Archie's
A Claude Schefter weekly column

The Gauntlet · Week 9 · 2026

How hard is the rest of the season for every team? Opponent strength, week by week — updated every Wednesday.

The Run-In

Remaining-schedule difficulty, hardest first. Trend = rank change vs last week.

Remaining schedule difficulty, hardest first — Week 9
Team Opp PPG Difficulty (0–100) Trend
1 Killers 148.7 60
2 MudDogs 145.3 57
3 Geese 142.9 57
4 Yeti's 144.5 56
5 SeaBirds 147.1 56
6 SaltyDogs 142.2 56
7 XMen 144.0 56
8 Veterans 145.2 56
9 Dawgs 144.3 55
10 Nordics 142.0 55
11 Kraken 144.7 55
12 Roughnecks 142.6 55
13 Apes 145.4 54
14 Hitmen 141.6 54
15 Razerbacks 142.7 54
16 WhoopAss 143.3 54
17 Saints 144.0 54
18 SnakeEyes 143.6 54
19 Nemesis 142.9 54
20 Goats 142.4 53
21 Lions 140.6 53
22 Badgers 142.5 53
23 Demons 139.8 53
24 Islanders 141.9 53
25 Rafters 141.2 53
26 Jockeys 142.2 53
27 Mafia 141.6 52
28 Highlanders 140.2 52
29 Tigers 139.7 52
30 Vikings 138.2 52
31 Bandits 139.8 52
32 Rhinos 140.1 51
33 Fox 140.7 51
34 Banditos 139.6 51
35 Assassins 138.6 51
36 Devils 139.6 51
37 Plague 138.7 51
38 Roos 142.4 51
39 Troopers 139.1 51
40 Cellmates 139.6 51
41 Terminators 139.6 51
42 Moose 140.0 51
43 Jackalopes 138.1 50
44 Wolverines 139.4 50
45 Stonecutters 139.5 50
46 Sandmen 139.7 50
47 Rams 138.3 50
48 Hawks 139.1 50
49 Gladiators 138.3 50
50 Chupacabras 138.4 50
51 Spiders 140.3 50
52 Maddogs 138.5 50
53 Hoosiers 139.5 50
54 Freeze 138.5 49
55 Twisters 138.8 49
56 Dragons 137.6 49
57 Sioux 137.7 49
58 Invaders 138.8 49
59 Hurricanes 139.0 49
60 Tikis 138.7 49
61 Scorpions 137.9 49
62 Lumberjacks 140.3 49
63 Admirals 137.2 49
64 Ducks 139.0 49
65 Barracudas 138.2 49
66 Lobstahs 138.0 49
67 Bruisers 137.4 49
68 Wizards 136.6 49
69 Bears 137.6 48
70 Chargers 137.1 48
71 Monkeys 136.3 48
72 Battalion 137.8 48
73 Nomads 138.0 48
74 Luchadors 136.1 48
75 Waves 135.9 47
76 Eagles 134.9 47
77 Tombstones 135.9 47
78 Hydras 134.4 47
79 Snappers 136.7 47
80 Mammoth 136.4 47
81 Vipers 134.3 47
82 Celtics 133.6 47
83 BearCats 137.0 47
84 Apache 136.8 47
85 Hippos 136.0 47
86 Chickens 132.4 46
87 Bombers 135.8 46
88 Magnums 134.1 45
89 Stingers 134.5 45
90 Monsters 132.9 45
91 KitKats 134.0 45
92 RailRoaders 132.5 44
93 Deadly 133.3 44
94 Phantoms 133.7 44
95 Pirates 132.3 43
96 Crushers 132.7 42
97 Kung Fu 131.5 41
98 Outlaws 131.1 41
99 Beasts 129.3 40

What They've Been Through

Strength of schedule already played — and who your record is lying about.

Schedule victim

WhoopAss

2-14 against one of the league's tougher slates (past difficulty 53). Better than the record says.

Soft landing

Hoosiers

14-2 — but they've faced one of the softer schedules so far (past difficulty 48). Buckle up.

Soft landing

Monkeys

13-3 — but they've faced one of the softer schedules so far (past difficulty 46). Buckle up.

