The NFL is reportedly interested in having a game on the day before Thanksgiving and if this ends up coming to fruition, it makes sense that the Kansas City Chiefs would probably be on the short list of teams picked to play on that Wednesday. Obviously, it wouldn't be ideal, especially if the Chiefs had played on the previous Sunday, as they'd have just two full days of rest leading into that matchup.
While the likely option would be that K.C. would play the previous Thursday, it still has to mess with these players' routine to be playing on so many different days of the week. We saw this on full display in the back half of the 2024 season when the Chiefs played three games in an 11-day span.
NFL interested in adding Thanksgiving Eve game to schedule
During that time, the Chiefs played in Cleveland on a usual Sunday game, then hosted the Texans the following Saturday, and finally, played in Pittsburgh on Christmas four days later on Wednesday afternoon. The Chiefs managed to go 3-0 in that stretch of games but asking players to put their bodies on the line in such a violent sport and not giving them much recovery time is brutal.
Patrick Mahomes was not happy about the scheduling at the time, stating, "It's not a good feeling," when asked about it. After the 2024 schedule had been announced, Andy Reid didn't seem to care too much about what day of the week his team played, indicating that not everyone is concerned with this and just wants to focus on football.
Hopefully, the NFL does not end up scheduling a game for the day before Thanksgiving. They already have three games on Turkey Day and recently added another on Black Friday, why do they need to add another to the holiday slate? It's just another obstacle for teams to have to work around and when they're in the midst of a playoff run, it can be frustrating to have something as annoying as a Wednesday game to deal with.
If this does end up happening, don't be surprised if the Chiefs get scheduled for that game. Maybe not this year given the uncertainty of Mahomes' injury and his timetable to return but 2027 and beyond can't be ruled out. It's the major con of being a Super Bowl contender with a franchise quarterback. Everyone wants a piece of you and wants to watch you around the holidays.