Three Instant Classics on the Chiefs' 2022 Schedule
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The Kansas City Chiefs are coming off another impressive season, but one game from last season stood out above the rest. At the 2022 ESPY Awards, the Chiefs' AFC Divisional Round overtime thriller against the Buffalo Bills took home the award.
There has been plenty of discussion surrounding that game. The most memorable is the 13-second references and calling quarterback Patrick Mahomes "the grim reaper" for a week. I even wrote a lengthy piece on the game and the experience I had with my daughter. Despite all of that, Chiefs fans ultimately feel a bit let down since the season didn’t end with another trip to the Super Bowl.
It would take a lot for a regular season game to be nominated as a "Best Game" candidate, but a few years ago in Mahomes’s first season as a starter, the Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams had an instant classic on Monday Night Football that ended in a 54-51 victory for LA. Could we see another regular-season classic this year? Three games on the Chiefs' 2022 schedule sure appear to be poised for greatness.
Week 12: Rams at Chiefs (Nov. 27, 3:25 p.m., FOX)
The last time these two teams faced was the shootout of the century back in 2018. There was nearly a rematch that year between these two teams in the Super Bowl, but Dee Ford lined up offsides and the New England Patriots ended up going on to represent the AFC and win the whole thing.
Both of these teams still have a lot of firepower. The Rams, who are coming off a Super Bowl championship, are even better at the quarterback position with Matthew Stafford leading the way. They have the best receiver in the NFL in Cooper Kupp. They added Allen Robinson in free agency. Odell Beckham Jr. could sign back with the Rams while recovering from his ACL injury suffered in the Super Bowl and potentially be available by Week 12 when these two teams meet up.
Mahomes will have plenty of time to gel with his new receivers by the end of November and the Chiefs' offense should be humming along nicely. Will the Rams defense, led by Aaron Donald, Jalen Ramsey, and newly signed linebacker Bobby Wagner allow a team to score 50 points on them? Probably not, but it’s fun to think about this potential rematch setting off fireworks just like in 2018.
Week 4: Chiefs at Buccaneers (Oct. 2, 7:25 p.m., NBC)
It's a primetime matchup between Mahomes and Tom Brady. What else could you want? This will likely be the last time these two legends play against each other unless they meet again in the Super Bowl. They’ve already had some epic battles over the past five years, including an AFC Championship and Super Bowl. Even their regular-season matchups were very entertaining.
Brady briefly retired early in the offseason before announcing he wanted to come back for another year. During his time with the Bucs, he’s had the best cast of receiving options he’s ever had over his entire career. Sure, he had Randy Moss briefly in New England, but top to bottom, the receiving core on the Bucs is very impressive. There is also still speculation that Rob Gronkowski could come out of retirement and join Brady again for one more run.
The Chiefs will be looking to earn their revenge on a team that embarrassed them in the Super Bowl just two seasons prior. It’s true, the team has been overhauled in that time frame, but Mahomes, Travis Kelce, head coach Andy Reid and the others that were there on that night will not have forgotten how they felt while walking off the field after that Super Bowl loss.
This game being played in prime time on Sunday Night Football will add to the hype and could set this game up to be an instant classic.
Week 6: Bills at Chiefs (Oct. 16, 3:25 p.m., CBS)
The rematch of the 2022 ESPYs “Best Game” will take place at Arrowhead Stadium in mid-October. These two teams continue to play each other on an annual basis and are the projected favorites to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl this season.
The Bills showed they can beat the Chiefs in the regular season last year. In fact, they dominated the Chiefs in Kansas City on an October night in 2021 to the tune of a 38-20 victory. Can they do that again, or will the Chiefs be ready to fight back?
When Mahomes burst onto the scene, there was speculation about who would be his rival moving forward. Would it be Andrew Luck? Deshaun Watson? Lamar Jackson? Even Ryan Tannehill or Baker Mayfield?
Well, Andrew Luck retired. Watson has been in an uncertain situation for a couple of years now. Jackson and Mahomes have had a few good battles but have still never met in the postseason. Tannehill has disappointed in big moments. Mayfield and the Browns broke up and he’s in the NFC now. As far as I’m concerned, it’s Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes.
They’ve had regular-season and postseason battles. Their teams are projected to be at the top of the AFC. There could be another duo of matchups this season. They are both seen as 1A and 1B for having the strongest arm in the league. This is the rivalry outside of the division that is heating up as each year goes by.
The Chiefs will be coming off a home Monday Night Football game against the Las Vegas Raiders, so it will be a short week for Kansas City. Will the Bills be able to take advantage and go into Arrowhead and win another regular season matchup? Will the Bills be seeing ghosts from the game they couldn’t put away in the playoffs?
This will be a game to keep an eye on and will be another notch in the Allen/Mahomes rivalry. It could also be an instant classic.
Oct 10, 2021; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) talks with Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) before warm ups at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
The Chiefs' schedule is stacked with many tough matchups, even just in the AFC West against Russell Wilson and the Broncos, Derek Carr and the Raiders, and Justin Herbert and Chargers. We’ll get to see six of those matchups throughout the season, and all could be classics in their own right.
Since Mahomes has taken over as Kansas City's starter, the Chiefs have only lost by more than a touchdown twice in the regular season. With Mahomes at quarterback, it’s clear the Chiefs will never be out of a game. It’s just another reason why the Chiefs are perfectly poised to be in "Best Game" discussions for years to come.
