Cleveland Browns vs Washington Redskins

Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Xavier Cooper sacks Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins in the second quarter of a Aug. 13, 2015 preseason game. Based on Las Vegas' Super Bowl odds in late June, the Redskins have the league's toughest schedule for the 2016 season. The Browns have the third toughest slate.

(John Kuntz, cleveland.com)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Gauging NFL teams' strength of schedule can be tricky.

NFL.com ranked teams' schedule difficulty based on 2015 results in April. Atlanta and San Francisco had the toughest roads to the playoffs, facing regular-season opponents with a combined .555 winning percentage. Green Bay had the easiest schedule with foes of a combined .457 win percentage.

If you're wondering, the Browns' schedule ranked 21st.

That's great, but plenty has changed since early April. The draft happened later in the month, and there's still that thing called camp casualties - also known as preseason cuts.

Rosters are in flux. Using Las Vegas' Super Bowl odds as of late June, Washington has the league's toughest schedule. The Browns are third. Philadelphia is second, which bodes well for Cleveland's draft future considering the Browns own the Eagles' 2017 first-round pick.

Here is what the NFL strength of schedule based on Super Bowl odds looks like entering July. An explanation is provided below this graphic.

The "SS" for "SS points" and "SS rank" stands for strength of schedule.

To determine strength of schedule, teams were assigned points based on Super Bowl odds. New England is favored to win Super Bowl LI, so it received one point. Carolina, Green Bay and Pittsburgh were tied with the third-best odds, so they were each assigned a four-point average.

The Browns, Tampa Bay and San Francisco were tied with the worst odds, so they each were assigned 31 points (between 30 and 32).

Teams to play those squads had those points added to their strength of schedule. A lower number equals a tougher schedule.

Here's some highlights:

* Washington opens with Pittsburgh and later gets Green Bay and Carolina. Vegas gives all three the third-best odds to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. On the plus side for the Redskins, they get those three teams at FedEx Field.

* The Browns host New England in Week 5. If quarterback Tom Brady remains suspended for the first four games, this will mark his return.

* Carolina has the lightest schedule, followed by Seattle and Arizona. They also are in the top six, according to Vegas, when it comes to reaching the Super Bowl. If the schedule isn't enough for MVP Cam Newton, he also gets receiver Kelvin Benjamin back from ACL surgery. The Panthers get San Francisco in Week 2, plus two divisional games against Tampa Bay that factor into their schedule rating.

* By mid-November, Seattle's slate takes some drastic turns. It faces New England in a Super Bowl 49 rematch in Week 10, follows with lighter loads of Philadelphia and Tampa Bay before stiff NFC tests in Weeks 13 and 14 with Carolina and Green Bay.

The league's divisional rotation looks like this for 2016:

* AFC East: Plays NFC West, AFC North

* AFC North: Plays NFC East, AFC East

* AFC South: Plays NFC North, AFC West

* AFC West: Plays NFC South, AFC South

* NFC East: Plays AFC North, NFC North

* NFC North: Plays AFC South, NFC East

* NFC South: Plays AFC West, NFC West

* NFC West: Plays AFC East, NFC South

Contact sports reporter Matt Goul on Twitter (@mgoul) or email (mgoul@cleveland.com). Or log in and leave a message below in the comments section.