The 2024 NFL schedule is out…
while the Celtics continue to run through their postseason schedule as expected.
Right On Schedule, NFL Style
What Happened: We have the 2024 NFL season schedule in all its glory. Now it’s time to plot out exactly how your team is going to end up 17-0 and cruise into the Super Bowl.
Of course, not all schedules are created equally. While some teams will feel optimism about how its matchups unfold, others are dialing up Roger Goodell to vent about travel and kickoff times as we speak.
Why It Matters: With the bulk of free agency and the draft in the rearview mirror, we have a good sense of what teams will look like roster-wise. But game sequencing and strength of schedule are definitely factors to keep in mind as you think of laying down some futures bets.
We covered the Jets drawing the 49ers on Monday Night Football in Week 1, but things got worse for Robert Saleh’s team already. Gang Green, projected at 9.5 wins at FanDuel, will play three games in 11 days to start its season. Boy, is Aaron Rodgers gonna need some naps.
Jim Harbaugh’s return to the NFL will see his Chargers (8.5 projected wins) travel more miles than any team this season. Great for racking up travel points, but imagine trying to block a 350-lb nose tackle while jet-lagged.
Elsewhere, Caleb Williams couldn’t ask for a better intro to the NFL, as the Bears drew the third-easiest strength of schedule based on their opponents’ 2023 records. FanDuel pegs the Bears at 8.5 wins, a mark Williams will feel is attainable with all the weapons Chicago has placed around him.
The Falcons and Saints tied for the easiest strength of schedule in 2024. That will only serve to put even more pressure on Atlanta’s new QB Kirk Cousins (or is it Michael Penix Jr.?) to exceed the team’s 9.5 projected win total with a roster awash with talent but low on production.
How We’re Feeling Today
Not surprised, and certainly not all that impressed.
Last night, the Celtics defeated the Cavaliers 113-98 to advance to their third consecutive Eastern Conference finals. It was an outcome everyone expected, frankly, and won’t change anyone’s perception of Boston.
In Year 7 of the Jayson Tatum-Jaylen Brown pairing, after posting the best record in the NBA, anything short of a title will deem this season a failure.
The Celtics still carry the best odds to win the NBA title, but cakewalking through the East could be a double-edged sword. It might provide an easy path to the Finals for Boston, but it might also leave them with a lack of battle-testing. If the winner from the West emerges sharpened from a tougher run to the Finals, it could leave Tatum and Co. unprepared for a steeper challenge.
The Look Ahead
Vincent Trocheck SOG – The Rangers forward has a line of 2.5 shots tonight in a Game 6 that can see his team move onto the Eastern Conference final. It’s a tough task closing out the series on the road in Carolina, but Trocheck has recorded 3+ shots in four games in this series already. New York has dropped two straight after a dominant start to the postseason, but it wouldn’t surprise anyone if Game 6 serves as a bit of a course correction after a brief stumble.
