Ultimate Strength of Schedule, Quarterbacks

Clayton Gray's Ultimate Strength of Schedule, Quarterbacks Clayton Gray Published 08/18/2023

Links to similar discussions on other positions:


The advantages offered by the Ultimate Strength of Schedule (USOS) when compared to traditional SOS displays are numerous and include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Fantasy Points Driven
    Fantasy football is all about scoring fantasy points, so USOS is based on fantasy points.
  • Removed Bias Of Schedule
    Consider the following scenario: Defense A faced the 16 best offenses, while Defense B faced the 16 worst offenses. If both defenses allowed opposing quarterbacks to average 300 fantasy points last season, are they equally strong? Of course not; Defense A is far superior as they faced much better offenses. This bias of schedule has been removed from USOS.
  • Positional Breakdown
    If you are looking for a running back, it's much more relevant to see SOS data for running backs (rather than simply rushing data).

Explanation of USOS Tables

Below, you will see tables for each position's USOS. Here is a brief explanation of the make-up of these tables.

The "Team" Column

This is simply the NFL team.

The Values

Each value in the table is the expected number of fantasy points on average or on a per-game basis (depending on the column).

The "2023" Column

This is the average expected fantasy points allowed by each team's opponents for this season.

The "EZ" Column

This is the number of easy opponents each team will face this season. An easy opponent is defined as one of the eight (seven during the bye weeks) worst defenses. Obviously, it is preferred to have players with as many easy games as possible.

The "TF" Column

This is the number of tough opponents each team will face this season. A tough opponent is defined as one of the eight (seven during the bye weeks) best defenses. Obviously, it is preferred to have players with as few tough games as possible.

The "1st3" Column

This is the SOS for the first three weeks of the NFL season. This value can be used to determine how players should be expected to open the season. Players with low values could easily stumble out of the gate.

The "1st5" Column

This is similar to "1st3" except that it covers the first five weeks of the NFL season (note that some teams only play four games in this time frame).

The "Byes" Column

This is the SOS covering the bye weeks. This value can be used to find a complementary player during the byes as you'll need to shuffle players in and out of your starting lineup. A player with an easy schedule during this time would be nice to have.

The "15to17" Column

This is similar to "1st3" except that it specifically covers Week 15 through Week 17.

The "16to18" Column

This is similar to "15to17" except that it specifically covers Week 16 through Week 18.

The "W01" through "W18" Columns

These values are the expected strength of each team's opponent for that particular week (W05 is Week 5, etc). This is very useful when searching for backups for your elite starters. The key is to locate players with easy opponents when your star is on a bye.

The Coloring of the Values

The blue values indicate that the team has one of the eight (seven during the bye weeks) best values in that column. The red values indicate that the team has one of the eight (seven during the bye weeks) worst values in that column.

(Note: a green/red combo was considered, but some people are color blind between those two colors.)

In short:

  • Blue shading is a team with a good schedule at that position
  • Red shading is a team with a bad schedule at that position

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Ultimate Strength of Schedule, Quarterbacks

