Looking at the 2019 Schedule

The official regular season schedule for the 2019 Chiefs has been released.

1 Sun, Sep 8 at Jacksonville 12:00 PM
2 Sun, Sep 15 at Oakland 3:05 PM
3 Sun, Sep 22 Baltimore 12:00 PM
4 Sun, Sep 29 at Detroit 12:00 PM
5 Sun, Oct 6 Indianapolis 7:20 PM (NBC Sunday Night Football)
6 Sun, Oct 13 Houston 12:00 PM
7 Thu, Oct 17 at Denver 7:20 PM  (Fox Thursday Night Football)
8 Sun, Oct 27 Green Bay 7:20 PM (NBC Sunday Night Football)
9 Sun, Nov 3 Minnesota 12:00 PM
10 Sun, Nov 10 at Tennessee 12:00 PM
11 Mon, Nov 18 at L.A. Chargers 7:15 PM (ESPN Monday Night Football in Mexico)
12 *BYE
13 Sun, Dec 1 Oakland 12:00 PM
14 Sun, Dec 8 at New England 3:25 PM
15 Sun, Dec 15 Denver 12:00 PM
16 Sun, Dec 22 at Chicago 7:20 PM (NBC Sunday Night Football)
17 Sun, Dec 29 L.A. Chargers 12:00 PM

Initial takeaways:

- Open with 3 out of 4 games on the road for the 2nd consecutive year.
- All 3 divisional games at home are in December
- Late Bye week is an advantage for teams needing to make a run down the stretch
- 5 primetime games plus the Patriots game in the CBS 3:25 national window. They are still eligible for another game to be flexed to primetime.

Most important games of the season:

Week 5 vs. Indianapolis (SNF)

- The first primetime game of the season, and only 1 of 2 primetime games at Arrowhead. The Chiefs beat the Colts in last year's divisional round. The Colts look to be AFC contenders, and winning this game would be a good tone setter for the Chiefs' Super Bowl aspirations. 

Week 11 @ Los Angeles Chargers (MNF Mexico)

- The first game against L.A. , who will most likely be strongly contending for the AFC West like last year. The game will be the 2nd consecutively on the road, and the last contest before the Bye week. Fatigue may be a factor in this game. It is important that the Chiefs get the initial edge on the division against the Chargers, especially because the Week 17 matchup may not matter depending on the rest of the schedule. Winning the division is the first step to making a super bowl run, and getting a victory here is extremely crucial to that. 

Week 14 @ New England 

- The 3rd consecutive year the Chiefs will travel to Foxboro in the regular season. If the Patriots perform how they always do, they should be in contention for a playoff bye week and home field advantage at this point. Yes, the Chiefs blew their home field advantage opportunity last year by losing to the Patriots in the AFC Championship, but you'd still much rather host the Pats in the postseason than have to visit them. Obviously we don't know how similar their records will be, but most likely this game will have a big impact on which team has a higher seed than the other. 

Most exciting game of the season:

Week 8 vs. Green Bay

- I was excited for this one before the schedule was even released, but the NFL got me even more pumped up for it by putting it on NBC Sunday Night Football. It really comes down to one thing: Pat Mahomes vs. Aaron Rodgers. Debatably the two most talented QBs in the world facing off. I'm hoping the Chiefs' defense is better this year, but I wouldn't mind them looking like they did last season for this one. I want all the scoring, the fireworks, big plays, all while under the lights at Arrowhead. This will be one of the best games in all the NFL this year. 

Toughest game of the season:

Week 7 @ Denver (TNF)

- After what should be a tough matchup at home against the defending AFC South champion Texans, the Chiefs have a short week as they travel to Denver for Thursday Night Football. Denver is never an easy place to play with the altitude and the crowd atmosphere. Plus, their defense is still dangerous, and they have the most reps against Pat Mahomes out of any team in the league (this will be their 4th game against him). The lack of preparation time combined with the factors of playing at Mile High, this will probably be one of the toughest games they play all season. 

Way-too-early Predictions:

1 Sun, Sep 8 at Jacksonville 12:00 PM 
2 Sun, Sep 15 at Oakland 3:05 PM  
3 Sun, Sep 22 Baltimore 12:00 PM  
4 Sun, Sep 29 at Detroit 12:00 PM 
5 Sun, Oct 6 Indianapolis 7:20 PM (NBC Sunday Night Football)
6 Sun, Oct 13 Houston 12:00 PM 
7 Thu, Oct 17 at Denver 7:20 PM  (Fox Thursday Night Football)
8 Sun, Oct 27 Green Bay 7:20 PM (NBC Sunday Night Football) 
9 Sun, Nov 3 Minnesota 12:00 PM  
10 Sun, Nov 10 at Tennessee 12:00 PM
11 Mon, Nov 18 at L.A. Chargers 7:15 PM (ESPN Monday Night Football in Mexico)
12 *BYE
13 Sun, Dec 1 Oakland 12:00 PM 
14 Sun, Dec 8 at New England 3:25 PM 
15 Sun, Dec 15 Denver 12:00 PM
16 Sun, Dec 22 at Chicago 7:20 PM (NBC Sunday Night Football)
17 Sun, Dec 29 L.A. Chargers 12:00 PM 

12-4 Record

- This schedule is super tough. There isn't a single easy game on the schedule, and the closest we get to one is @ Detroit and I think the Lions will be a lot better than they were last year. 12-4 would be exceptional, and hopefully it comes with a division championship.