2012 NFL Schedule: Teams Sure to Ride Easy Schedules to a Postseason Berth

The 2012 NFL schedule will be released in its entirety next Tuesday, but with each team's opponents for the season already decided, strength of schedule can be computed, giving us a glance at who appears to have the easiest path to a postseason berth this year.

The scheduling gods weren't especially kind to the defending Super Bowl champions, as the New York Giants were saddled with the NFL's toughest schedule in 2012 based on opponent's winning percentage, but for some NFL clubs the road to the playoffs should be considerably less bumpy.

It seems rather ridiculous for a team that went 15-1 last season to receive the second-easiest schedule in the NFL in 2012, but that's exactly what happened, as the Green Bay Packers were handed a gauntlet of opponents with a daunting winning percentage of .469.

Granted, the Packers schedule contains a fair number of challenging matchups, as Green Bay faces the San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints at home and travel to meet the New York Giants, in addition to two tilts with the resurgent Detroit Lions.

However, for every slugfest on Green Bay's schedule there's a cupcake, as the Packers benefit from two matchups with the woeful Minnesota Vikings in addition to games against the Jacksonville Jaguars, St. Louis Rams, and Indianapolis Colts. Those four teams combined won three fewer games than Green Bay did last season.

The Packers aren't the only elite team to get a schedule that's less dogfight than pillow fight, however, as the AFC's representative in Super Bowl XLVI got an early Christmas gift when the New England Patriots were assigned a schedule featuring opponents with a combined record of 116-140 last year.

The Patriots play a total of four games against teams that advanced to the postseason, facing the Houston Texans, San Francisco 49ers, Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens during the 2012 regular season.

However, three of those contests are in the friendly confines of Gillette Stadium, and with out-of-division contests with the Colts, Jaguars and Rams on the slate, the Patriots appear poised to have the inside track to yet another AFC East Championship.

If there's a leading candidate for a new crasher to the playoff party based off scheduling, it may be the Tennessee Titans, who gave their fans some hope for the future with a 9-7 2011 campaign. That hope got a boost when the Titans' 2012 opponents were released, as Tennessee was awarded the fifth-easiest schedule in the NFL in 2012.

Much of the Titans' scheduling fortune is geographical is nature, as Tennessee is lucky enough to be playing in a division with two teams in full-on rebuild mode, leaving four tasty matchups with the dismal Colts and Jaguars.

The Titans also face the Minnesota Vikings, Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins this season, all of whom had losing records a year ago. The team will be tested by tough games against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers, in addition to two matchups with the AFC South champion Houston Texans, but if Tennessee can use its favorable schedule as a springboard to build on its 2011 season, the team could easily be a surprise playoff contender in 2012.

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