Team 2023 EZ TF 1st3 1st5 byes 15to17 16to18
Ari 15.8 2 5 16.0 15.9 15.4 16.1 16.9
Atl 16.8 4 3 17.3 16.6 16.8 17.5 16.9
Bal 16.3 5 4 15.6 15.2 16.7 17.4 16.6
Buf 16.5 5 4 16.8 17.5 16.1 15.2 16.7
Car 16.9 6 3 16.7 17.7 16.6 16.2 16.4
Chi 16.9 7 4 16.9 16.2 18.1 15.8 15.9
Cin 16.3 4 5 15.0 16.2 16.0 17.8 16.3
Cle 16.1 2 4 16.7 16.6 16.2 15.0 14.6
Dal 16.5 3 2 16.1 15.9 16.3 17.9 18.5
Den 16.8 7 5 18.3 17.3 16.1 17.0 16.8
Det 16.9 6 4 18.0 17.1 17.0 15.5 17.1
GB 17.2 6 2 16.5 17.8 16.7 17.6 17.8
Hou 16.6 4 3 17.3 16.7 16.2 17.0 16.7
Ind 16.4 6 3 15.8 16.2 16.6 17.1 16.3
Jac 16.3 3 4 16.8 16.3 15.7 17.0 17.7
KC 16.5 6 6 18.4 17.6 15.6 17.1 16.8
LAC 17.0 8 6 18.6 18.8 16.2 15.9 16.0
LAR 16.1 1 3 16.4 16.5 15.8 16.4 15.9
LV 16.5 5 5 14.6 14.6 17.7 17.4 16.9
Mia 16.1 3 6 14.9 15.2 17.2 15.1 15.2
Min 16.7 4 4 15.9 17.0 16.1 16.7 18.0
NE 16.3 4 7 16.3 15.9 16.8 16.0 14.3
NO 16.9 4 3 16.8 16.7 17.3 16.2 16.1
NYG 15.8 1 6 15.7 16.8 15.3 15.5 15.4
NYJ 16.1 4 6 15.1 15.7 16.3 16.5 15.5
Phi 16.5 4 5 17.1 16.6 16.1 17.2 16.9
Pit 16.1 4 5 16.2 15.6 16.1 17.1 16.7
SF 16.4 4 4 15.7 15.8 16.8 16.7 15.9
Sea 16.3 2 3 17.5 17.3 15.6 16.6 17.1
TB 16.6 5 3 17.1 16.8 16.6 16.0 17.2
Ten 16.3 5 3 14.9 15.7 17.2 14.7 16.4
Was 15.9 2 6 15.2 15.7 16.6 14.9 14.8
Avg 16.4 4.25 4.25 16.4 16.5 16.4 16.4 16.4

