Chiefs’ 2013 Schedule Very Favorable
Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
The Kansas City Chiefs couldn’t have asked for much more of a favorable schedule for the 2013 NFL season.
Sure, there are always a few aspects of any schedule that the organization might like to change. I am sure head coach Andy Reid would rather the Chiefs began the season at Arrowhead Stadium, rather than down in Jacksonville. And if given the chance to swap some things around, Reid might also alter the fact that three of the Chiefs’ last four games (including the season finale) are on the road.
Still, while the schedule isn’t perfect, it is pretty darn favorable for a team looking to turn things around.
The first nine games will be absolutely critical for the Chiefs. KC gets five of those games at home. Six of the Chiefs’ opponents during that stretch, the Jaguars, Eagles, Titans, Raiders, Browns and Bills, were a combined 27-69 in 2012.
Now to be fair, no team was worse than the Chiefs in 2012, but if KC can improve, they should have at least a puncher’s chance in six of their first nine contests.
The season starts down in Jacksonville. The Jags finished the 2012 season with the same record as the Chiefs, so there could not be a better suited matchup for KC to begin the season with. The Jags have a lot of talented, young players but if the Chiefs really have improved they should be able to spoil Jacksonville’s home opener.
After the Jacksonville game, the Chiefs face a challenging, yet familiar stretch of games against teams Andy Reid knows extremely well. KC plays the Cowboys, Eagles and Giants in consecutive weeks. Reid spend 14 years coaching for the Eagles and against the Cowboys and Giants. These games won’t be easy for the Chiefs. Dallas and New York could be potential playoff teams and the Eagles are a bit of a wildcard thanks to new head coach Chip Kelly.
The good news is that games against the NFC East would have been challenging for the Chiefs no matter what. There aren’t many coaches more equipped to prepare the Chiefs for these opponents than Andy Reid. While the NFC East coaches may know Andy Reid, they don’t know Reid’s new personnel nearly as well as Reid knows theirs.
With the Chiefs embarking on a new journey with a new coaching staff and offensive and defensive systems, chances are the team will still be working out some kinks early on during the season. If the Chiefs are going to stumble a bit out of the gate, well, losing to NFC teams is the most ideal. No loss is good but some losses are less damaging than others. At the end of the season, should the Chiefs find themselves tied with another team for a playoff spot, their AFC losses will be more crucial in the tie-breaking process.
The schedule affords the Chiefs some time to gel and work out any issues before the team’s most important games. KC only has one AFC West game in their first nine contests. The Chiefs will play the Oakland Raiders at Arrowhead on October 13th.
It isn’t until after the BYE week that KC gets into the meat of their schedule. The Chiefs will play three straight AFC West games after the BYE, including two games against Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. Five of the Chiefs’ last seven games will be against AFC West opponents.
What about the other two games?
@ Washington and vs. Indianpolis.
So while the Chiefs’ early schedule includes loads of games against 2012 bottom-feeders, the second half includes four games against 2012 playoff teams.
Still, the early schedule not only gives the Chiefs a chance to get out of the gate quickly, it affords the team time to get comfortable before the crucial playoff stretch in November and December. If the Chiefs can gain some confidence early, they could knock off a couple of playoff teams down the stretch in order to qualify for the tournament themselves.
On paper, the Chiefs should be better in 2013. Then again, the same thing could have been (and was) said about the 2012 team. There has been so much change in KC this year that anyone who claims to know how the 2013 Chiefs will perform, good or bad, is talking out of their backsides.
What we do know, is that the 2013 schedule could be a lot worse than it is. For a team coming off a 2-14 season, the Chiefs need to take any advantage they can get.
What do you think, Addicts? Do you like the layout of the 2013 Chiefs schedule?
1 SEP 8 12:00PMCDT AT JAGUARS
2 SEP 15 12:00PMCDT vs. COWBOYS
3 SEP 19 7:25PMCDT AT EAGLES
4 SEP 29 12:00PMCDT vs. GIANTS
5 OCT 6 12:00PMCDT AT TITANS
6 OCT 13 12:00PMCDT vs. RAIDERS
7 OCT 20 12:00PMCDT vs. TEXANS
8 OCT 27 12:00PMCDT vs. BROWNS
9 NOV 3 12:00PMCST AT BILLS
10 BYE
11 NOV 17 3:05PMCST AT BRONCOS
12 NOV 24 12:00PMCST vs. CHARGERS
13 DEC 1 12:00PMCST vs. BRONCOS
14 DEC 8 12:00PMCST AT REDSKINS
15 DEC 15 3:05PMCST AT RAIDERS
16 DEC 22 12:00PMCST vs. COLTS
17 DEC 29 3:25PMCST AT CHARGERS