Past schedule difficulty, hardest first — through Week 8
Team Opp PPG Difficulty (0–100) Record
1 Pirates 145.1 56 4-12
2 SeaBirds 143.4 55 5-11
3 Wolverines 141.9 54 10-6
4 Mammoth 144.1 54 3-13
5 Luchadors 143.2 54 6-10
6 Roughnecks 143.0 54 4-12
7 Waves 141.1 53 6-10
8 WhoopAss 141.9 53 2-14
9 Killers 141.0 53 4-12
10 Troopers 142.3 53 6-10
11 SaltyDogs 141.5 53 10-6
12 Lobstahs 142.5 53 4-12
13 Bruisers 141.8 53 6-10
14 Twisters 141.5 52 9-7
15 Banditos 140.5 52 9-7
16 Sandmen 140.9 52 7-9
17 SnakeEyes 140.2 52 7-9
18 Gladiators 139.6 52 9-7
19 Hurricanes 140.0 52 11-5
20 Islanders 140.1 52 4-12
21 Hippos 140.3 52 3-13
22 Rhinos 141.0 51 5-11
23 Freeze 138.5 51 9-7
24 Goats 139.4 51 10-6
25 Lions 139.2 51 7-9
26 Highlanders 138.9 51 7-9
27 Dragons 139.5 51 7-9
28 Jackalopes 140.0 51 6-10
29 Sioux 139.7 51 6-10
30 MudDogs 140.6 51 8-8
31 Geese 140.1 51 6-10
32 Yeti's 139.9 51 10-6
33 Saints 139.5 51 6-10
34 Dawgs 140.1 51 9-7
35 Hawks 140.9 51 8-8
36 Snappers 140.4 51 6-10
37 XMen 140.0 51 11-5
38 Veterans 139.9 51 7-9
39 Cellmates 139.6 51 11-5
40 Ducks 140.0 51 4-12
41 Maddogs 139.7 51 8-8
42 Wizards 139.3 51 8-8
43 KitKats 139.8 51 11-5
44 Chickens 139.1 50 13-3
45 Mafia 138.1 50 10-6
46 Tigers 138.6 50 10-6
47 Magnums 139.6 50 5-11
48 Stonecutters 140.1 50 8-8
49 Devils 138.7 50 8-8
50 Rams 139.1 50 10-6
51 Kung Fu 139.1 50 8-8
52 Admirals 139.0 50 7-9
53 Beasts 138.8 50 7-9
54 Terminators 138.5 50 7-9
55 Moose 140.4 50 7-9
56 Tombstones 137.1 49 12-4
57 Razerbacks 137.8 49 13-3
58 Invaders 136.4 49 10-6
59 Chargers 138.3 49 10-6
60 Plague 137.4 49 8-8
61 RailRoaders 137.8 49 9-7
62 Hydras 136.7 49 7-9
63 Deadly 138.5 49 12-4
64 Chupacabras 138.5 49 3-13
65 Tikis 138.3 49 7-9
66 Lumberjacks 137.9 49 8-8
67 Outlaws 138.9 49 12-4
68 Nomads 137.0 49 10-6
69 Barracudas 138.1 49 12-4
70 Bombers 137.2 49 10-6
71 Nordics 137.5 49 6-10
72 Phantoms 137.3 49 9-7
73 Apache 138.5 49 9-7
74 Rafters 137.5 49 6-10
75 Eagles 136.9 48 7-9
76 Apes 138.2 48 8-8
77 Hitmen 137.1 48 7-9
78 Bears 139.2 48 3-13
79 Demons 137.3 48 10-6
80 Stingers 136.9 48 9-7
81 Vikings 136.7 48 4-12
82 Monsters 137.0 48 12-4
83 Bandits 136.8 48 6-10
84 Celtics 136.0 48 9-7
85 Battalion 136.7 48 9-7
86 BearCats 136.8 48 7-9
87 Hoosiers 136.8 48 14-2
88 Jockeys 137.3 48 10-6
89 Nemesis 136.1 47 11-5
90 Vipers 136.2 47 3-13
91 Scorpions 135.5 47 8-8
92 Crushers 137.0 47 13-3
93 Fox 134.8 46 8-8
94 Assassins 134.4 46 10-6
95 Monkeys 134.8 46 13-3
96 Spiders 136.6 46 10-6
97 Kraken 136.7 46 10-6
98 Roos 134.8 45 9-7
99 Badgers 133.3 43 10-6

Week-by-Week Heat Map

Each cell = that week's opponent difficulty. Green is a breather; red is the buzz saw.

Opponent difficulty per franchise per remaining week
Team Wk 9Wk 10Wk 11Wk 12Wk 13Wk 14Wk 15Wk 16Wk 17Wk 18
Rhinos
Freeze
Goats
Waves
Lions
Chickens
Twisters
Mafia
Highlanders
Eagles
Dragons
Tigers
Jackalopes
Tombstones
Magnums
Apes
Sioux
Fox
Hitmen
Razerbacks
MudDogs
Wolverines
Stonecutters
Banditos
Geese
Sandmen
Assassins
WhoopAss
Invaders
Badgers
Devils
Bears
Yeti's
Killers
Chargers
Plague
Saints
SnakeEyes
Monkeys
RailRoaders
Hydras
Dawgs
Deadly
Demons
Roos
Stingers
Vikings
SeaBirds
Rams
Hawks
Gladiators
Kung Fu
Snappers
Troopers
Mammoth
Nemesis
Hurricanes
Monsters
Bandits
SaltyDogs
Vipers
XMen
Veterans
Celtics
Chupacabras
Tikis
Scorpions
Lumberjacks
Cellmates
Admirals
Outlaws
Battalion
Nomads
Ducks
Barracudas
Islanders
Spiders
Luchadors
Pirates
Bombers
Nordics
Beasts
Kraken
Maddogs
Lobstahs
BearCats
Hoosiers
Bruisers
Terminators
Phantoms
Crushers
Wizards
Apache
Roughnecks
Moose
Hippos
KitKats BYE BYE BYE BYE
Rafters BYE BYE BYE BYE
Jockeys BYE BYE BYE BYE

Trap Weeks

League-average difficulty of each remaining week — where the league collectively hits a wall.