AFL
A Claude Schefter weekly column

The Gauntlet · Week 6 · 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 6
Team Opp PPG Difficulty (0–100) Trend
1 Minty Fresh 128.7 43
2 Ditkas 128.7 43
3 Da Dangsters 126.8 42
4 Avenging Amish 126.8 42
5 Computer Jocks 126.1 41
6 Fullybaked 126.1 41
7 Titsburgh 124.7 39
8 Boondock Saints 124.9 39
9 Chatmaster 124.7 39
10 The Show 124.9 39
11 Harambe 124.2 38
12 Suh girls 124.2 38
13 Bruin Pegs Me 124.2 37
14 Badd Boys 124.2 37
15 Drunk Indians 122.9 36
16 Midwestside 122.9 36
17 Micks 122.2 35
18 Balls Deep 122.2 35
19 Smokane FC 120.8 34
20 Vitside Mafia 120.8 34
21 Swiftie 4 Life 121.4 34
22 No Soup For You 121.4 34
23 Mariachi Ninjas 117.4 30
24 Jewpacabra 117.4 30

What They've Been Through

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

Soft landing

Mariachi Ninjas

7-0 — but they've faced one of the softer schedules so far (past difficulty 39). Buckle up.

Soft landing

Harambe

6-1 — but they've faced one of the softer schedules so far (past difficulty 30). Buckle up.

Soft landing

Balls Deep

6-1 — but they've faced one of the softer schedules so far (past difficulty 36). Buckle up.

Past schedule difficulty, hardest first — through Week 5
Team Opp PPG Difficulty (0–100) Record
1 Smokane FC 135.4 49 6-1
2 Fullybaked 129.5 45 3-4
3 Badd Boys 131.4 45 1-6
4 Suh girls 129.4 44 5-2
5 The Show 131.0 44 1-6
6 No Soup For You 128.9 44 5-2
7 Titsburgh 129.0 43 3-4
8 Ditkas 127.3 41 3-4
9 Da Dangsters 126.3 40 1-6
10 Drunk Indians 126.4 39 5-2
11 Mariachi Ninjas 124.3 39 7-0
12 Vitside Mafia 122.1 37 2-5
13 Avenging Amish 120.9 36 4-3
14 Micks 122.4 36 1-6
15 Jewpacabra 122.8 36 5-2
16 Balls Deep 123.9 36 6-1
17 Computer Jocks 122.0 35 1-6
18 Midwestside 119.9 35 5-2
19 Minty Fresh 118.9 32 1-6
20 Harambe 116.9 30 6-1
21 Chatmaster 115.8 29 1-6
22 Bruin Pegs Me 115.3 28 4-3
23 Boondock Saints 115.0 28 4-3
24 Swiftie 4 Life 113.9 25 4-3

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 6Wk 7Wk 8Wk 9Wk 10Wk 11Wk 12Wk 13Wk 14Wk 15Wk 16Wk 17Wk 18
Smokane FC BYE BYE BYE BYE
Drunk Indians BYE BYE BYE BYE
Minty Fresh BYE BYE BYE BYE
Ditkas BYE BYE BYE BYE
Computer Jocks BYE BYE BYE BYE
Da Dangsters BYE BYE BYE BYE
Avenging Amish BYE BYE BYE BYE
Harambe BYE BYE BYE BYE
Vitside Mafia BYE BYE BYE BYE
Fullybaked BYE BYE BYE BYE
Midwestside BYE BYE BYE BYE
Suh girls BYE BYE BYE BYE
Micks BYE BYE BYE BYE
Bruin Pegs Me BYE BYE BYE BYE
Mariachi Ninjas BYE BYE BYE BYE
Swiftie 4 Life BYE BYE BYE BYE
Titsburgh BYE BYE BYE BYE
Jewpacabra BYE BYE BYE BYE
Badd Boys BYE BYE BYE BYE
Boondock Saints BYE BYE BYE BYE
Chatmaster BYE BYE BYE BYE
Balls Deep BYE BYE BYE BYE
The Show BYE BYE BYE BYE
No Soup For You BYE BYE BYE BYE

Trap Weeks

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