Breaking down the Chiefs’ 2024 schedule week-by-week

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - The full Chiefs regular season schedule has officially arrived, featuring at least seven games broadcast on KCTV5, seven national standalone games and five primetime games.

The Chiefs have the 16th-toughest strength of schedule in the NFL, 10th-toughest in the AFC, based on a 2023 combined opponent win percentage of .502. The Chiefs have the 21st-toughest schedule based on projected win totals from Vegas oddsmakers.

Kansas City has nine games against teams with a winning record last season and seven games against last year’s playoff teams (Ravens, Texans, Bills, Browns, Steelers, 49ers, Bucs).

The Chiefs will start the regular season with back-to-back home games for the first time since 2003. That means Kansas City will play only six home games over the season’s final 16 weeks.

The Chiefs are coming off an 11-6 regular season campaign in 2023, capped by an eighth-straight AFC West division title. Head Coach Andy Reid has led Kansas City to the postseason in 10 of the last 11 years, reaching six consecutive AFC Championship Games, five of which at Arrowhead, culminating with three Super Bowl victories in 2020, 2023 and 2024.

The back-to-back champions hope to end the season in New Orleans, La., with Super Bowl LIX scheduled for Feb. 9, 2025, at the Caesars Superdome. No team in NFL history has won three straight Super Bowls. Now, onto breaking down the Chiefs road to potential history.

Week 1: Thursday, Sept. 5 -- Baltimore Ravens at Chiefs, 7:20 on NBC Opening Night

Kansas City will raise a Super Bowl banner to kickoff the NFL’s 2024 regular season under the primetime Arrowhead lights. The Chiefs opened up the NFL season in 2017 with a 42-27 road upset win over Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, then kicked off the 2020 season as defending Super Bowl Champions with a 34-20 victory over the Houston Texans at Arrowhead, and most recently lost the 2023 season-opener at home to the Detroit Lions, 21-20.

Last year’s close loss came without two of the team’s top players, with tight end Travis Kelce missing the game due to injury and defensive lineman Chris Jones holding out for a new contract. The loss snapped Kansas City’s mark of eight straight Week 1 victories. A Kadarius Toney drop led to the first career interception in Week 1 for Patrick Mahomes, who now in six years starting has 21 touchdowns, 1 interception and 294 ing yards per game in the opening week.

As if the league’s opening game didn’t already bring enough storylines, the matchup also brings a rematch of the 2024 AFC Championship game against the Ravens. The Chiefs ended Baltimore’s season 17-10, thanks to 11 receptions, 116 yards and a touchdown for Travis Kelce, along with three takeaways from the KC defense, headlined by L’Jarius Sneed’s goal-line forced fumble of Zay Flowers.

Quarterbacks Lamar Jackson and Mahomes headline the showdown, each as two-time NFL MVPs, taking home the league’s top regular-season award in four of the last six seasons. KC’s QB is 4-1 against Jackson, with Andy Reid 5-1 against his former assistant turned Ravens head coach, John Harbaugh. However, the last regular season meeting was a Chiefs loss in 2021, 36-35 in Baltimore. This marks the Ravens’ first trip to Arrowhead since 2019. The first-ever Mahomes-Jackson battle famously included No. 15′s prominent no-look to Demarcus Robinson and a game-saving 48-yard completion to Tyreek Hill on 4th and 9.

Week 2: Sunday, Sept. 15 -- Cincinnati Bengals at Chiefs, 3:25 p.m. on KCTV5

In Kansas City’s first Sunday game, the Chiefs and Bengals will meet for the sixth time in the last three calendar years. Cincinnati is considered one of KC’s biggest rivals after beating the Chiefs three times in 2022, including that year’s AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead where Kansas City blew a 21-3 lead.

While the Bengals have won seven of the last 10 matchups, the Chiefs did get revenge in the 2023 conference title game, and won again on 2023′s New Year’s Eve. The 25-17 win at Arrowhead included 165 total yards for Isiah Pacheco and six Kansas City sacks of quarterback Jake Browning.

