Arrowhead Report Roundtable: What will the 2020 Kansas City Chiefs' record be?
Finally, it's here. The 2020 NFL schedule has been released and now the Kansas City Chiefs have times and dates for their "Run It Back" tour. The Arrowhead Report Roundtable breaks down the slate of games and gives their record prediction.
Tucker Franklin: It's no surprise the reigning Super Bowl champions have a tough schedule but the Kansas City Chiefs may have gotten off easy. The Chiefs start the season with a couple of the toughest games they'll play all year with the Houston Texans coming to Arrowhead to kick off the season. In Week 3, Kansas City will travel to Baltimore for an early road test against another playoff-caliber team.
A short week against the Buffalo Bills presents problems and with the game taking place in Buffalo, expect the unexpected. Speaking of expectations, I expect the Chiefs to once again make quick work of the AFC West, collecting all six wins.
In the back half of the season, Kansas City will face the new-look Tompa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints. As it stands, the Chiefs have five scheduled prime time matchups. Either matchup against New Orleans or Tom Brady's Bucs could get flexed for their maximum sixth.
Overall I wished I was this excited every year for a schedule to come out. Must be the lack of sports. For me, the worst-case scenario with a healthy squad is 12-4, but I think 13-3 is a reasonable expectation for a team returning 20 of its 22 Super Bowl starters.
Jordan Foote: The Chiefs open the season with two prime time games in three weeks, which is always nice for fans. Teams like Houston, Baltimore and Buffalo will be looking to make a statement against the reigning Super Bowl champs. Having a week 10 bye and back-to-back home contests to close things out should ensure the team is healthy and firing on all cylinders as the playoffs approach. Aside from a possible loss within the division and a typical didn’t-quite-come-prepared game, everything else should be manageable. I’ll play it safe and predict a 13-3 season and the AFC’s No. 1 seed.
Conner Christopherson: 10 of the 17 games this year for the Chiefs are either 3:25 Central Time games or prime time games which shouldn't be surprising for the Super Bowl champions.
Despite having what looks to be a hard start to the year with the Ravens, Texans, Chargers, and Patriots, the Chiefs overall have a favorable schedule when it comes to home/away splits and groupings of opponents. One thing that stands out as a difficult stretch is the stretch of away games after the bye week that has the Chiefs going on the road for 4 of 5 games with the last one being at New Orleans.
However, with fan-attended games being in doubt this fall it's hard to say how favorable playing at home will be for teams this year. I have the Chiefs going 13-3 with losses to the Saints, Chargers, and a surprise loss to Atlanta late in the year though 13-3 and a win over the Ravens should be good enough for the AFC's No. 1 seed.
Joe Andrews: It’s tough to predict the defending Super Bowl champions to lose a game. The Chiefs have a tough slate right away, taking on three 2020 playoff qualifiers in the first four weeks. Houston and Baltimore will attempt to take a contender role during that time. Sprinkle in the LA Chargers, the rising AFC West and the New Orleans Saints from the NFC, the Chiefs will have a guard to hold. The on-field product could slip in a few unexpected games as well, sending the Chiefs into the playoffs with a 12-4 record.
Austin Johnson: The Chiefs start the year with three games where they’ll have extra time to prepare: the Thursday Night Football opener against the Houston Texans; at the LA Chargers, following a mini-bye; and in Baltimore for Monday Night Football in Week 3. At Baltimore is the biggest game of the year, with only one bye available - fortunately, the Chiefs haven’t lost a game in the first four weeks of a season since 2016. The Chiefs also have a net +10 of rest days over their opponents for the season, an NFL high, per Lee Sharpe. With Big Red’s legendary game planning and nearly every starter returning from last season’s Super Bowl run, the Chiefs are poised to repeat as champs.
Taylor Witt: The Chiefs got their requisite five prime time games, but it's a little surprising that two of them are against the Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills, when teams like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints are going to be regionally broadcasted.
Other than that, the schedule shakes out pretty well for Kansas City, with a late bye week in Week 10 and a light home slate. I have the Chiefs going 14-2, losing only at Buffalo (Thursday Night games can be so strange) and at New Orleans. When the Chiefs travel to New Orleans, it will be the fourth road game in five weeks for Kansas City, by far the toughest stretch of the schedule. But the champs will be ready, and as long as Mahomes stays healthy, they should be able to lock up the No. 1 seed in the AFC. If the Chiefs can take care of business up in Buffalo, don't be surprised to see them make a serious run at an undefeated season.
Jacob Harris: The Chiefs are scheduled to play 16 regular-season games against various opponents in the 2020 league year. They may play fewer games, but we cannot be sure. But we know with certainty they will play no more than 16. They will win many of those games. In all likelihood, they will lose some, too. However, the odds are very favorable that they will lose far fewer games than they win. The Chiefs will be a lot of fun to watch this season and I think they’ll do a very good job. In fact, because I am a big fan of the franchise, I believe they’ll do the best job.
Wins: All
Losses: None
Mark Van Sickle: The schedule is out! Kicking off the season at home against the Texans on Thursday Night Football will be a fantastic rematch of the 2019 AFC Divisional Round. This also kicks off the NFL season as a whole and America is going to be more than ready for this game. Ratings will be through the roof.
Other games of note include in Baltimore in Week 3. That game is on Monday Night Football and matches the Chiefs up with what many consider to be the biggest contender to Kansas City in the AFC. Week 6, a game in Buffalo, matches two 2019 playoff teams against each other in prime time. Week 11, coming off a bye week, will be the Chiefs' first time playing the Raiders in Vegas. A prime time Sunday Night Football match up makes a lot of sense. The following week, Kansas City travels to Tampa to visit Tom Brady and the Bucs. A few weeks later in week 15, the Chiefs will play at the Saints, and I think this could be a game that gets flexed to Sunday night football.
A few side notes. The home game against the Patriots in week 4 doesn’t really get me jazzed. I am expecting a big W for the Chiefs. Playing the Bills in Buffalo in the middle of October versus a middle of December game is a plus for weather-related reasons. Playing the Jets and Panthers at home before the bye week seems like a three-week lull in the season. Closing the season with two home games could be huge in trying to snag the one seed and lone bye week out of the AFC. I’m anticipating another 6-0 sweep of the AFC West along with a one seed for the 2020 season. It’s tempting to say they’ll go undefeated but every team slips up from time to time. The Chiefs are primed for another run and this schedule won’t hinder that.
Final record: 14-2
