Nine of the Kansas City Chiefs‘ games this year will be played against teams that made the playoffs in 2025. Still, the team has two separate three-game stretches against teams that missed the playoffs last season. But if you do the math, there are still more tough games on this schedule than tea parties.
But the question is, which stretches of the schedule are the most murderous? And likewise, which games are easy enough that you’re not chasing shots of Mylanta with extra doses of your blood pressure
medication at halftime?
That’s what we’re trying to figure out today.
And for the sake of arbitrary consistency, for this article, we’ll define a stretch as any span of three or more games that’s not interrupted by a cupcake.
So without further ado, let’s take a look at the Chiefs schedule and see if we can distill the hardest and easiest stretches of the 2026 season.
Hardest stretches
There are really two contenders for the most difficult stretch of the season, and oddly enough, both of them involve a team that plays in Los Angeles. And if we were only looking at the minimum threshold of three-game spans, Week 6-8 of the Chiefs’ schedule is an intriguing pick for the toughest stretch.
But if you can think objectively and not visualize the Cincinnati Bengals as the NFL equivalent of a bunch of hungover trainwrecks doing the walk of shame in the morning (and if you can, then you’re a better person than me), then the clear-cut winner for the hardest stretch of the season is Weeks 12-17.
It starts with three games on the road, including two back-to-back Thursday nights against the Buffalo Bills and the Los Angeles Rams.
Then, after a brief reprieve, the Chiefs get to play the Bengals at Paycor Stadium. It’s back home to play against a tough New England Patriots team.
The stretch ends with another home game against the San Francisco 49ers, and another road game to the West Coast, only this time it’s against the Chiefs’ division rivals, the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Chiefs play against three of the best quarterbacks in the league during this stretch (and Joe Burrow). The Chiefs also play the Chargers, which is like eating dry wheat toast in the morning.
Toughest games in this stretch:
1.) Week 13: at Rams
Quarterback Matt Stafford was the league MVP last season. To make matters worse, the Rams traded for Myles Garrett, and there are rumors that the Incredible Hulk, a.k.a Aaron Donald, is contemplating coming out of retirement. When you add the Chiefs’ two best cornerbacks from a year ago to this defense, it’s starting to look pretty daunting.
2.) Week 15: vs. Patriots
New England is a well-coached team with a stud young quarterback in Drake Maye, who finished in the top four in both yards and touchdowns last season. The Patriots have an excellent running game with the one-two punch of Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson. And then, when you figure in the offseason acquisition of No.1 receiver AJ Brown, the Patriots are primed to make another run in the AFC East.
3.) Week 16: vs. 49ers
The 49ers and head coach Kyle Shanahan are like black mold, in that you can never really get rid of them. Luckily, San Francisco also seems to oscillate between a good season one year and double-digit losses the next. The fate of the 49ers rises and falls with the health of running back Christian McCaffrey.
Easiest stretches
Without a doubt, Weeks 9-11 are by far the easiest stretch of the season and serve as the calm before the storm of every. Coming off a late-game road game against the Denver Broncos the week before, the Chiefs have an opportunity to return home during this stretch and fortify themselves before hopefully making a push for the playoffs.
And while there is no such thing as a gimme in the NFL, the Arizona Cardinals are about as close as it gets to being a team full of players who should be clamoring to try to return to play in the NCAA.
On the other hand, I still expect the New York Jets to be, well, um—the Jets.
But they are a sneaky candidate to be a trip-up game this season if they can stay healthy and get all their young offensive weapons on the field at the same time.
Easiest games in this stretch:
1.) Week 9: vs. Jets
The Jets tanked last season so they could load up on young talent on both sides of the ball. The result is a handful of players who could be legitimate stars in this league. Draft picks like edge rusher David Bailey and tight end Kenyon Sadiq. Along with some players who have already made a name for themselves, such as running back Breece Hall, wide receiver Garrett Wilson, defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat, etc.
But once you get past these players, the roster falls off a cliff, especially on the defensive side of the ball, with guys like Kiko Mauigoa and Andre Cisco expected to play big roles this season.
2.) Week 10: at Atlanta Falcons
I mean, just copy-paste what I wrote above, and replace Love with Bijan Robinson, and McBride with Kyle Pitts Sr.
The only difference is that Atlanta has two bad starting quarterbacks, instead of two good backups.
3) Week 11: vs. Cardinals
On paper, there are things to like about this team. Like the fact that they have a pair of dynamic offensive weapons, including running back Jeremiyah Love and tight end Trey McBride. But this roster is top-heavy and lacks a starting quarterback. If the Chiefs don’t beat the Cadinals, then this is going to be a long season.
Do you agree with our assessment of the easiest and hardest stretches of the season?
You know the drill—tell us if we’re either geniuses or morons in the comments below.