Bengals starting QB Joe Burrow missed the game due to injury. Before that matchup, each of the last four Mahomes-Burrow showdowns were decided by exactly three points. KC’s glad to have the game at Arrowhead, having not won a game in Cincinnati since 1984, but the Week 2 draw does benefit the Bengals who are more likely to have the injury-prone Burrow available. After winning a Super Bowl in Kansas City, this marks Orlando Brown Jr.’s second season as Cincinnati’s left tackle, while head coach Zac Taylor looks to rebound from a 9-8 campaign.

Week 3: Sunday, Sept 22: Chiefs at Atlanta Falcons, 7:20 p.m. on NBC Sunday Night Football

Kansas City’s first road game of the year will feature the first Chiefs regular-season trip to Atlanta since 2016. A lot has changed since Alex Smith battled eventual MVP Matt Ryan, with KC needing an Eric Berry pick-six and late defensive two-point conversion to beat the Falcons 29-28. Travis Kelce, James Winchester and Chris Jones are the only remaining Chiefs, while the Falcons roster carousel now features their newest first-round draft pick out of Washington, QB Michael Penix Jr., along with newly signed veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins.

Raheem Morris gets his second crack as NFL head coach, after leading Tampa Bay in 2009-11, and takes over for Arthur Smith after three straight seven-win seasons. Kansas City most recently beat the Falcons at Arrowhead near the end of the 2020 season, 17-14. This is the first of four games against the NFC South this season, a division the Chiefs swept in 2021. The Chiefs had won 15 straight regular-season games vs. NFC opponents, before losing 3 cross-conference matchups to Detroit, Philadelphia and Green Bay last season.

Week 4: Sunday, Sept 29: Chiefs at Los Angeles Chargers, 3:25 on KCTV5

The Chiefs have won 17 of their last 20 games against the Chargers, with one loss at the hands of Chad Henne’s backups in 2021. But don’t confuse overall dominance with game-by-game dominance, with five of the last six meetings decided by one score. The last four games in Los Angeles have especially lived up to Hollywood billing, each with game-winning scores in the game’s final minute.

Travis Kelce scored the winning touchdowns in 2021 and 2022, with Harrison Butker kicking the winning field goals in 2020 and 2024. The Chargers fired head coach Brandon Staley after a 5-12 campaign, and are now led by former 49ers, Stanford and most recently Michigan national championship-winning coach, Jim Harbaugh.

Justin Herbert is entering his 5th season as LA’s starting quarterback, while Mahomes holds a 15-4 record in the month of September.

Week 5: Monday, Oct. 7: New Orleans Saints at Chiefs, 7:15 p.m. on ESPN Monday Night Football

The Chiefs hope to end the season in New Orleans for Super Bowl LIX, but first New Orleans will pay a visit to Kansas City under the Monday night lights. This is the first time former Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu will face his former Super Bowl-winning team. The Louisiana native is entering his third season close to home, along with head coach Dennis Allen after a 9-8 campaign last year.

To help the defense, the Saints signed two-time Super Bowl champion linebacker Willie Gay this offseason to a one-year deal. Derek Carr has taken over as Saints quarterback, with the former Raiders gunslinger holding a 3-14 record against Kansas City. New Orleans also drafted former Sooner and Gamecock Spencer Rattler in this year’s fifth round of the NFL Draft. Each of KC’s last three meetings against the Saints have come down to six points or less. Over his last 26 primetime games, Mahomes is 21-5 with 54 touchdowns.

Week 6: Bye Week

Week 7: Sunday, Oct. 20: Chiefs at San Francisco 49ers, 3:25 p.m. on FOX

After beating the 49ers in Super Bowl LIV and LVIII, the regular season edition in San Francisco is one of the most anticipated games on the entire NFL schedule. Head coach Kyle Shanahan’s team led Kansas City by 10 points with less than seven minutes to play in the 2020 Super Bowl, only for KC to come back and score 21 unanswered to win the title, 31-20.