Week-by-Week

QBs W1 W2 W3 W4 W5 W6 W7 W8 W9 W10 W11 W12 W13 W14 W15 W16 W17 W18
Ari 16.6 16.8 14.6 15.3 16.1 15.0 17.8 16.3 13.9 16.4 13.2 15.0 15.5 - 15.3 17.3 15.6 17.8
Atl 17.7 14.2 20.0 18.1 13.2 16.6 17.0 18.6 18.3 17.1 - 15.8 14.4 17.0 17.7 17.5 17.3 15.8
Bal 13.2 16.1 17.5 13.9 15.5 18.6 20.0 17.1 17.8 13.9 16.1 15.1 - 15.0 18.1 15.3 18.9 15.5
Buf 14.4 19.3 16.6 18.9 18.1 16.8 15.9 17 16.1 13.6 14.4 15.6 - 19.6 14.6 15.1 15.9 18.9
Car 16.4 15.8 17.8 18.3 20.0 18.9 - 13.2 17.5 17.3 14.6 18.6 17.0 15.8 16.4 14.2 18.1 17.0
Chi 14.2 17.0 19.6 13.6 16.6 18.3 19.3 15.1 15.8 17.7 20.0 18.3 - 20.0 13.9 17.1 16.4 14.2
Cin 13.9 16.3 15.0 18.6 17.1 17.8 - 15.3 14.8 13.2 16.3 15.5 18.1 17.5 18.3 15.5 19.6 13.9
Cle 16.1 15.5 18.6 16.3 - 15.3 17.5 17.8 17.1 16.3 15.5 13.6 15.0 18.1 17.3 13.2 14.4 16.1
Dal 16.8 14.4 17.1 15.9 15.3 15.1 - 15 15.6 16.8 17.7 16.6 17.8 15.6 14.8 18.9 20.0 16.6
Den 19.3 16.6 18.9 17.3 14.4 19.6 14.2 19.6 - 14.8 18.3 13.9 13.2 15.1 20.0 15.9 15.1 19.3
Det 19.6 17.8 16.4 14.2 17.7 17.0 16.3 19.3 - 19.3 17.3 14.2 15.8 17.3 13.6 18.3 14.6 18.3
GB 17.3 16.4 15.8 20.0 19.3 - 13.6 18.3 15.0 15.5 15.1 20.0 19.6 16.8 17.0 17.7 18.3 17.3
Hou 16.3 17.5 18.1 15.5 16.4 15.8 - 17.7 17.0 16.1 17.1 18.1 13.6 14.4 18.6 13.9 18.6 17.5
Ind 18.1 13.2 16.3 15.0 18.6 18.1 13.9 15.8 17.7 15.9 - 17.0 18.6 16.1 15.5 16.4 19.3 13.2
Jac 17.5 19.6 13.2 16.4 14.8 17.5 15.8 15.5 - 15.3 18.6 13.2 16.1 13.9 16.3 17.0 17.7 18.6
KC 20.0 18.1 17.3 14.4 18.3 13.6 15.1 13.6 18.9 - 15.6 19.3 14.2 14.8 15.9 19.3 16.1 15.1
LAC 18.9 18.6 18.3 19.3 - 14.6 19.6 17.3 14.4 20.0 14.2 16.3 15.9 13.6 19.3 14.8 13.6 19.6
LAR 17.8 15.3 16.1 17.5 15.6 17.1 15.5 14.6 14.2 - 17.8 17.1 13.9 16.3 16.6 15.8 16.8 15.3
LV 13.6 14.8 15.5 15.1 14.2 15.9 17.3 20.0 16.8 14.4 18.9 19.6 - 18.3 15.1 19.6 17.5 13.6
Mia 15.1 15.9 13.6 14.8 16.8 17.7 15.6 15.9 19.6 - 19.3 14.4 16.6 18.6 14.4 14.6 16.3 14.8
Min 17.0 15.6 15.1 17.7 19.6 17.3 15.3 14.2 16.4 15.8 13.6 17.3 - 19.3 16.1 20.0 14.2 20.0
NE 15.6 18.9 14.4 14.6 15.8 19.3 14.8 18.9 16.6 17.5 - 16.8 15.1 15.5 19.6 13.6 14.8 14.4
NO 18.6 17.7 14.2 17.0 15.9 13.2 18.1 17.5 17.3 18.3 - 16.4 20.0 17.7 16.8 15.0 17.0 16.4
NYG 14.6 17.1 15.3 17.8 18.9 14.8 16.6 14.4 15.1 14.6 16.6 15.9 - 14.2 15.8 15.6 15.0 15.6
NYJ 14.8 14.6 15.9 19.6 13.6 15.6 - 16.8 19.3 15.1 14.8 18.9 16.4 13.2 18.9 16.6 13.9 15.9
Phi 15.9 18.3 17.0 16.6 15.0 14.4 18.9 16.6 14.6 - 19.6 14.8 15.3 14.6 17.8 16.8 17.1 16.8
Pit 15.3 13.9 19.3 13.2 16.3 - 15.0 18.1 18.6 14.2 13.9 16.1 17.1 15.9 17.5 16.1 17.8 16.3
SF 15.5 15.0 16.8 17.1 14.6 13.9 18.3 16.1 - 18.1 17.0 17.8 15.6 17.8 17.1 16.3 16.6 15.0
Sea 15.0 20.0 17.7 16.8 - 16.1 17.1 13.9 16.3 16.6 15.0 15.3 14.6 15.3 15.6 18.6 15.5 17.1
TB 18.3 17.3 15.6 15.8 - 20.0 16.4 14.8 13.2 18.6 15.3 17.5 17.7 16.4 14.2 18.1 15.8 17.7
Ten 15.8 15.1 13.9 16.1 17.5 16.3 - 16.4 15.5 17.0 18.1 17.7 17.5 18.9 13.2 17.8 13.2 18.1
Was 17.1 13.6 14.8 15.6 17.3 16.4 16.8 15.6 15.9 17.8 16.8 14.6 18.9 - 15.0 14.4 15.3 14.6
Avg 16.4 16.4 16.4 16.4 16.5 16.6 16.6 16.4 16.4 16.3 16.5 16.4 16.3 16.4 16.4 16.4 16.4 16.4

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