2017 Kansas City Chiefs Schedule: Full Listing of Dates, Times and TV Info | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors
William Harris Kansas City has reached the playoffs in three of the last four seasons and is coming off an AFC West crown. It now knows the schedule it will have to navigate in 2017 to add to its recent success following Thursday's release.
Here is a look at the Chiefs' complete schedule for the regular season, per NFL.com.
| 2017 Kansas City Chiefs' Regular-Season Schedule | ||||
| 1 | Sept. 7 | at New England Patriots | 8:30 p.m. | NBC |
| 2 | Sept. 17 | vs. Philadelphia Eagles | 1 p.m. | Fox |
| 3 | Sept. 24 | at Los Angeles Chargers | 4:25 p.m. | CBS |
| 4 | Oct. 2 | vs. Washington | 8:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| 5 | Oct. 8 | at Houston Texans | 8:30 p.m. | NBC |
| 6 | Oct. 15 | vs. Pittsburgh Steelers | 4:25 p.m. | CBS |
| 7 | Oct. 19 | at Oakland Raiders | 8:25 p.m. | CBS/NFL Network |
| 8 | Oct. 30 | vs. Denver Broncos | 8:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| 9 | Nov. 5 | at Dallas Cowboys | 4:25 p.m. | CBS |
| 10 | Bye Week | |||
| 11 | Nov. 19 | at New York Giants | 1 p.m. | CBS |
| 12 | Nov. 26 | vs. Buffalo Bills | 1 p.m. | CBS |
| 13 | Dec. 3 | at New York Jets | 1 p.m. | CBS |
| 14 | Dec. 10 | vs. Oakland Raiders | 1 p.m. | CBS |
| 15 | Dec. 16 | vs. Los Angeles Chargers | 8:25 p.m. | NFL Netwok |
| 16 | Dec. 24 | vs. Miami Dolphins | 1 p.m. | CBS |
| 17 | Dec. 31 | at Denver Broncos | 4:25 p.m. | CBS |
| Source: NFL.com | ||||
The Chiefs rode the league's seventh-best scoring defense all the way to a 12-4 record in 2016, but the offense was just 20th in the league in yards per game.
As long as the defense remains at an elite level, the Chiefs figure to compete in every one of the games on their 2017 schedule. However, they are looking to take a step forward and become a legitimate Super Bowl contender after failing to make the AFC Championship Game in any of those three playoff appearances in the past four years.
To do that, the offensive playmakers around quarterback Alex Smith—like Tyreek Hill, Jeremy Maclin and Travis Kelce—will need to be even more effective than usual so the offense can make the necessary strides to challenge for a Lombardi Trophy.
A first-place schedule in the AFC with clashes against the AFC West, New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers doesn't offer Kansas City many favors either, so there is plenty of pressure on the offense to match the defense's production.
If it doesn't, the playoffs may not be waiting in January.
Pivotal Matchups
Every game in the loaded AFC West took on critical importance for the Chiefs last year, and it figures to be much of the same in 2017.
The Chiefs and Oakland Raiders each went 12-4 in 2016, the Denver Broncos are just one season removed from their Super Bowl 50 victory, and the Los Angeles Chargers feature talented playmakers such as Philip Rivers and Joey Bosa on both sides of the ball.
Kansas City went 6-0 in its division games last season, which is why it was able to win the AFC West. A repeat performance in those six games would help it seize control of the division yet again and battle for first-round bye positioning in the AFC as a whole.
Elsewhere, showdowns with the Steelers and Patriots immediately stand out. The Pittsburgh game will be a playoff rematch, and the Chiefs will try to enact some regular-season revenge. More importantly, the Patriots and Steelers are two of the most consistent franchises in the entire NFL and will likely once again compete for the playoffs in 2017.
If the Chiefs can find a way to earn some head-to-head victories against those AFC playoff contenders, they will have critical tiebreakers for home-field advantage and seeding races come December.
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