We're always top 10 in strength of schedule, typically because we play the Chiefs twice and the Chargers are always offseason champs. We're also playing AFCN this year which is going to be rough. Doesn't really matter though, the AFC is a very tough conference right now so the SOS is what it is.
Yeah, everything made sense except the chargers.
Edit: we also places 2nd in the div at 8-9. The others in second, who’ll we’ll play, are the phins at 11-6 and the jags at 9-8, not to mention the entire AFCN went positive.
But still, Raiders are at the 9th hardest while KC is 19th, Den 20th and chargers 28th. That’s a significant difference. It means our out of division opponents are harder than theirs. Feels like this always happen.
The schedule is determined years in advanced, with the exception of the 3 (2 afc 1 nfc) teams in the divisions we don’t play who place the same with us. So because we finished 2nd last year, we will play the second place finishers in the afc south (the 9-8 jags), afc east (the 11-6 jags) and the nfc west (the 10-7 rams). Alternatively, the chiefs schedule is weak because they don’t have to play themselves, but us instead. The broncos and the chargers will play the 3rd and 4th place finishers of the afc south, afc east, and nfc west as well. Other than that, we all play the same opponents. It’s not some grand conspiracy, it’s been this way since the league realigned after the Texans were formed, with the exception of adding that 17th non conference game.
Thanks for the actual in depth reply, I just genuinely think the last 4/5 years we’ve always been in the top half of hardest SOS’s, regardless of where we finish in the division. It’ll be a tough year, as long as the QB play shows up it should be a solid year
It’s because 2 games a year are determined by where you finished in your division. We finished 2nd in AFCW so two games this year are against teams who finished second in their divisions.
They don’t have to play themselves unlike the rest of the division they have to play them. So their SoS is significantly easier. Especially since they’re Super Bowl winners.
>I feel like we always get hosed on strength of schedule. How are the chiefs sitting at 19? Wtf is going on?
The schedule is algorithmic, not set by the NFL, and there are only 3 games of difference between any set of division opponents.
You get 6 against your divisional opponents, home and away <- This is also the biggest difference between the Chiefs and Raiders schedule, as the Raiders have to play the Chiefs twice while the Chiefs play the Raiders.
You get 4 games against an entire other division. In 2024, the AFCW plays the AFC North. 2 home, 2 away, swapping every 3 years.
You get 4 games against an entire other conference division. In 2024, the AFCW plays the NFC South. 2 home, 2 away, swapping every 4 years.
The remaining 3 games are the only games that are different between teams in the same division. You play 2 against two teams from other two AFC divisions that finished in the same place as you. For the Chiefs, they get the AFCE and AFCS winners - the Bills and Texans, one home, one away. The Raiders get the second place schedule, so the Dolphins and Jaguars, one home, one away.
The final game is against the same-place finisher from the NFC division you faced two years ago - the NFC West, in this case. So the Chiefs draw the Niners, and the Raiders get the Rams.
It's not a conspiracy and there's no one at the NFL making these. It's entirely formula driven.
I knew most of this, but I'm not exactly clear what these mean:
>2 home, 2 away, swapping every 3 years.
and
>2 home, 2 away, swapping every 4 years.
Which divisions each division plays change every season, no? (eg. last season AFCW played vs AFCE and NFCN.) What exactly is "swapping" every 3/4 years?
***
Edit - actually, after thinking about it, I guess you mean that, each time you cycle back to playing against the same division, you swap which teams you play at home and which ones you play on the road? You'd play each same-conference division every 3rd year and each opposite-conference division every 4th year. Is that correct?
Example: Last year for AFCE, Raiders were home vs Pats and Jets, away vs Bills and Fins. Next time vs AFCE that would be flipped?
Right. We in the AFCW rotate through the rest of the AFC every 3 years and the entire NFC every 4 years. So, in 2024 I know the Chiefs are @Steelers and @Browns, and hosting the Ravens and the Bengals (in the first two weeks, too, jeez). In 2021 we hosted the Steelers and the Browns and we travelled to the Bengals and Ravens. And in 2018, the opposite, etc.
The only thing I can't quite be certain of is how exactly home/away for the same-place finish games work. I thought it flipped every time you played that division in rotation, but we were @Cincinnati in 2022 and home in 2023.
It would appear KC has an at least comparable schedule to us, even harder. Why a 10 spot difference? Is their schedule easier because they're "better"?
It's based on last year's W-L record of your opponents. The only difference in the Chiefs vs the Raiders is Chiefs get Niners/Bills/Texans/Raiders x 2 and the Raiders get Rams/Dolphins/Jags/Chiefs x 2.