The Chiefs again trailed by double-digits in the big game this past February, and even let up a go-ahead score with less than two minutes to play before ultimately coming back for a 25-22 overtime victory.

With the Super Bowl on the line, Mahomes led Kansas City 64 yards in the final 1:50 for the game-tying field goal, and led KC 75 yards for the game-winning touchdown to Mecole Hardman, ing for 69 of the Chiefs’ 75 overtime yards. Kansas City has won four straight games against the 49ers, in four different cities, including the most recent road trip to San Francisco with a 44-23 win in 2022. The 49ers haven’t beaten the Chiefs since 2014, on the same day the Royals swept the Angels in the ALDS.

Mahomes’ first career start at Arrowhead came against the 49ers, and his first career home touchdown was a completion to eventual 49er, Chris Conley. Current 49ers defensive back Charvarius Ward won a Super Bowl with Kansas City in 2020, beating San Francisco, before losing to the Chiefs last season.

For the first major move of the Andy Reid era, San Francisco traded quarterback Alex Smith to KC in 2013. Smith took the 49ers to an NFC Championship game, led Kansas City to the postseason all but one year, and served as a key mentor for Mahomes’ rookie year. It marks the second straight year with a Super Bowl rematch, after Kansas City and Philadelphia met in the 2023 season in a Super Bowl LVII rematch.

Outside of expected scheduling against the AFC and NFC South this year, this counts as Kansas City’s additional opponent and 9th road game to make a 17-game schedule. After a bye week to rest and prepare, Andy Reid is 29-5 all-time and Mahomes is 10-1 in his career, with the lone loss coming against Philadelphia last season.

Week 8: Sunday, Oct. 27: Chiefs at Las Vegas Raiders, 3:25 p.m. on KCTV5

Kansas City will return to the very field where they won Super Bowl LVIII in February, now to visit the Raiders right before Halloween. Kansas City’s 4-0 when visiting Las Vegas since the Raiders moved from Oakland to Sin City.

Antonio Pierce enters his first full season as Raiders head coach, hoping to provide stability after John Gruden, Rich Bisaccia, Josh McDaniels and Pierce as interim last year, have all held the title in the last three seasons. All-Pro wide out Davante Adams is back for his third season with the Silver and Black, with the team hoping to reach the postseason for just the third time in the last 22 seasons.

Week 9: Monday, Nov. 4: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Chiefs, 7:15 p.m. on ESPN Monday Night Football

To kickoff November, the Chiefs will get to host the Bucs for the first time since losing to Tampa Bay in Super Bowl LV. It’s the first matchup at Arrowhead between the teams since 2016, and first since then without Tom Brady on the opposing sideline.

Kansas City went 2-1 against the former Patriot quarterback, winning both regular season matchups on the road. Baker Mayfield, on his fourth team, has since taken over at quarterback and led the Bucs to a division title and postseason victory last season. This marks the fourth meeting over the last five seasons for these cross-conference teams, with the Chiefs most recently dropping 41 points on Bucs head coach Todd Bowles’ defense in 2022. Since 2005, Tampa Bay has won double-digit games in just three seasons, but have won six of the last eight meetings against KC, including the last meeting in Kansas City.

Tampa Bay running back Rachaad White, a Center High School alum, will play his first game against his hometown team as well.

Week 10: Sunday, Nov. 10: Denver Broncos at Chiefs, 12:00 p.m. on KCTV5

After losing seven straight games to the Broncos in the Peyton Manning era, the Chiefs turned in a 16-game win streak over Denver, before losing in Denver last season. After winning the Super Bowl in 2015, the Broncos have yet to turn in a double-digit win season since.

Following 15 seasons as New Orleans Saints head coach, 2009 Super Bowl Champion Sean Payton is back for year two in Denver. This offseason Denver parted ways with nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback Russell Wilson, who’s now in Pittsburgh, and drafted Oregon’s Bo Nix in the NFL Draft’s first round.

