After a long run of success, the Kansas City Chiefs face a difficult schedule in 2024. This is a tribute to their long-term success, since they have established rivalries with other elite teams that the NFL wants to see every year. As a result, the Chiefs are expected to face one of the most difficult schedules to begin the season of any team.
They’ll face the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals right away, which will be a challenge. They’ll be lucky to start 2-0, but it’s not impossible. However, there are other aspects of their schedule that benefit the Chiefs.As for the rest of their schedule, though, there are parts of it that do favor the Chiefs. Specifically, when you compare their schedule to their division rivals’ schedule, the Chiefs can do something that took them a while to do last year.
By the time Week 13 comes along, the Chiefs have the opportunity to lock up and win the AFC West over the Las Vegas Raiders, Denver Broncos, and Los Angeles Chargers. Here’s how:
After Week 13, the Chiefs will have completed four division games, one against each team and two against the Raiders. These are division games, where victory is not guaranteed. However, considering the offseason performances of the Chargers and Broncos, these games should be viewed as potential wins, giving the Chiefs a strategic advantage.
The one team the Chiefs have to worry about is the Raiders, who stole a home game on Christmas last season. By Week 14, the Chiefs will have played them twice. If they can win both of those games and the other two, they will practically have the AFC West locked up.
By Week 14 for the Raiders – the other team I expect to be fighting for the division lead, the Raiders will have played five division games, with two losses to the Chiefs, if Kansas City handles their business. The Raiders, while not yet a team that can be confidently predicted to win against teams like the Broncos and Chargers, have shown potential to challenge the Chiefs. By then, they could have also lost to one of those teams.
If the Chiefs continue to perform as expected by Week 14, they should be well on their way to securing the AFC West title, setting the stage for a promising playoff run.
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