The 2020 NFL schedule, which included the NFC East, was released not long ago. With it comes a lot of analysis for the NFC and AFC. There are so many different things to look at when it comes to this.
Which teams travel the most? At the same time, which teams have the least amount of travel on their schedule?
4. Washington Redskins
The Redskins were the worst team in the NFC East last season.
That means the Washington Redskins have a tougher NFC East schedule. While the other teams get two games against a Washington team that won just four games last year, the Redskins don't get that luxury.
However, the NFC East is not exactly stacked.
Meanwhile, the two games the Redskins have that the other NFC East teams don't are against the Detroit Lions and Carolina Panthers.
Carolina is set to be one of the worst NFC teams in 2020. Detroit could surprise a lot of people, but have just as much of a chance of being a bottom-rung team as they do making the playoffs.
Washington definitely doesn't have an easy schedule, and some parts look downright lethal. But as far as the rest of the NFC East is considered, they might have the easiest road in 2020.
3. Dallas Cowboys
Now, anything can happen in the NFC East, but it feels pretty reasonable to believe that the Dallas Cowboys are going to be better than the Redskins in 2020.
So that hurts the strength-of-schedule ranking for Dallas in the NFC East, but then you look at the differences in schedule and that bumps them back up.
They play the Atlanta Falcons and Minnesota Vikings. Atlanta is an NFC mystery. It seems just as likely that the Falcons could be one of the worst teams in the NFL, or an NFC playoff team.
Meanwhile, the Vikings have tons of potential. They made the playoffs last year and there are plenty of reasons to believe they could find their way back in 2020. Say what you will about Kirk Cousins, but they put together a strong season with him in 2019.
Dallas also has to play the Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks and Baltimore Ravens all in away games. Those are teams with great home field advantage that Washington gets to play at FedEx.
That gives Dallas the extra boost in toughness in the NFC East schedule ratings.
2. New York Giants
The New York Giants come in at number three for a few reasons.
First, the Giants and Redskins are both going to be facing an uphill battle in 2020. Washington has the better chance of hitting their stride in the NFC East. That makes things a little tougher on New York.
Second, although they are facing two teams that finished third in their divisions last year, one of them is a serious Super Bowl contender.
New York has the Chicago Bears and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bears took a major step back in 2019 and have one of the weirdest quarterback situations in football.
Meanwhile, Tampa Bay did everything right this offseason. That includes adding two future Hall of Famers on offense. Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski change things dramatically for the Buccaneers. That means things won't be easy for the Giants when they venture outside the NFC East.
1. Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles won the NFC East in 2019. And there's pretty good reason to believe they could do it again in 2020.
With that in mind, they probably have the “easiest” schedule in the NFC East. However, they also face the toughest duo of teams.
The Eagles have dates with the New Orleans Saints and the Green Bay Packers. Those two teams went 13-3 each in 2019. Neither got all that worse. Yes, there have been some mocking the Packers for not helping Aaron Rodgers this offseason (that draft was confusing), but they still have Rodgers.
Speaking of quarterbacks, the Saints still have Drew Brees.
The Eagles have to face basically the same schedule as everyone else in the NFC East. They are adding on two legitimate Super Bowl contenders into the mix. Right now, they clearly have the most difficult schedule in the NFC East for the 2020 season.
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