The Chiefs’ most recent game against Denver was not only a rare loss to the Broncos, but a blowout loss with a 24-9 final. Kansas City turned the ball over five times, the team’s most since 2018. It was the first time in 40 game that Mahomes, who played through the flu at Mile High, lost by more than a touchdown. Denver had never led by more than 10 points in any game over Kansas City’s 16-game win streak.

Week 11: Sunday, Nov. 17: Chiefs at Buffalo Bills, 3:25 p.m. on KCTV5

The Chiefs and Bills will square off for the 16th time in the last 16 seasons, for another highly-anticipated Patrick Mahomes versus Josh Allen battle on KCTV5. Kansas City has owned the postseason part of the rivalry, ending Buffalo’s season in the 2020 AFC Championship Game, in the 13-second AFC Divisional classic in 2022, and again in Orchard Park in the 2024 AFC Divisional.

However the Bills have gotten regular season revenge, in the form of a 38-20 thumping at Arrowhead in 2021, then for the Chiefs’ only home loss of 2022, and again with a 20-17 victory in KC last year, when Kadarius Toney’s offsides penalty wiped out Travis Kelce’s potential game-winning lateral. Overall, Andy Reid is 4-4 against his former Philadelphia assistant coach turned Bills head coach, Sean McDermott.

The Bills went 17 years without making the playoffs, but have now reached the postseason in six of the last seven seasons. Quarterback Josh Allen only has one career victory in the divisional round, but this coming year will replace wide receiver Stefon Diggs with former Chiefs playoff hero Marquez Valdez-Scantling, who has the fourth-most postseason touchdown catches in franchise history with three.

Kansas City’s won four straight games at Buffalo, including last year’s 27-24 playoff game when Tyler Bass missed the game-tying field goal in the final minutes. It’s the first regular-season meeting at Orchard Park since 2020.

Week 12: Sunday, Nov. 24: Chiefs at Carolina Panthers, 12:00 p.m. on KCTV5

On paper, this is Kansas City’s easiest game on the schedule, as the Chiefs will visit Carolina for the first time since 2016. After one year as Tampa Bay offensive coordinator, Dave Canales takes over as the fourth Panthers head coach in the last six seasons. Frank Reich coached just 11 games in Carolina last year, en route to a league-worst 2-15 record.

After trading up at the 2023 NFL Draft in Kansas City to draft Alabama quarterback Bryce Young with the first overall pick, Chicago used this year’s top pick to draft to Caleb Williams in the Panthers’ place. Carolina’s first selection came at pick number 32 with wide receiver Xavier Legette, four spots higher than Chiefs rookie wideout Xavier Worthy.

The last two Chiefs-Panthers matchups have come down to the wire, most recently in 2020 at Arrowhead when Kansas City erased an 11-point deficit for a 33-31 win, behind 159 yards from Travis Kelce. Then the Chiefs also came back from a 17-0 deficit in their last road trip to Carolina, thanks to an Eric Berry pick-6 and Cairo Santos game-winning field goal.

Week 13: Friday, Nov. 29: Las Vegas Raiders at Chiefs, 2:00 p.m. on Amazon Prime Video Black Friday

One of the oldest rivalries in football history will take an afternoon timeslot the day after Thanksgiving. The Chiefs have won 16 of their last 19 games against the Raiders, but the most recent matchup was a stunning 20-14 Raiders win at Arrowhead on Christmas Day.

The Silver and Black also handed Kansas City’s 2021 starters their only loss of the regular season, 40-32, followed by the infamous Las Vegas victory lap around the stadium.

Week 14: Sunday, Dec. 8: Los Angeles Chargers at Chiefs, 7:20 p.m. on NBC Sunday Night Football

The Chiefs were known for finishing the year strong under Mahomes, winning 23 of their last 26 December games, before losing three games in December last season. Kansas City will kickoff the month at Arrowhead with the team’s second game against the Los Angeles Chargers, also serving as KC’s fifth and final primetime showdown.

Overall ,the Chiefs have dominated the division for the better part of a decade now, winning 48 of the last 55 games against AFC West rivals.

