It’s a schedule so tough even opposing coaches are talking about it, without any prompting.

“With Utah, I just think everybody’s overlooking something that nobody wants to hear about: Their schedule has been outrageous," Miami Heat coach Eric Spoelstra said last week. “They’ve basically lived in a hotel for the first six weeks of the season. Come talk to me in two months and we’ll see what their record is. I think they’ll be climbing up that Western Conference pretty quickly.”

Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said the same.

“The Jazz have had a hellacious schedule. Let me repeat that, a hellacious schedule,” he said. "When I watch them on film, they look like the same team as last year.”

It’s true, the Jazz have had a very difficult start to the season. Not only have the Jazz played the hardest schedule in the league in terms of the strength of their opponents according to ESPN, they’ve also played more road games (19) than any other team.

The good news about that is this: Not only do the Jazz have the most home games left of any team, but their schedule is the only one in the Western Conference that faces opponents with an average of a below .500 schedule remaining.

That easier stretch of games doesn’t begin soon, though. In fact, the Jazz’s upcoming stretch of games might be their hardest yet from a strength-of-opponent point of view. The Jazz play the Rockets in Houston Monday, then fly back home to play the champions Golden State on Wednesday. A Friday/Saturday back-to-back against Portland and Oklahoma City follows, then the Christmas Day game against Portland before a matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers on Dec. 27.

Only when Utah plays the Knicks on Dec. 29 do the Jazz get any kind of difficulty break, though as Jazz fans who watched the Jazz lose to the Magic on Saturday can tell you, an easier opponent does not necessarily translate into victories.

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Here’s the real question to consider with all of this: How much of the Jazz’s poor start to this season has been due to their schedule, and how much has been due to poor play?

Statistics can help us figure that out. In short, we can adjust the Jazz’s current 14-16 record and ask, if they had an average NBA schedule to this point in the year, what would we expect?

Basketball-Reference’s Simple Rating System (SRS) does just that. The Jazz have outscored opponents this season by an average of a measly 0.13 points per game. But, their schedule difficulties have put them at a 1.50 point disadvantage compared to average. Add those totals up, and the system says the Jazz are 1.63 points above average, and the Jazz rank 11th in the NBA, seventh in the Western Conference. Teams with similar SRS' have won between 46 and 49 games in recent years.

That seems to be a pretty common kind of result among projection systems that take into account strength of schedule. ESPN’s RPI system, developed by John Hollinger, also has the Jazz ranked 11th in the NBA. FiveThirtyEight’s game-by-game calculations put the Jazz in ninth. TeamRankings.com’s system has the Jazz ranked eighth, USAToday’s rankings developed by Jeff Sagarin have Utah in 10th. Kenneth Massey’s calculations put the Jazz in 13th.

So how poorly have the Jazz played? Taking into account their difficult schedule, they’ve been somewhere between the eighth and 13th best team in the NBA.

It is absolutely fair for Jazz fans to be disappointed with the team’s play so far: After all, they were projected to be a top-10 team in the league, and many even projected the Jazz to be a top-five team, including winning the second seed in the Western Conference. The Jazz have played below that lofty standard, to be sure, including some baffling losses.

But even if they continue to play like this over the aggregate, the smart money says they’ll be able to move up the standings in the second half of the season. The current compressed West helps, too: The Jazz stand just 2.5 games out of a playoff spot, and four games out of having a top-four seed.

As Spoelstra said, let’s talk in two months.

Chicago • Mitchell Trubisky threw for two touchdowns, Eddie Jackson ended Aaron Rodgers’ NFL-record streak without an interception and the Chicago Bears clinched the NFC North with a 24-17 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

The Bears (10-4) secured their first playoff appearance since the 2010 team won the division, and clinching with a rare victory over their heated rivals made it all the more sweet.

The loss, coupled with Minnesota’s 41-17 victory over Miami, keeps the Packers out of the postseason for the second year in a row.

Chicago had dropped nine of 10 against Green Bay (5-8-1). But the Bears secured their first trip to the playoffs in eight years with their seventh win in eight games.

For a team that came into the season with four straight last-place finishes, it’s quite a turnaround. But with the hiring of coach Matt Nagy and trade for Khalil Mack in a busy offseason, the Bears made a huge jump.

Trubisky gave them a 21-14 lead early in the fourth quarter with a 13-yard pass to Trey Burton in the left side of the end zone. After stopping the Packers, Tarik Cohen returned a punt 44 yards to the 15. But he stepped out of bounds a yard short on a third-and-5 at the 10 when he easily could have gotten the first down.

That forced the Bears to settle for a field goal by Cody Parkey, making it 24-14. The Packers then drove to the 9, but on third down, Jackson picked off Rodgers, ending his streak at 402 passes.

STEELERS 17, PATRIOTS 10

Pittsburgh • Rookie running back Jaylen Samuels, making his second start in place of injured James Conner, ran for a career-high 142 yards and made a critical third-down reception in the fourth quarter.

