.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE, 2002-2007
Combined win-loss records of opponents since the NFL went to its eight-division format in 2002.

   W    L   T   Pct.
654  785  1  .455  Seattle
687  753  0  .477  St. Louis
689  751  0  .478  Arizona
691  746  3  .481  Carolina
694  745  1  .482  Chicago
695  744  1  .483  Minnesota
696  741  3  .484  New Orleans
698  742  0  .485  Atlanta
697  740  3  .485  Tampa Bay
701  738  1  .487  Green Bay
707  733  0  .491  San Francisco
709  731  0  .492  Pittsburgh
711  729  0  .494  Dallas
716  721  3  .498  Cincinnati
723  714  3  .503  Baltimore
725  715  0  .503  Kansas City
725  715  0  .503  Philadelphia
725  714  1  .504  Detroit
727  713  0  .505  San Diego
730  709  1  .507  Indianapolis
730  707  3  .508  Cleveland
733  707  0  .509  NY Jets
733  706  1  .509  Tennessee
740  700  0  .514  Miami
740  699  1  .514  New England
741  698  1  .515  Houston
741  698  1  .515  NY Giants
745  695  0  .517  Denver
745  694  1  .518  Jacksonville
750  690  0  .521  Washington
751  689  0  .522  Buffalo
759  680  1  .527  Oakland
—Ian Allan

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