Week 15: Sunday, Dec. 15: Chiefs at Cleveland Browns, 12:00 p.m. on KCTV5

The Chiefs will play three games over 11 days, starting with Travis Kelce’s return to his hometown for just the second time in his long career. The Cleveland Heights native helped lead Kansas City to a 37-21 win in 2018, with two touchdowns and 99 yards receiving.

Led by head coach Kevin Stefanski for the past four seasons, the Browns are coming off the team’s third double-digit win season since 1994. The team traded for Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson in 2022, who was drafted two picks after Mahomes in 2017, but it was Joe Flacco who led Cleveland to the playoffs last season.

The Chiefs most recently opened their 2021 season at Arrowhead against Cleveland, when Kansas City turned a 22-10 halftime deficit into a 33-29 victory, thanks in part to 197 yards from Tyreek Hill. KC also ended Cleveland’s season in the 2021 divisional playoffs, when backup quarterback Chad Henne stepped in for the injured Mahomes to finish off a nail-biting 22-17 victory at Arrowhead.

Andy Reid’s 5-0 against the Browns since coming to KC. The matchup will allow the Chiefs to see two-time Super Bowl champion safety Juan Thornhill roam the Cleveland secondary again.

Week 16: Saturday, Dec. 21: Houston Texans at Chiefs, 12:00 on NBC Saturday

The Texans went from a 3-win team in 2022, to the divisional round last season, and now enter the ranks of Kansas City’s top AFC competition in 2024. CJ Stroud heard his name called second overall at last year’s NFL Draft in Kansas City, en route to an NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year season. The Chiefs needed overtime and a Jerick McKinnon walkoff touchdown to win the last meeting in 2022 at Houston.

Arrowhead has fonder memories of the matchup, most recently with a 34-20 season opener win in 2020, with 137 rushing yards from Clyde Edwards-Helaire. Before that in the AFC Divisional in January 2020, Kansas City turned a 24-0 first-quarter deficit into a 51-31 victory, eliminating Justin Reid’s Texans team from the playoffs for the second time in their last three trips.

It was the first time in NFL history a team had won a playoff game by 20+ points, after trailing by 20+ points, and the fourth-biggest comeback in postseason history. 39-year-old head coach DeMeco Ryans now enters his second season for the Texans.

Week 17: Wednesday, Dec. 25: Chiefs at Pittsburgh Steelers, 12:00 p.m. on Netflix

For a second straight season, Chiefs Kingdom will wake up Christmas morning with presents under the tree and a Chiefs game on TV. But for the first time in franchise history, Kansas City will play a game on a Wednesday.

Kansas City hopes to make up for the coal it left for Chiefs fans last Christmas Day when the Raiders stunned KC at Arrowhead with a 20-14 win. That game featured two Las Vegas defensive touchdowns in a seven-second span, while Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell did not complete a single after the 2:01 mark of the first quarter.

Before then, the Chiefs beat the Broncos 33-10 on Christmas Day 2016, highlighted by a Dontari Poe touchdown , ending with Andy Reid in a Santa Claus suit. Week 17 marks Patrick Mahomes’ first visit to Pittsburgh since his third career start in 2018, a game Kansas City won 42-37 with six Mahomes touchdown es, which still ties for his career high.

Travis Kelce also scored twice with 109 yards, while Andy Reid is just 4-4 all-time against the Steelers as Chiefs head coach. The most recent meeting came in the 2022 Wild Card round at Arrowhead, where Mahomes tossed five touchdowns, including one to offensive lineman Nick Allegretti, and Travis Kelce even threw a playoff touchdown to Byron Pringle in the 42-21 win. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is expected to start Russell Wilson at quarterback this year, but the state of each team and importance of the game itself will play out over the first 16 weeks.

Week 18: Sunday, Jan. 5: Chiefs at Broncos

The exact date, time and network of this game will officially be announced heading into the final week of the season. It could be a matchup of Patrick Mahomes and Bo Nix, both quarterbacks that Sean Payton allegedly loved during the draft process.

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