In the last few days there have been a number of articles written about the upcoming 2017 schedule for the Kansas City Chiefs. I’d like to take a moment and provide my take on it. I will try to not belabor some of the key points already made, like how we get an awesome 6 of 16 prime time games.
There are a number of things I like about this schedule. We get the 6 Prime Time games, second hardest schedule (with Denver at 1, LA Chargers at 3, and Oakland at 4), play Oakland, NE, Dallas, and NY Giants on the road (real test of team), alternating Home/Away most of season but then get 3 of the last 4 at home (players won’t deal with jet lag to wrap up regular season), 5 times we have over a week to prepare with only 4 less than a week, and we also get a number of games against rivals (should be some good story lines).
Red is Local TV and Gold is National TV and home games are in Bold.
The Kansas City Chiefs on Prime Time
This year we get to face 6 opponents on national TV. This is the first time in many years that the Chiefs have been shown enough respect to get this kind of attention. I read in another article how part of the reason for this is due to KC being an exciting team now. With Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill in the mix with Eric Berry and Marcus Peters, people outside of BBQ town want to see the Red and Gold on the field. Since this has been covered enough, I will move on to my other points.
The Second Highest Strength of Schedule
Based on playing the toughest division in the NFL twice and the second & third toughest divisions (AFC East / NFC East) once, the Chiefs end up with the second highest Strength of Schedule. Denver comes in at 1, with LA Chargers and Raiders at 3 & 4, respectively. I would think we would have been #1 if Denver didn’t have to play us and the Raiders.
The reason I like this murders rows of teams is that we now get to put up or shut up. I cannot see how anyone can claim we had it easy this year, going against the 3 top divisions in football. If we win enough of these games, then we should be considered a powerhouse and Super Bowl contender. If we lose too many, then we still have work to do.
The Challenge: Road Warriors
Getting to play these 4 teams on the road is another test of the team’s ability to play and win in tough circumstances. As with the Strength of Schedule, playing teams of this caliber on the road will be a good measure of KC’s ability to get the job done when they aren’t in the comfy confines of Arrowhead.
I am very interested in seeing how these games play out. They are spaced throughout the first 3/4 of the season, so that will be a good gauge of the improvement from 2016. However, if we can’t at least win 2 of these, then we are still building a team that can dominate.
There’s No Place Like Home
For the first 12 games of the year, we basically alternate Home and Away games (we have a Bye between 2 away games). Where we get a nice benefit to the schedule is that 3 of the last 4 are Home. So, if we are on a playoff run, then we get the Arrowhead Advantage for 75% of our final games. And, depending on the standings going into Week 17, we may even rest starters for the last Away game.
Keeping the players in KC for the most part, will cut down on the wear and tear of travel. They can rest up and let their bodies heal up more easily in KC than traveling to the Away games.
The Built in Advantage: Prep Time
Andy Reid is known for using extended time between games to his advantage. Although not perfect, he tends to come out with a W more times than an L. This season, the nationally televised games have provided us with 5 times where we have more than the normal 7 days between games. We get 10, 11, and 14 day breaks, along with 2 8 day breaks. Let’s hope his trend continues and these breaks help us stack up some more wins.
Bring On The Rivals
The last thing I liked seeing in this schedule is we get some rivalry games. While Denver/Oakland/LA are obvious division rivals, I am talking more about teams that have caused us heartache in the recent past. I am talking New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, Houston Texans, and even the Buffalo Bills. These guys are all on the schedule and have brought some misery into our lives over the last several seasons. I am hoping we can return the favor when we face off with them this year.
What do you guys think? Any other reasons we should love this schedule?
Until next week, there’s The Rub!
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