Amazing how poor and off the mark these answers are.
If a tall, fit, and powerfully built modern man met an adult male Neanderthal in a back alley and the two decided to have a go at one another, the Neanderthal could almost literally rip his arms and legs off and beat him to death with them. They were much, much stronger than modern humans. Their strength has been likened to that of a chimpanzee.
The skeleton of an adult male Neanderthal is far more robust. All the bones are heavier and of greater volume, including the skull. The points on the bones where ligaments, tendons, and muscles joined them are likewise, significantly larger; indicating the Neanderthals had a greatly enhanced musculature over our own. The chest of the Neanderthal is also much deeper and their center of gravity lower.
I think it not unreasonable to place the strength of the typical Neanderthal at 3 X that of a modern human. In a fair hand to hand fight, a modern man would be hard pressed just to injure a Neanderthal. They could withstand blows that would leave a modern man unconscious on the ground. And who knows? When he was done twisting your head off, he might decide to eat you!
If you're still a doubter, just look at a side by side comparison of the skeletons of a Neanderthal and a Modern Man:
Notice the much sharper angles at the distal ends of the humerus, femur, and tibia. Those are the linkages for muscle attachments. The sternum of the Neanderthal is much wider showing attachments sites for what would have been fearsome pectoral muscles.
If the guy on the left gave the Neanderthal on the right his best shot, the only thing it would be likely to accomplish would be to piss the Neanderthal off…and end up traversing his GI tract.
Your average Neanderthal male in the prime of his life had a build something akin to a professional wrestler of today.
A Neanderthal’s life was extremely brutal and extremely short. If a Neanderthal lived into his 30s, he was considered old. Neanderthals hunted by ambushing or corralling animals which they would then close with and stab to death at close range using short thrusting spears tipped with bone, flint, or obsidian. As you might imagine, this was stupendously dangerous. Neanderthals are known to have suffered and recovered from horrific injuries. Skeletons often show signs of multiple broken bones and other disabling injuries that have healed. It is thought that most males at least, died quite young on average, due either to injury suffered while hunting, or through the cumulative effects of hard life and sickness. The oldest examples of Neanderthals (how old they were when they died) that have been found are almost always female.
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