Every weekend during the preseason, theScore's Justin Boone and David P. Woods will break down the NFL's regular season schedule in search of the areas where fantasy owners can find an advantage.
AFC Fantasy Schedules
East | North | South | West
NFC Fantasy Schedules
East | North | South | West
Baltimore Ravens
| Week | Opponent |
|---|---|
| 1 | vs Bengals |
| 2 | vs Steelers |
| 3 | at Browns |
| 4 | vs Panthers |
| 5 | at Colts |
| 6 | at Buccaneers |
| 7 | vs Falcons |
| 8 | at Bengals |
| 9 | at Steelers |
| 10 | vs Titans |
| 11 | BYE |
| 12 | at Saints |
| 13 | vs Chargers |
| 14 | at Dolphins |
| 15 | vs Jaguars |
| 16 | at Texans |
| 17 | vs Browns |
Fantasy owners hoping Bernard Pierce gets out to a hot start during Ray Rice's two-game suspension and carves out a significant role for himself going forward should be aware that the Bengals boasted a top-five rushing defense in 2013 and the Steelers' biggest offseason additions were to their defense. Pierce may struggle in his two games as unquestioned starter.
Joe Flacco, Torrey Smith and Dennis Pitta will play a moderately difficult schedule on paper, though the stretch from Week 5-7 looks enticing. Savvy owners could look to package one or more of these players in a trade after Week 7 if they post several big weeks in a row.
Fantasy Playoffs: The Texans and Jaguars look like juicy matchups on the surface, as the teams finished last and third-last in the NFL a season ago in overall record. Don't be deceived; the Texans had a top-three rush defense in 2013 despite finishing with the NFL's worst record and they added Jadeveon Clowney to the mix in the draft. The Jaguars promise to be better, too, having signed two starters (Chris Clemons and Red Bryant) from 2013's top defense in Seattle.
Cincinnati Bengals
| Week | Opponent |
|---|---|
| 1 | at Ravens |
| 2 | vs Falcons |
| 3 | vs Titans |
| 4 | BYE |
| 5 | at Patriots |
| 6 | vs Panthers |
| 7 | at Colts |
| 8 | vs Ravens |
| 9 | vs Jaguars |
| 10 | vs Browns |
| 11 | at Saints |
| 12 | at Texans |
| 13 | at Buccaneers |
| 14 | vs Steelers |
| 15 | at Browns |
| 16 | vs Broncos |
| 17 | at Steelers |
Andy Dalton, A.J. Green and the rest of the Bengals' passing game will face an average schedule in 2014. It may be tough to build momentum, as the unit's slate of matchups vacillates between above- and below-average passing defenses.
Giovani Bernard gets a very favorable schedule to open the season, with the Falcons, Titans and Patriots standing out as three teams that were among the NFL's worst in defending the run a season ago, though all three teams could be improved in 2014 following the addition of key free agents (Falcons), a new defensive coordinator (Titans) and the return of key players from injury (Patriots).
A Week 4 bye can be a blessing and a curse in fantasy football. In some ways, it's nice to get it out of the way early. It can also be an annoyance to deal with when you don't yet know which of your players is droppable.
Fantasy Playoffs: Bengals passing game players would have licked their lips at the prospect of facing the Broncos in the fantasy championship week last season. That may change this year, however, as the Broncos gave big money to impact free agents Aqib Talib and DeMarcus Ware.
Cleveland Browns
| Week | Opponent |
|---|---|
| 1 | at Steelers |
| 2 | vs Saints |
| 3 | vs Ravens |
| 4 | BYE |
| 5 | at Titans |
| 6 | vs Steelers |
| 7 | at Jaguars |
| 8 | vs Raiders |
| 9 | vs Buccaneers |
| 10 | at Bengals |
| 11 | vs Texans |
| 12 | at Falcons |
| 13 | at Bills |
| 14 | vs Colts |
| 15 | vs Bengals |
| 16 | at Panthers |
| 17 | at Ravens |
Regardless of whether Johnny Manziel or Brian Hoyer is behind center, the Browns may be hard-pressed to move the ball through the air in 2014. The passing schedule looks difficult from start to finish, and matters certainly won't be helped by an extended suspension for 2013 receiving leader Josh Gordon. This may be a situation to avoid entirely.
Things may be a little easier for Ben Tate, Terrance West or whoever ends up leading the Browns' rushing attack. The mid-season stretch versus the Titans, Steelers, Jaguars and Raiders looks especially favorable, as all four of those defenses struggled to stop the run in 2013.
Fantasy Playoffs: Fantasy owners relying on Browns players are in big trouble in Weeks 15 and 16. The Panthers and Bengals boasted the No. 2 and 3 defenses in the NFL a season ago in total yards allowed. They are stingy when it comes to the pass and even more stingy when it comes to the run.
Pittsburgh Steelers
| Week | Opponent |
|---|---|
| 1 | vs Browns |
| 2 | at Ravens |
| 3 | at Panthers |
| 4 | vs Buccaneers |
| 5 | at Jaguars |
| 6 | at Browns |
| 7 | vs Texans |
| 8 | vs Colts |
| 9 | vs Ravens |
| 10 | at Jets |
| 11 | at Titans |
| 12 | BYE |
| 13 | vs Saints |
| 14 | at Bengals |
| 15 | at Falcons |
| 16 | vs Chiefs |
| 17 | vs Bengals |
Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers passing attack will face a slightly difficult schedule in 2014. The most arduous stretch comes in the first three weeks of the season, when Antonio Brown will be forced to battle top cornerbacks Joe Haden and Lardarius Webb.
Le'Veon Bell could get out to a bit of a slow start. The Panthers finished with the NFL's second-ranked rush defense a year ago, and Buccaneers and Ravens were both above-average. The good news for Bell's owners is that the second-year tailback's second matchup against the Bengals, the No. 5 rush defense in 2013, will come after the fantasy playoffs end in most leagues.
Fantasy Playoffs: Fantasy owners invested in the Steelers offensive should enjoy a relatively painless run in the playoffs. Both the Falcons and Chiefs ranked in the bottom-20 in total defense last season.
