There is a lot of attention paid every year to strength of schedule in the NFL. When the schedule is released lots of articles pop up talking about who has an easy schedule and who has a hard one, and talking heads go wild trying to explain what it all means and who has the edge. It’s talked about in grand and important tones, and given a lot of significance. This year, for example, people are talking about how the Niners and the Chargers could be lifted by schedules which are in the bottom five of the league in terms of difficulty, while the Texans, Bengals and Cowboys could see promising seasons compromised by playing top five difficulty schedules. There’s only one problem with that line of thinking – by itself strength of schedule is virtually a meaningless statistic. That’s especially true for NFL handicappers. Here are five good reasons why strength of schedule is more a distraction than a tool for bettors looking to place winning bets:

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