Chiefs 2024 Schedule: Not So Merry Christmas For Kansas City?
The Kansas City Chiefs will be out chasing NFL history in the 2024 season, with the chance for a three-peat on the menu.
With the NFL schedule now being released, the Chiefs could get an early leg up on the AFC as they open with the Baltimore Ravens and then the Cincinnati Bengals, both at home.
But while that two-game stretch could shape the AFC down the road, Kansas City has a difficult three-game assignment around Christmas, which could also have a huge bearing on the playoff picture.
"As one of the Christmas teams, the Chiefs have to play three games in 10 days starting on Dec. 15 and their stretch is especially brutal since all three of the teams they'll be facing made the playoffs last season (Browns, Texans, Steelers)," CBS Sports writes. Kelce said this week that he likes to get the tough games out of the way early in the season, so he's probably not thrilled with the span of games."
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Considering that two of the three games are on the road and in the elements at Cleveland and Pittsburgh, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs will be up against three teams that, at that stage of the year, could have already locked up or are close to securing a playoff spot.
However, Mahomes is 2-0 all-time against the Browns, 2-1 against the Texans, and 2-0 against the Steelers, so the Chiefs should be quietly confident.
With Deshaun Watson back, the Browns loom as a big AFC threat; the Texans, with C.J. Stroud now in his second year, and the Steelers, with Russell Wilson or Justin Fields, are some people's favorites for their division.
The three-game stretch will be a tricky one to navigate for the Chiefs, but with Mahomes chasing history, that might be all the motivation he needs to roll through this tough stretch.
On the flip side, it could also hinder Kansas City's attempts at history, which makes this crucial festive slate of games, perhaps the most important in the Chiefs' 2024 season.