The strength of schedule for any team depends on the matchups that the team confronts,
and therefore there are six (6) basic strength of schedule marks. Keep in mind, it is
not as important to view how tough each strength of schedule is, but rather to
see how the team performed against that particular strength.
The star  in
each portion of the charts denotes successful performance against the strength.
To define the portions, YP = "Total Offense," and DU = "Total Defense." These are
the two most important strengths to review. The other portions denote the
underpinnings of those two major portions, and they can show the team's
vulnerabilities.
rDU = "Rush Defense," pDU = "Pass Defense," Pass = "Team Passing," and Rush = "Team Rushing."
Each team faces 16 opponents during a season, and therefore you can figure the
"average opponent coming in." That "average opponent coming in" is the "in" portion
of the chart. This means, the chart shows the six (6) strengths individually as they
come in to play your team.
However, each opponent plays against your team face-to-face, and therefore this face-to-face
can be calculated as the "actual opponent performance" against your team. The "out"
portion of the chart denotes this actual performance.
Thus, you have success or failure, based on what the team gave up, as opposed to
what came in.
You can easily see where there are some outstanding performances with a Positive
Relation, and some poorer ones. But, keep in mind that you must examine the
strength of schedule upon which these results were cast.
In that light, which team faced the most difficult schedule of any team in the
playoffs overall is many times a difficult question. The offense might face a tough
schedule of defenses, while the defense might face an easier schedule of offenses.
In the end, it is the matchups that count, one team against the other. In the
playoffs, a good set of matchups can mean the difference between winning and
losing. If you are a poor team at defending the pass, you could have difficulty
against a good passing team.
As for the actual performance of the playoff teams, which is to say how they themselves
did in the league against other teams by way of their own team performances, the
following chart will show those results. In other words, the chart below describes
each team's actual output in the NFL under that category.
YP________DU_______rDU_______pDU_______Pass_______Rush
AFC
Baltimore (12-4)
23.22______99.17______60.52______38.64_____32.330_____3.617
Cincinnati (9-7)
15.68_____157.73______81.52______76.21_____32.616_____2.895
Denver (8-8)
9.24______209.98_____103.62_____106.36_____29.848_____5.286
Houston (10-6)
26.83_____117.39______74.02______43.37_____42.210_____4.573
New England (13-3)
60.03_____239.69_____107.39_____132.30_____48.848_____2.960
Pittsburgh (12-4)
26.60_____139.65______81.90______57.75_____35.067_____3.477
NFC
Atlanta (10-6)
31.28_____181.60______77.94_____103.67_____46.505_____3.094
Detroit (10-6)
29.40_____211.18_____118.12______93.05_____46.090_____2.715
Green Bay (15-1)
66.23_____242.98_____102.46_____140.52_____58.759_____2.561
New Orleans (13-3)
72.88_____230.82_____108.57_____122.24_____56.789_____4.374
NY Giants (9-7)
24.29_____215.52_____111.15_____104.37_____45.914_____2.064
San Francisco (13-3)
24.13_____112.88______41.10______71.78_____41.921_____3.482
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