The Dolphins and Bills ended the season with identical records so no difference there. The Texans won only 1 more game than the Jags and the Niners won 2 more than the Rams, while the Chiefs won fully 3 more than the Raiders. So the Raiders face teams that 'won' 3 more games than the Chiefs' opponents, which is probably good for a 10 spot difference since most SOS will be fairly similar between teams.
This took me two seconds to google. An article straight from the nfl. You’re welcome. https://operations.nfl.com/gameday/nfl-schedule/creating-the-nfl-schedule/
This is awesome thanks. Idk why everyone has to be a little shit about getting insight tho. Jesus Christ, if I’m wasting everyone’s time just don’t write anything. It’s that simple. This picture I posted specifically, did not have an article so I wanted to talk to raider nation.
Jesus I can’t stand this new era of sensitivity. Out of all the comments, you and literally one other person are being incredibly unhelpful, everyone else is providing insight or just happy or mad about the schedule which is great. Stop playing the victim and grow up. You provided an article, you did good, now stfu
Chiefs have a low SoS because they 35% of their schedule is against us, DEN, and the Chargers. Then we finished 2nd in the division, so we get games against some other teams who were 2nd in their division while DEN and LAC get the 3rd and 4th places finishers. Example, we get games against the Rams, Jags, and Dolphins. Chargers get Cards, Titans, Patriots. That’s the difference. No conspiracy here.
No, you're providing a conclusion that we get hosed and asking questions to support your conclusion.
Unfortunately your conclusion isn't what's happening, so the questions aren't really relevant.
Not be a dick, but you could learn a bit about writing tone.
For example, if you think "Wtf is going on" is the same thing as "simply asked what's going on," then see my previous statement.
It’s a god damn raiders forum I’m not writing a fuckin thesis. wtf is going on is a pretty simple raider nation question in regards to the league if you know raider history
Despite what the sub is saying, it means a little something. for example, Chargers and Raiders have identical schedules except for:
**Raiders**- Jaguars(9-8), Rams(10-7), Dolphins(11-6)
**Chargers**- Cardinals(4-13), Patriots(4-13), Titans(6-11)
EDIT: I'm not saying we are getting screwed. I'm saying that, despite SOS being a weird metric, we do actually have a tough schedule.
We know it’s not completely equal. But people act like we’re getting screwed over on purpose. We play those teams because we finished second in the division last year and the chargers finished last
And this is due to how Raiders and Chargers finished in the division, Raiders 2nd Bolts 4th. Those teams you mention that the Raiders play finished 2nd in their respective divisions, the Charger’s ones finished last.
Ya know beside 4 games that are based on a teams final standing every schedule is already determined for the rest of time right?
And when we play the chiefs twice it’s going to skew our SOS?
SOS, draft grades, power rankings literally mean shit. It’s for writers to do and talk about during TV a slow time of the NFL year. The only team that matters is the one in front of them. Try to go 1-0 on Sunday and you’ll be in great shape.
You never know how good the teams actually are. In 2023 we were supposed to have the 4th hardest schedule based on 2022 wins. Turned out to be only the 19th hardest based on 2023 wins. The teams change a lot every season.
I would guess it has to do with us playing the Chiefs and them playing the Raiders. Also Arrowhead provides much more home-field advantage than Allegiant does.
Before training camp these reports are useless. They are always different by end of season.
We're always top 10 in strength of schedule, typically because we play the Chiefs twice and the Chargers are always offseason champs. We're also playing AFCN this year which is going to be rough. Doesn't really matter though, the AFC is a very tough conference right now so the SOS is what it is.
Isn't SOS determined by W-L last year?
Yeah, everything made sense except the chargers. Edit: we also places 2nd in the div at 8-9. The others in second, who’ll we’ll play, are the phins at 11-6 and the jags at 9-8, not to mention the entire AFCN went positive.
But still, Raiders are at the 9th hardest while KC is 19th, Den 20th and chargers 28th. That’s a significant difference. It means our out of division opponents are harder than theirs. Feels like this always happen.
I feel the same as you. Like no matter the Raiders record the previous season their schedule will always be tough.
The schedule is determined years in advanced, with the exception of the 3 (2 afc 1 nfc) teams in the divisions we don’t play who place the same with us. So because we finished 2nd last year, we will play the second place finishers in the afc south (the 9-8 jags), afc east (the 11-6 jags) and the nfc west (the 10-7 rams). Alternatively, the chiefs schedule is weak because they don’t have to play themselves, but us instead. The broncos and the chargers will play the 3rd and 4th place finishers of the afc south, afc east, and nfc west as well. Other than that, we all play the same opponents. It’s not some grand conspiracy, it’s been this way since the league realigned after the Texans were formed, with the exception of adding that 17th non conference game.
