Dallas's 8 opponents have a combined record of 33-32. Of their 8 opponents, 4 have records above .500, and they played two road games against teams with records above .500. Dallas played 3 teams with records below .500 and played two games against teams currently in first place (vs. NYG, @ Sea) The Cowboys played 4 games at home and 4 on the road.
New York's 8 opponents have a combined record of 31-35. Of their 8 opponents, 4 have records above .500, and they played 2 road games against teams with records above .500. The Giants played 3 teams with records below .500, and played one game against a team currently in first place (vs. Den) The Giants played 5 games at home and 3 on the road thanks to the ridiculous ruling by the NFL to move the Saints game to the Meadowlands.
Philadelphia's 8 opponents have a combined record of 37-29. Of their 8 opponents, 6 have records above .500, and they played 5 road games against teams with records above .500. Those 5 teams have a combined 2 home losses by the way, one of which was Philly winning at Kansas City (and I think we all know what the other one was
) The Eagles played just 2 teams with records below .500, and played 2 teams currently in 1st place (@ Den, @ Atl). The Eagles played 3 games at home, and 5 games on the road.
Washington's 8 opponents have a combined record of 39-25. Of their 8 opponents, 6 have records above .500, and they played 4 road games against teams with records above .500. The Redskins played just one game against a team with a record below .500, and have played 4 teams currently in 1st place (vs. Chi, vs. Sea, @ Den, @ NYG). The Redskins played 4 games at home, and 4 games on the road.
Based on these numbers it's obvious that the Giants had by far the easiest schedule of the 4 NFC East teams in the first half of the season, and they held serve by posting a record of 6-2. The question of who had the toughest schedule would have to come down to either the Eagles or Redskins. Although the Redskins opponents had a higher winning percentage, I am going to give the edge to Philadelphia because they had to play 5 road games, all against winning teams.
Toughest 1st Half Schedules:
1. Philadelphia
2. Washington
3. Dallas
4. NY Giants
After determining this, I wanted to see who has the toughest road ahead of them in the second half of the 2005 season. Here's what I came up with:
The Cowboys' 8 second half opponents have a combined record of 39-25. Dallas will play 5 teams who currently have records above .500, including 3 on the road. Dallas plays only 1 team with a record below .500, and will face 3 teams that are currently in 1st place (@ NYG, vs. Den, @ Car)
Biggest advantage: Not many advantages here as Dallas' 2nd half schedule is brutal. The best thing they have going for them is that they will be hosting a mediocre St. Louis team on the last Sunday of the season on Sunday Night Football, while the Eagles and Redskins play each other that week and the Giants are in the Black Hole.
Biggest disadvantage: Dallas has posted a record of 2-1 in the NFC East, but they played all 3 division home games in the first half. That means they will be visiting all 3 division rivals over the final 8 games, starting Monday night.
The Giants' 8 second half opponents have a combined record 34-30. New York will play 4 games against teams with records above .500, including 2 on the road. New York will play 2 teams with records below .500, and 1 team currently in first place (@ Sea).
Biggest advantage: Easy. Despite playing 5 home games in the first half of the season, they still have 4 to come in the 2nd half bc of the NFL ridiculously giving them 9 home games this season, the equivalent of giving an NBA team 4 extra home games, or an MLB team 8 extra home games.
Biggest disadvantage: When you get to play 7 home games before Thanksgiving, you do eventually have to pay. 4 of the Giants last 6 games will be on the road, including trips to Seattle, Philadelphia, and Washington.
The Eagles' 8 second half opponents have a combined record of 36-28. Philly will play 5 games against teams with records above .500, but just 1 of those games will be on the road. The Eagles will play 2 teams with records below .500, and will play 3 teams currently in 1st place (vs. Sea, @ NYG, vs. NYG)
Biggest advantage: Philly has 5 of their last 8 games at home, and will be hosting all 3 NFC East rivals during the 2nd half of the season, giving them plenty of chances to make up ground in the division.
Biggest disadvantage: Nothing glaring here. The main thing would be that Philly is currently in a lot of turmoil as they head into a crucial two game stretch vs. Dallas and @ NYG. If they lose both of those games, they are done.
The Redskins' 8 2nd half opponents have a combined record of 34-31. Washington will play 4 teams with records above .500, but just one of those game will be on the road. The Skins will play 2 teams with records below .500, and 1 team that is currently in 1st place with the Giants coming to town on Christmas Eve.
Biggest advantage: Washington plays the 3 division rivals during their last 3 games, including getting Dallas and New York at home in December. That gives them a lot of room for error.
Biggest disadvantage: The Redskins have the toughest final game of any of the division teams as they will be traveling to Philly to take on an Eagles team that will be out for revenge.
Overall, I believe Dallas has the toughest 2nd half schedule, with Philly a clear 2nd. The easiest schedule is a virtual tossup between NYG and Washington, but I'll give a slight edge to the Redskins because NYG plays 4 of their last 6 games away from the Meadowlands.
Toughest 2nd Half Schedules:
1. Dallas
2. Philadelphia
3. NY Giants
4. Washington
Things seem to be setting up well for the Redskins in the 2nd half. I think it's entirely realistic to think they could be 8-5 heading into the final 3 game stretch of NFC East games, which would put them in great position to make the playoffs.
I believe Atlanta and Carolina will both come out of the South, with Chicago winning the North, and Seattle winning the West. That means the NFC East will get 2 teams in. With an easier schedule than Philly or Dallas in the 2nd half, and holding a head to head win in Dallas, and a better record than Philly, the Skins appear to be in a good position to secure one of those 2 spots. However, it's clearly anyone's game in this division.
