Each year the NFL’s schedule is wholly unique, which is part of what makes the reveal such a big spectacle.
For the Kansas City Chiefs, fans have become accustomed to them playing a tougher schedule with the team constantly finishing as its division winner. Still, there are always a few quirks each year that separate their schedule and make it unique from each year prior.
Here’s a quick look at three of those quirks from the Chiefs’ 2023 schedule:
No long road or home stretches
The Chiefs won’t have to deal with any extended road or home stretches. They won’t go more than two weeks back-to-back on the road or at home, though they do play three of their first five games on the road.
It’d be nice to get a three-game home stretch at some point, but at least they don’t play three consecutive games on the road at any point in the season. The Baltimore Ravens, for instance, have a three-game stretch where they play two divisional away games at Pittsburgh and at Cleveland before going to London to face the Titans. I don’t think anyone envies that schedule in the slightest.
The Chiefs will be the only NFL game on TV eight different times this season
The Chiefs are going to be the sole focus of the NFL world eight different times this season.
They landed a whopping total of six prime-time games, with two games each on Monday night, Thursday night and Sunday night. That should come as no surprise, given that the league officially considers Patrick Mahomes as the standard for a player that fans tune in to watch. They’ll be the only game on TV each of those six times, but wait there is more.
They’ll also be the only game on TV two more times — when they face the Miami Dolphins in Germany and when they play at noon against the Las Vegas Raiders for the Christmas Day tripler-header. It’s great news for fans of the team who don’t live in Kansas City as they’ll get to see plenty of Chiefs football on the national stage.
Three consecutive games against AFC West opponents, including two against the Broncos
The Chiefs have a unique three-game stretch in October from Week 6 through Week 8 where they’ll only play against AFC West teams. This will come after not playing any AFC West opponents in the first five weeks of the season. They’ll kick things off with a Thursday night game at home against the Denver Broncos before having an extended week to prepare for Los Angeles Chargers visiting Arrowhead. They’ll then go on the road to Mile High Stadium to close out the three-game stretch.
Last season, the Chiefs had back-to-back games against the Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders late in the season. In 2021, they had a similar three-game stretch against AFC West opponents with games against Denver, L.A. and Las Vegas in Week 13 through Week 15, but that stretch came directly after a bye week.