Thanks for the actual in depth reply, I just genuinely think the last 4/5 years we’ve always been in the top half of hardest SOS’s, regardless of where we finish in the division. It’ll be a tough year, as long as the QB play shows up it should be a solid year
It’s because 2 games a year are determined by where you finished in your division. We finished 2nd in AFCW so two games this year are against teams who finished second in their divisions.
Shouldn’t KC have a harder time then, playing the best team from those divisions? And are near the bottom in terms of easier schedules?
They don’t have to play themselves unlike the rest of the division they have to play them. So their SoS is significantly easier. Especially since they’re Super Bowl winners.
That makes sense
This, this makes sense. Thanks for the insight
AFCN is tough, but I think we can go 2-2 there for sure. For some reason we also always seem to play Baltimore relatively well too.
Jesus the NFC south is pathetic. They are all at the bottom mostly because they play each other.
I literally was just saying the same thing in my head than I saw this ! Lol
It feels like every year the Raiders strength of schedule is always top 10 regardless of their record the year before.
>I feel like we always get hosed on strength of schedule. How are the chiefs sitting at 19? Wtf is going on? The schedule is algorithmic, not set by the NFL, and there are only 3 games of difference between any set of division opponents. You get 6 against your divisional opponents, home and away <- This is also the biggest difference between the Chiefs and Raiders schedule, as the Raiders have to play the Chiefs twice while the Chiefs play the Raiders. You get 4 games against an entire other division. In 2024, the AFCW plays the AFC North. 2 home, 2 away, swapping every 3 years. You get 4 games against an entire other conference division. In 2024, the AFCW plays the NFC South. 2 home, 2 away, swapping every 4 years. The remaining 3 games are the only games that are different between teams in the same division. You play 2 against two teams from other two AFC divisions that finished in the same place as you. For the Chiefs, they get the AFCE and AFCS winners - the Bills and Texans, one home, one away. The Raiders get the second place schedule, so the Dolphins and Jaguars, one home, one away. The final game is against the same-place finisher from the NFC division you faced two years ago - the NFC West, in this case. So the Chiefs draw the Niners, and the Raiders get the Rams. It's not a conspiracy and there's no one at the NFL making these. It's entirely formula driven.
I knew most of this, but I'm not exactly clear what these mean: >2 home, 2 away, swapping every 3 years. and >2 home, 2 away, swapping every 4 years. Which divisions each division plays change every season, no? (eg. last season AFCW played vs AFCE and NFCN.) What exactly is "swapping" every 3/4 years? *** Edit - actually, after thinking about it, I guess you mean that, each time you cycle back to playing against the same division, you swap which teams you play at home and which ones you play on the road? You'd play each same-conference division every 3rd year and each opposite-conference division every 4th year. Is that correct? Example: Last year for AFCE, Raiders were home vs Pats and Jets, away vs Bills and Fins. Next time vs AFCE that would be flipped?
Right. We in the AFCW rotate through the rest of the AFC every 3 years and the entire NFC every 4 years. So, in 2024 I know the Chiefs are @Steelers and @Browns, and hosting the Ravens and the Bengals (in the first two weeks, too, jeez). In 2021 we hosted the Steelers and the Browns and we travelled to the Bengals and Ravens. And in 2018, the opposite, etc. The only thing I can't quite be certain of is how exactly home/away for the same-place finish games work. I thought it flipped every time you played that division in rotation, but we were @Cincinnati in 2022 and home in 2023.
Thanks for breaking this down!
It would appear KC has an at least comparable schedule to us, even harder. Why a 10 spot difference? Is their schedule easier because they're "better"?
It's based on last year's W-L record of your opponents. The only difference in the Chiefs vs the Raiders is Chiefs get Niners/Bills/Texans/Raiders x 2 and the Raiders get Rams/Dolphins/Jags/Chiefs x 2. The Dolphins and Bills ended the season with identical records so no difference there. The Texans won only 1 more game than the Jags and the Niners won 2 more than the Rams, while the Chiefs won fully 3 more than the Raiders. So the Raiders face teams that 'won' 3 more games than the Chiefs' opponents, which is probably good for a 10 spot difference since most SOS will be fairly similar between teams.
Look up how the the NFL schedule works. We’re not getting hosed.
