Best-case schedule scenarios for Kansas City Chiefs

2. Playing home games early, away games later

Knowing how the NFL likes to structure the season, it’s pretty easy to predict that division games will occur near the beginning and the end. I think it would be ideal for the Chiefs if they had the Raiders and Chargers both at home early (Chargers is already a lock). Then they can play both of these divisional rivals near the end of the season, where the Roomba Stadium in Vegas and the L.A. weather will both be superior to K.C. weather in December and January.

Following that same line of thinking, playing the Cardinals, Bucs, and 49ers in the latter half of the season would be a major boon, while taking on the Seahawks, Bills, and Broncos at home in September and October while it’s still relatively warm in Kansas City.

3. No more than two straight road games at any point

The NFL tries to keep home and away games pretty balanced, but every once in a while a team will get hit with a 2+ home or away lineup, and the away lineups can be brutal. If this were to happen to the Chiefs, I’d want it to happen to the string of NFC and AFC West opponents we’ll be facing on the West Coast.

4. End the season at home

The final week of the season will almost certainly be against a divisional rival, and knowing how the last few years have played out, it will likely be the Broncos or the Chargers (my bet is the Chargers). If it is the Chargers, then of course the Chiefs will not be ending the season at home (and hopefully preparing for a bye week). But, if it’s the Broncos or the Raiders, it’s possible that the Chiefs could end at home which would be great. Why? Assuming the Chiefs get home-field advantage, they could be staying at Arrowhead for nearly an entire month leading up to the Super Bowl.

5. Any combo that doesn’t include the Chargers, Bills, Rams, Bucs, and Titans

There are some other nasty combos that could happen too, but this would be just a brutal stretch. The best-case scenario is that all of these opponents are evenly spaced throughout the season, sandwiched between teams like the Raiders, Texans, Jags, and Colts.