Chiefs rumors: Patriots “will almost certainly” open season against Kansas City
By Matt Conner
A Boston Globe reporter says it’s a near certainty that the Patriots will host the Chiefs to open the 2017 regular season.
Early guesses at the season-opening schedule by some experts are proving true with a report from Ben Volin at the Boston Globe that the New England Patriots “will almost certainly” open the season against the Kansas City Chiefs. An early guess from Peter King at Monday Morning Quarterback caught hold earlier this offseason, and now it looks like King was right as the two top seeds of the AFC in 2016 will likely open the season facing each other.
"The Patriots’ opening game on Sept. 7 at Gillette Stadium will almost certainly be against the Chiefs, who are coming off a 12-4 season and an AFC West title. A rematch with the Falcons was an option, but they are likely to open the season at home on “Sunday Night Football” to debut their new stadium."
The two teams finished as the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the AFC last season, although an upset win by Pittsburgh at Kansas City kept the Chiefs from advancing to face the Pats in the playoffs. The Chiefs hold the all-time edge against the Patriots with a 17-13-3 record against New England in franchise history, although the Chiefs have only won two of the last eight games—the span of time since Tom Brady joined the Pats.
Andy Reid has only faced the Patriots twice since becoming the Chiefs head coach, and the results are split at 1-1 — the dominant Monday Night Football win 41-14 at Arrowhead and the close 27-20 loss in the 2016 playoffs.