Pittsburgh snapped a three-game losing streak as Ben Roethlisberger threw for 235 yards with two first-half touchdowns and two interceptions. The Steelers (8-5-1) remained in front of Baltimore in the AFC North with two weeks to go in the season.

Chris Boswell, who has struggled so badly this season the team held open tryouts during the week, atoned for a 32-yard miss in the third quarter by drilling a 48-yarder with 2:30 remaining.

Pittsburgh’s defense, which let fourth-quarter leads slip away each of the last two games, made it stand. The Patriots (9-5) missed a chance to clinch their 10th straight AFC East title when Tom Brady’s pass into the end zone for Julian Edelman was knocked down by Pittsburgh’s Morgan Burnett.

Brady finished 25 of 36 for 279 yards with a touchdown and an interception while losing to the Steelers for the first time since 2011 and just the third time in 14 career meetings. The uncharacteristically sloppy Patriots were flagged 14 times for 106 yards.

COLTS 23, COWBOYS 0

INDIANAPOLIS • Marlon Mack rushed for a career-high 139 yards and two scores and the Colts shut out one of the league’s hottest offenses. The Colts (8-6) stayed in the AFC playoff hunt with their seventh win in eight games and their first shutout since a 27-0 victory over Cincinnati on Oct. 19, 2014.

Dallas (8-6) failed to clinch the NFC East as its five-game winning streak ended.

Mack starred in Sunday’s big show. He set the tone by running through a tackle for a 19-yard gain on his first carry, wound up carrying 22 times and matching a career high with the two scoring runs — all against the league’s No. 3 rushing defense.

It marked the first time since Week 9 that Dallas allowed a team to top the 100-yard mark, and the Cowboys were shut out for the first time in more than 15 years. New England was the previous team to achieve the feat with a 12-0 victory on Nov. 16, 2003.

Mack even outperformed Ezekiel Elliott, who came into the weekend as the NFL’s leading rusher. Elliott had 18 carries for 87 yards and caught seven passes for 41 yards.

49ERS 26, SEAHAWKS 23

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Robbie Gould kicked a 36-yard field goal with 3:06 left in overtime and the 49ers snapped a 10-game losing streak against Seattle.

Nick Mullens threw for 275 yards and a touchdown to help the 49ers (4-10) win consecutive games for the first time this season. Richie James Jr. returned a kick 97 yards for a touchdown and Gould kicked four field goals to give San Francisco its first win in the rivalry since 2013, when Jim Harbaugh was still coach.

The Seahawks (8-6) had their four-game winning streak snapped and missed a chance to clinch a playoff berth. Russell Wilson threw for 237 yards with two TD passes to Doug Baldwin and Chris Carson ran for 119 yards and a score for Seattle. But Wilson was unable to generate any points on his final three drives.

VIKINGS 41, DOLPHINS 18

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Dalvin Cook had a career-high 136 yards and two touchdowns on a season-high 19 carries as the Vikings recommitted themselves to running the ball.

Latavius Murray added 68 rushing yards and a score on 15 of the team’s season-high 40 attempts. The Vikings (7-6-1) converted each of their first three drives under interim offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski into touchdowns before turning the game over to the defense.

Anthony Barr and Danielle Hunter each had two of the nine sacks of Ryan Tannehill, totaling 71 lost yards for the Dolphins (7-7). Miami came crashing down from the euphoria of defeating New England with that double-lateral 69-yard score on the final play last week.

Minkah Fitzpatrick returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter and Kalen Ballage scored on a 75-yard run on the first snap of the second half to bring the Dolphins within 21-17. But on their next five possessions they netted a staggering minus-27 yards on 16 plays.

Though Chicago won the NFC North by beating Green Bay, the Vikings moved a critical step closer to returning to the postseason. With enough help, they could clinch the second wild-card spot next week.

TITANS 17, GIANTS 0

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Bruising halfback Derrick Henry had his second straight big game with a career-high 33 carries for 170 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

Henry, who had a franchise-record 238 yards and four touchdowns in a win over Jacksonville on Dec. 6, scored on 1-yard runs in the first and third quarters.

That was all the Titans’ defense needed on a wet and rainy day at MetLife Stadium as it shut down Saquon Barkley (31 yards on 14 carries) in helping Tennessee win its third straight game, matching its season high.

The defense limited New York to 260 yards, had three sacks, a third-quarter interception that stopped a New York drive inside the red zone with the score 7-0, and a forced fumble that set up Henry’s second TD.

The shutout was the Titans’ first since a 31-0 win over the Cowboys on Christmas Day in 2000. It needed a late stand to make it happen.

It was the first time New York was blanked since Arizona posted a 23-0 win last Dec. 24.

Eli Manning finished 21 of 44 for 229 yards as New York lost for only the second time in six games since the bye week.

Marcus Mariota hit 13 of 20 passes for 88 yards as the Titans ground it out against New York, rushing 42 times for 216 yards.

RAVENS 20, BUCCANEERS 12

BALTIMORE — Rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson picked apart the Tampa Bay defense on a soggy field, running for 95 yards and throwing for 131.

