We are just days or possibly even hours away from finding out who the Kansas City Chiefs will face in Week One of the new NFL season. But if a theory on who their opening opponent won’t be is correct, the Chiefs might be about to receive a huge favor from the league before a game is even played.
The Seattle Seahawks will kick off the new NFL season, an honor bestowed on the reigning Super Bowl champion each year, but who the Seahawks will face is still up in the air.
The Chiefs are one of five teams Seattle could host alongside the Chicago Bears, New England Patriots, Los Angeles Chargers, and Arizona Cardinals, a list that narrowed after the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys—two teams the Seahawks will play at home this year—were announced as the opening Sunday Night Football matchup.
But the consensus seems to be that Kansas City would be an unlikely choice for the season opener for one specific reason: the potential absence of Patrick Mahomes.
The theory is that the NFL will want a headline matchup to launch the new season, and picking a Kansas City team that could potentially be without its superstar quarterback wouldn’t fit the bill.
The Chiefs are one of the highest-rated teams in the league, but with Mahomes’ return date following his ACL injury still uncertain, there’s a realistic chance it could be Justin Fields, not Mahomes, under center for the Chiefs in Week One.
That doesn’t exactly scream must-watch TV, and it means the NFL is likely to choose a different opponent for Seattle in the season opener—something that would be a huge break for the Chiefs.
Rather than having the Chiefs play the reigning champs with a backup QB, the NFL is apparently intentionally holding that game until Mahomes is back from injury, giving Kansas City a better chance to win it in the process.
It’s no secret that the NFL prioritises ratings and viewership when creating its schedule, and a Seahawks vs. Chiefs matchup stands out as a likely primetime game. It’s more likely to be a better contest, and more people are likely to watch if Mahomes is involved; that’s just a fact. It also means the Chiefs are more likely to win, too.
I’m not saying the NFL will deliberately create a schedule that outright favors the Chiefs, but I am saying the league might make a strategic business decision about one of its biggest matchups of the season to try to ensure it’s the best, most high-rated game possible.
There are other games that could be impacted, too. The Chiefs will play the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals this year, two games that could be shifted towards the back end of the season to more likely ensure fans see a Mahomes-versus-Josh Allen and a Mahomes-versus-Joe Burrow showdown. Again, those are two games the Chiefs would be far more likely to win if they don’t have to rely on a backup quarterback.
Maybe it will happen, maybe it won’t. But the NFL’s obsession with rating might just give the Chiefs a competitive advantage this year. Dodging the Seahawks in Week One would be a big win before the season has even started.
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