Chiefs' remaining schedule looks surprisingly favorable after perfect 5-0 start

After winning just six games a season ago, marking the lowest total of the Andy Reid era and easily the lowest of the Patrick Mahomes era, one would have to assume the Kansas City Chiefs couldn't be happier to be 5-0 through the first third of this 2026 campaign.

The Chiefs kicked things off by dominating the Denver Broncos in Week 1 before just squeaking past the Indianapolis Colts in overtime in Week 2. Another blowout came in Week 3 against the Miami Dolphins, but another close one followed in Week 4, with Kansas City getting by the Las Vegas Raiders by three. And after the Week 5 bye came a double-digit win this past Sunday over the Los Angeles Chargers.

Now, not every win has been pretty, but wins are wins, and the Chiefs now find themselves at 5-0 for the sixth time in franchise history and the third time since Mahomes took over as QB1 in 2018. Kansas City also finds itself as one of just three undefeated teams remaining, the others being the San Francisco 49ers (6-0) and the Minnesota Vikings (5-0).

And as far as the final two-thirds of the campaign are concerned, the Chiefs certainly don't have the most demanding slate, as they currently rank 17th in the league in regards to remaining strength of schedule. But before we break all of that down, here's what the final 12 weeks look like for Kansas City.

Chiefs have a favorable path ahead despite some challenging matchups

• Week 7: at Seattle Seahawks (Sunday Night Football)
• Week 8: at Denver Broncos
• Week 9: vs. New York Jets
• Week 10: at Atlanta Falcons
• Week 11: vs. Arizona Cardinals
• Week 12: at Buffalo Bills (Thanksgiving)
• Week 13: at Los Angeles Rams (Thursday Night Football)
• Week 14: at Cincinnati Bengals
• Week 15: vs. New England Patriots (Monday Night Football)
• Week 16: vs. San Francisco 49ers
• Week 17: at Los Angeles Chargers
• Week 18: vs. Las Vegas Raiders

Chiefs' remaining strength of schedule ranks near the middle of the NFL

Only 5 of KC's remaining opponents currently have winning records

As you can see, Kansas City's remaining opponents currently have a combined winning percentage of .507, which is right near the middle of the pack.

That said, of the dozen games the Chiefs have left to play, only five are against teams currently over .500, the first of which comes in Week 8 when they take on the Broncos (4-2) for the second time. But the second doesn't come until Week 12, when they travel to Orchard Park for a high-profile showdown on Thanksgiving night with Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills (5-1).

There's then another big battle in Week 14 with the Cincinnati Bengals (3-2), which is also on the road, and that's followed in Week 15 with a home matchup on Monday Night Football against the New England Patriots (4-2). And in a possible Super Bowl preview in Week 16, Kansas City plays host to the aforementioned San Francisco 49ers (6-0).

Now, to be fair, there are two teams on that list above who are at .500 right now, those being the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks, who host the Chiefs this Sunday, and the Raiders, who gave the Bills all they could handle this past Sunday before ultimately falling to 3-3 with a 33-30 loss.

Chiefs have plenty of winnable games left on the schedule

But those still both fall into the "winnable games" group, and with all due respect, the New York Jets (2-4) matchup in Week 9, the Atlanta Falcons (2-4) game in Week 10, the Arizona Cardinals (2-4) contest in Week 11, and the Chargers rematch in Week 17 fall in there as well. It's hard to put the Los Angeles Rams in that category, given all the talent on that roster, but they're also 2-4 at this point. One would assume they'll have righted the ship a bit before Week 13, but there's no guarantee there.

Any team can win any game in any given week, of course, but the Chiefs are obviously already in great shape, and even if they split these final 12 games, which doesn't seem at all likely, they'd still finish 11-6, which should be more than enough to get back to the postseason.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow