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The NFL preseason is almost over, and the 2024 regular season is rapidly approaching. Just as I said in the intro for my article about teams with favorable early schedules, looking at a team's schedule can be a helpful tool when drafting players in fantasy football.
Whereas easy early schedules are used to see which players get off to hot starts early on, easy late schedules can be key to your success if you're already thinking about the fantasy playoffs. These players can have big games in the fantasy playoffs and potentially win you the league.
Without further ado, let's look at four teams with slightly favorable schedules from Week 15 to Week 17 of the 2024 NFL season, according to the opposition's defensive ability.
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New Orleans Saints
After a 5-7 start in 2023, the Saints had to win out if they wanted to make the playoffs in the stacked NFC. They certainly tried their best, winning four out of their last five, but a loss to the Rams in Week 16 dashed their hopes.
They're looking to go on a similar run this year and take advantage of their weak late schedule for the second consecutive year. After a relatively easy game against the Giants in Week 14, the Saints will host the Commanders in Week 15.
Chris Olave. THE MOST UNDERRATED #NFL WIDE RECEIVER.
- #Saints rookie record 72 receptions
& 1,042 receiving yards
- 1st Saints rookie to surpass 1,000 yards since 2016
- Led NFL rookies in receptions & yards
- 2022 NFL All-Rookie TeamDAWG 👿👿👿
pic.twitter.com/nQQEzqxXUm— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) August 20, 2024
Apart from linebackers Bobby Wagner and Frankie Luvu, the Commanders are very poor defensively and finished dead last in points and yards allowed in 2023.
Then they'll head to Green Bay for the only road trip in this stretch. The Packers can stop the passing game but are susceptible to the run (fifth-most rushing yards allowed in 2023).
Alvin Kamara has averaged 132 scrimmage yards and one touchdown per game against Green Bay in his career, which includes a monster RB1 outing in Week 3 of 2020.
Then they'll face the Raiders, Derek Carr's former team. Just like the Packers, the Raiders have a good pass defense but finished in the bottom half of run defense stats last year. Carr is also likely to be more aggressive in this game and play with a chip on his shoulder.
(Players worth taking a look at: Derek Carr, Alvin Kamara, Jamaal Williams, Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, A.T. Perry, Taysom Hill)
Denver Broncos
Despite a 1-5 start in 2023, which included an embarrassing 50-point loss to the Dolphins in Week 3, the Broncos were 7-6 after Week 14 and had a slight chance to win the AFC West.
Over 74% of our followers on X favored Denver to take down Kansas City and Patrick Mahomes. But after two consecutive losses, Russell Wilson was shut down for the remaining two games and its playoff hopes were dead.
Can the Broncos upset the Chiefs and win the AFC West? #BroncosCountry #ChiefsKingdom
— RotoBaller NFL (@RotoBallerNFL) December 13, 2023
Now, rookie QB Bo Nix is in town and wants to restore some pride in this franchise. They'll face the Colts in Week 15, who finished 25th in points allowed per drive last year. They'll then face the Chargers and Bengals afterward.
The Chargers aren't much better than the Colts, finishing 23rd in points allowed per drive and allowing the third-most passing yards in the league in 2023.
The Bengals have never had good pass defenses in the Joe Burrow era and gave up 4,223 passing yards last year, the fifth most in the NFL. With this schedule, the Broncos can avoid a second consecutive poor finish to the season.
(Players worth taking a look at: Bo Nix, Javonte Williams, Audric Estime, Courtland Sutton, Josh Reynolds, Marvin Mims Jr., Adam Trautman)
Atlanta Falcons
After leading the Falcons to two wins in his last two games of the 2022 season, Desmond Ridder was expected to lead the team to the playoffs. However, things didn't go his way, and the Falcons lost four of their last five to finish 7-10 for the third year in a row.
But now, they've signed Kirk Cousins, and the future is bright in Atlanta. Cousins might be unlucky in big games, but with the sheer amount of talent on the roster, he should get the job done and win them the NFC South for the first time since 2016.
The #Falcons have made some notable offseason additions 🔥👏 pic.twitter.com/EnqApLTnUv
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) August 20, 2024
They have to be at their best late in the season to do that, and their easy matchups against the aforementioned Raiders and Commanders during the fantasy playoffs will give them a huge mental boost near the end of the year.
Sandwiched between these games is a clash against the Giants in Week 16. The Giants were ranked 20th in points allowed per drive and gave up the fourth-most rushing yards in the league last year, which is great news for Bijan Robinson.
(Players worth taking a look at: Kirk Cousins, Bijan Robinson, Tyler Allgeier, Drake London, Casey Washington, Kyle Pitts)
Indianapolis Colts
The Colts started a new era last year when Anthony Richardson made his NFL debut, but that excitement was short-lived due to Richardson's season-ending injury. Despite that, Gardner Minshew II took the reins and did a solid job in Richardson's place.
Minshew had the Colts sitting at 7-5 after Week 13, but they went 2-2 in their next four games before losing the division decider against Houston in Week 18. They faced several good defenses during that stretch, but that will be different in 2024.
Anthony Richardson FLICKS his wrist for a 50+ yard throw 😳
The Colts may have the most talented QB in the AFC South. pic.twitter.com/mTRJn5rrC8
— NFL Rookie Watch (@NFLRookieWatxh) August 20, 2024
They'll face Denver in Week 15. As we've alluded to earlier, both teams have weak defenses (Denver finished 28th in points per drive allowed) and this game could be a shootout between two exciting young quarterbacks.
After that, they'll face the Titans and Giants. We've already talked about the Giants, and the Titans aren't much different. Despite the great addition of two-time Super Bowl champion L'Jarius Sneed, he's unlikely to single-handedly improve a defense that gave up the 12th-most points per drive last year.
(Players worth taking a look at: Anthony Richardson, Jonathan Taylor, Trey Sermon, Michael Pittman Jr., Josh Downs, Adonai Mitchell, Kylen Granson)
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