Doubt cast upon Kansas City Chiefs’ reported schedule in Germany

NFL reporter Peter King says he’s hearing doubts about the substance of last week’s reports about the Kansas City Chiefs’ schedule in Germany.

Last week, rumors emerged from a German newspaper concerning some exciting schedule details for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2023 and beyond. Apparently, there are reasons to hold lightly to those reports.

Previous reports had the Chiefs scheduled to visit Germany with an in-season game against the Chicago Bears in mid-November. The same newspaper, Bild, also reported that the Chiefs would be making a second trip to Europe in as many seasons when they would serve as the “road” team for the Carolina Panthers in 2024 in an as-yet-unscheduled game.

NFL reporter Peter King has the word in his Monday morning column that the Chiefs have thrown a wrench in those plans with their protected right to preserve one game from going overseas. Given that they are the “home” team giving up a game in Arrowhead to play internationally, the Chiefs have asked the league to keep the Bears from being an overseas opponent. If so, that means the league has to send someone else over to Frankfurt to face the Chiefs.

King also notes that the Panthers might want to protect the Chiefs game themselves knowing that tickets to see Mahomes will sell like hotcakes.

If the Bears are out, then the full list of potential foes in Frankfurt is narrowed down to the following:

• Buffalo Bills
• Cincinnati Bengals
• Denver Broncos
• Detroit Lions
• Las Vegas Raiders
• Los Angeles Chargers
• Miami Dolphins
• Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles, Bills, and Bengals are all top-tier matchups that the league will want to keep stateside for the sake of TV ratings and pleasing their broadcasting partners. The same could even be said of the Miami Dolphins since it will be Tyreek Hill’s homecoming. Home games against rivals are always appreciated so that really leaves the Detroit Lions as the most likely opponent—an NFC North substitute.