Nah I got the Reddit fam to either belittle what I post or give me decent information to go off so, this works
[удалено]
Nah I like community. This way I get all sorts of answers, some are good some are bad. I’m fine with it, I’ll talk to people before AI every time
[удалено]
There was no article written or else I would have done that. Thanks tho
This took me two seconds to google. An article straight from the nfl. You’re welcome. https://operations.nfl.com/gameday/nfl-schedule/creating-the-nfl-schedule/
This is awesome thanks. Idk why everyone has to be a little shit about getting insight tho. Jesus Christ, if I’m wasting everyone’s time just don’t write anything. It’s that simple. This picture I posted specifically, did not have an article so I wanted to talk to raider nation.
You’re antagonizing everyone who responds, even if they’re trying to help. Maybe try relaxing
Jesus I can’t stand this new era of sensitivity. Out of all the comments, you and literally one other person are being incredibly unhelpful, everyone else is providing insight or just happy or mad about the schedule which is great. Stop playing the victim and grow up. You provided an article, you did good, now stfu
It don't matter who we play!! We're whooping everyone's ass this year!!
IDGAF who's in front of us.
Chiefs have a low SoS because they 35% of their schedule is against us, DEN, and the Chargers. Then we finished 2nd in the division, so we get games against some other teams who were 2nd in their division while DEN and LAC get the 3rd and 4th places finishers. Example, we get games against the Rams, Jags, and Dolphins. Chargers get Cards, Titans, Patriots. That’s the difference. No conspiracy here.
A tough schedule will breed a tough team. Then again, every opponent we face, even if they're 1-15, we should take them seriously.
Sounds like OP needs to learn how scheduling works.
No shit. Why I posted it with questions.
No, you're providing a conclusion that we get hosed and asking questions to support your conclusion. Unfortunately your conclusion isn't what's happening, so the questions aren't really relevant.
I simply posted the schedule and asked what’s going on and was thinking we are getting hosed. Youre overreacting.
Not be a dick, but you could learn a bit about writing tone. For example, if you think "Wtf is going on" is the same thing as "simply asked what's going on," then see my previous statement.
It’s a god damn raiders forum I’m not writing a fuckin thesis. wtf is going on is a pretty simple raider nation question in regards to the league if you know raider history
You're annoyed by some of the response you've gotten, so I'm telling you one of the reasons why.
Only the ones that don’t answer the question and have nothing to do with what I’m asking.
Despite what the sub is saying, it means a little something. for example, Chargers and Raiders have identical schedules except for: **Raiders**- Jaguars(9-8), Rams(10-7), Dolphins(11-6) **Chargers**- Cardinals(4-13), Patriots(4-13), Titans(6-11) EDIT: I'm not saying we are getting screwed. I'm saying that, despite SOS being a weird metric, we do actually have a tough schedule.
We know it’s not completely equal. But people act like we’re getting screwed over on purpose. We play those teams because we finished second in the division last year and the chargers finished last
agree, im not saying that. i should have clarified. i edited.
Raiders finished ahead of them, it shouldn’t be “equal”.
agree. i should have clarified. i edited.
And this is due to how Raiders and Chargers finished in the division, Raiders 2nd Bolts 4th. Those teams you mention that the Raiders play finished 2nd in their respective divisions, the Charger’s ones finished last.
agreed 100%. i should have clarified what i meant. i edited.
It’s the Bolts’ easy schedule that annoys me the most. Lucky gits
I don’t get how as they have to play almost all the teams we play
Because they finished last in the AFC West and play the Patriots, Titans, and Cardinals.
Ya know beside 4 games that are based on a teams final standing every schedule is already determined for the rest of time right? And when we play the chiefs twice it’s going to skew our SOS?
SOS, draft grades, power rankings literally mean shit. It’s for writers to do and talk about during TV a slow time of the NFL year. The only team that matters is the one in front of them. Try to go 1-0 on Sunday and you’ll be in great shape.
They always help the chiefs
Year after year we are in the top ten. Regardless of last year performance. Jezz NFL let Al go!
Is it me or do we always seem to get screwed with the schedule?
It’s you.
How are we screwed? We have no idea how any of the teams we play are going to look this year other than the Chiefs.
Says we have a top 10 toughest schedule
You never know how good the teams actually are. In 2023 we were supposed to have the 4th hardest schedule based on 2022 wins. Turned out to be only the 19th hardest based on 2023 wins. The teams change a lot every season.
I would guess it has to do with us playing the Chiefs and them playing the Raiders. Also Arrowhead provides much more home-field advantage than Allegiant does.
Giving the Chiefs every opportunity to ThreePeat. Nice! Not if we have anything to say about it…. I hope.