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NFC strength of schedule: Weeks 1 through 8 Team Opp. record Opp. win pct. Atlanta Falcons 30-19 .612 Detroit Lions 30-22 .588 San Francisco 49ers 30-22 .588 Arizona Cardinals 28-23 .549 Tampa Bay Bucs 28-23 .549 Seattle Seahawks 27-23 .540 St. Louis Rams 29-28 .509 Green Bay Packers 26-27 .491 New Orleans Saints 25-27 .481 Carolina Panthers 23-27 .460 New York Giants 26-31 .456 Chicago Bears 22-28 .440 Dallas Cowboys 21-29 .420 Minnesota Vikings 23-35 .397 Philadelphia Eagles 20-31 .392 Washington Redskins 16-35 .314 NFC strength of schedule: Weeks 9 through 17 Team Opp. record Opp. win pct. Washington Redskins 43-22 .662 Carolina Panthers 42-24 .636 New York Giants 36-21 .632 Philadelphia Eagles 38-26 .594 Tampa Bay Bucs 38-26 .594 Dallas Cowboys 36-29 .554 Chicago Bears 36-30 .545 St. Louis Rams 30-27 .526 Detroit Lions 34-31 .523 Minnesota Vikings 28-29 .491 Green Bay Packers 28-35 .444 Atlanta Falcons 29-37 .439 Seattle Seahawks 26-40 ,394 San Francisco 49ers 25-39 .391 Arizona Cardinals 24-42 .364 New Orleans Saints 23-41 .359

Posted by ESPN.com’s Kevin Seifert

I’ve never been a huge fan of preseason strength-of-schedule comparisons, given how unpredictable the NFL is on a yearly basis. But as we approach the midpoint of the season, this type of analysis becomes more relevant.

So as we prepare for Week 9 of the 17-week season, I wanted to pass along this chart from the Elias Sports Bureau. You’ll see that Detroit played the toughest first-half schedule in the NFC North, while Minnesota had the easiest. Also, be sure to check out how each team’s second-half schedule shapes up.