Anointed the starter over veteran Joe Flacco earlier in the week, Jackson justified the decision with a riveting performance. Slipping between and sliding around potential tacklers, the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner operated the run-pass option in much the same fashion as during his glory days at Louisville.

Jackson directed two drives that lasted more than seven minutes, carried 18 times and completed 14 of 23 passes, one of them for a touchdown.

Baltimore (8-6) is 4-1 since Jackson took over for the injured Flacco, the only loss in overtime at Kansas City. Jackson has rushed for 427 yards in those five games.

Tampa Bay (5-9) simply couldn’t find a way to stop Jackson and the running game, which amassed 242 yards on 49 attempts. Baltimore is the first team since the 1976 Steelers to rush for at least 190 yards in five straight games, according to the Ravens.

Baltimore’s second-ranked defense did its part, holding the Buccaneers to one touchdown and 241 yards.

WASHINGTON 16, JAGUARS 13

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Josh Johnson’s first NFL start in more than seven years ended with a victory, snapping Washington’s four-game losing streak and keeping them on the fringe of the NFC playoff picture.

Johnson and Adrian Peterson drove the Redskins (7-7) into field-goal range in the closing minutes, and Dustin Hopkins made a 36-yarder on the final play to win it.

Washington had lost every game since quarterback Alex Smith sustained a season-ending leg injury.

The Jaguars (4-11) have dropped nine of 10, raising more questions about the future of coach Doug Marrone, decision-maker Tom Coughlin and general manager Dave Caldwell.

Jacksonville managed 192 yards, another anemic performance under Marrone.

Washington was better, especially late.

Johnson, the team’s fourth starting quarterback in as many weeks, threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Sprinkle with 5:47 remaining that tied it. He completed 16 of 25 passes for 151 yards and the score. He also ran for 49 yards.

Peterson edged him on the final drive, finishing with 51 on the ground.

FALCONS 40, CARDINALS 14

ATLANTA — Julio Jones made an acrobatic touchdown catch and Deion Jones returned an interception for an early score as the Falcons snapped a five-game losing streak.

The Falcons (5-9) forced three turnovers and sacked Arizona’s Josh Rosen seven times, a single-game season high for both teams. Arizona (3-11) has dropped two straight and five of six under first-year coach Steve Wilks.

Julio Jones caught six passes for 82 yards, all in the first half. His 22-yard score in the closing seconds before intermission put the Falcons up 26-7. Jones beat Patrick Peterson’s bump-and-run coverage down the left sideline, turning the cornerback around and twisting around him to make a diving catch.

Matt Ryan ran for a 1-yard score early the second quarter and finished with 231 yards passing. Matt Bryant added two short field goals and Tevin Coleman had a 43-yard TD run in the third quarter as Atlanta won for the first time since Week 9 at Washington.

Grady Jarrett had two of the Falcons’ season-high seven sacks, and Arizona’s run defenses allowed 215 yards to the NFL’s worst rushing attack.

BENGALS 30, RAIDERS 16

CINCINNATI — Joe Mixon had another big game, rushing for 129 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and the Bengals ended one of their longest losing streaks under coach Marvin Lewis.

The Bengals (6-8) had dropped five straight — their third-worst slump during Lewis’ 16 seasons — before finding a team struggling as much as them. Mixon’s 15-yard touchdown with 4:04 left clinched the Bengals’ first win since October and capped his second straight 100-yard game.

Cincinnati wrapped up its home season before another sparse crowd, with 44,568 tickets distributed. The Bengals had the second-smallest season attendance in Paul Brown Stadium’s 19 seasons as fans showed frustration with another disappointing season under Lewis.

The Raiders (3-11) are already in next-year mode. They fired general manager Reggie McKenzie on Monday and had little on the line against the Bengals.

BILLS 14, LIONS 13

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Josh Allen threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to Robert Foster early in the fourth quarter to rally Buffalo and eliminate the Lions from playoff contention.

Allen also scored on a 3-yard run and finished 13 of 26 for 204 yards and no turnovers. Foster had four catches for 108 yards to top 100 for the third time in five games since being promoted from the practice squad.

With Buffalo (5-9) trailing 13-7, Allen stayed patient in the pocket and waited for Foster to complete an up-and-out to the right side of the field. Foster was wide open as he reached the right hash mark and caught Allen’s pass in stride, and then beat a defender to the pylon with 10:56 remaining.

Matthew Stafford responded by marching the Lions (5-9) 45 yards on the next possession only to have kicker Matt Prater miss a 48-yard field goal wide right. Detroit also botched an early extra point that proved decisive.

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Logan • A far northern Utah county says it’s ditching a system that determines whether vehicles are working properly based on tailpipe testing.

The Cache County Council voted last week to rely on vehicles' own diagnostic testing. A scanner can reveal whether vehicles are in good working order.

The Herald-Journal in Logan reports that the change is expected in 2021.

County attorney James Swink says tailpipe testing is expensive. And, he says, it doesn’t makes economic sense as older vehicles get replaced by newer ones that have the technology to monitor emissions.

The council implemented an emissions and maintenance program in 2014 to improve air quality.