Winning your division is a great thing. It guarantees you a home playoff game and at least an outside chance of getting a first round bye. However, there is a downside to being such a good team, and that’s the fact that you will almost certainly play a tougher schedule than the rest of the teams in your division the following year. The Kansas City Chiefs have been living this reality for the past nine seasons, and face the same problem in their schedule in 2025.
For those who don’t know, one part of the schedule is determined by where you finish in your division. The Chiefs winning the AFC West means they play the other three AFC division winners. The second place Chargers will play the other second place finishers, so on and so forth. That means the Chiefs will play, theoretically, the three best teams in the AFC outside of themselves. Add in the fact that they play in arguably the best division in the AFC, and you’ve got a tough schedule ahead.
Key Games on the Kansas City Chiefs 2025 Schedule
Week 1 – Season Opener In South America
The Chiefs will travel way down south to open their 2025 schedule, as they take on the Los Angeles Chargers in Sao Paolo, Brazil.
Per Matt McMullen, the Chiefs will become the first team to play a game in four countries outside the United States. This is likely due to the league using its best team of the decade to market itself to other countries if and when they decide to expand again.
Luckily for the Chiefs, this is a road game and won’t take away a game in Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs have won nearly 80-percent of their games at home since 2020. They’ve lost more than two games in a season just twice in the past decade.
The Chargers will roll out a revamped offense and the Chiefs will get their first real game action for a returning Rashee Rice and whoever wins the left tackle battle between Jaylon Moore and Josh Simmons.
Week 2 – Super Bowl Rematch
This will be the third season in a row that the Chiefs will play a Super Bowl matchup. However, this year they will be the ones looking to get some revenge from that game.
After the Philadelphia Eagles spoiled the Chiefs’ pursuit of history, Patrick Mahomes and company will surely have this game circled on their calendar. The Eagles’ roster is largely in tact from last season, with a few depth pieces added via free agency and the NFL Draft. Both teams will play an early game in Week 1, so it should be a battle of two full strength squads (barring any significant injuries in the opening week).
Week 9 – AFC Championship Rematch
The Chiefs have knocked the Buffalo Bills out of the playoffs in four of the past five seasons, including twice in the AFC Championship. The Chiefs scored 11 points in the fourth quarter of last year’s Championship game to knock off the Bills and advance to their third consecutive Super Bowl.
However, the Bills are 4-1 against the Chiefs in the regular season since 2020. The Chiefs seem to get up for the more important games, but the Bills certainly have their number from September to January. Josh Allen and company will once again be looking to get some revenge against the Chiefs in the regular season.
Week 13 – Thanksgiving Showdown With America’s Team
The Chiefs will face off with “America’s Team” for the first time since Week 11 of 2021. In that game, the Chiefs won 19-9. This will be Kansas City’s 11th ever game on Thanksgiving and will serve as the tiebreaker for their current 5-5 record. They played the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving in 1995, a 24-12 loss, but have won two consecutive turkey day games since then.
A healthy Dak Prescott will always present a challenge for any team. With the addition of George Pickens, he now has one of the best wide receiver duos in the league to throw to. It should be an exciting game to celebrate Thanksgiving with.
Week 17 – Divisional Clash on Christmas Day
Bo Nix led the Denver Broncos to a surprising 10-win season in 2024, earning them their first playoff appearance since winning the Super Bowl in 2015. Last year, they were a blocked last-second field goal away from going 2-0 against the division-winning Chiefs. That has earned them a Christmas Day matchup against the nine-time defending AFC West champions.
This is the third consecutive year that the Chiefs play on Christmas and they are looking to move to 2-1 in that stretch. The Broncos added a handful of notable players this offseason, including Evan Engram, Jahdae Barron, and RJ Harvey. The division continues to improve as the pursuit of the Chiefs intensifies.
Other Notable Games on the 2025 Schedule for the Chiefs
Last season’s matchup with the Baltimore Ravens was one of the most exciting endings to a game all year. The Ravens were an inch away from tying the game (or going for two to win) on the last play of the game in the season opener. They get a chance to avenge that loss in Week 4.
The Chiefs play host to the Detroit Lions in Week 6. Detroit won 15 games and finished first in the NFC before losing a shootout to the eventual NFC runner-up Washington Commanders in the Divisional Round. They will be without both of their coordinators from last season, so it will be interesting to see how they fare on both sides of the ball.
Speaking of the Commanders, they make a trip to Arrowhead Stadium in Week 8. Washington will be on the back end of a two-game road trip, the first being what should be a tough divisional matchup with the Cowboys.
The No. 1 pick in this year’s NFL Draft will get to experience Steve Spagnuolo’s defense in Week 16, as the Chiefs travel to Tennessee to take on Cam Ward and the Titans. Ward will face his fair share of good defenses in the NFL. However, there are few defensive coordinators who can crank it up at the right time quite like Spags. He will certainly be looking to put the rookie into some uncomfortable positions early and often. Fun fact: the Chiefs haven’t faced a rookie quarterback taken first overall since 2018 (Baker Mayfield).
Week 18 hasn’t mattered for the Chiefs in each of the past two seasons. That’s because they’ve had their seed clinched by the end of Week 17. If they do need a win to end the season this time around, they will have a very familiar opponent standing in their way. The Chiefs travel to Vegas to close out the season, which could lead to a very interesting matchup to close out the regular season. The Raiders would love nothing more than to hurt the Chiefs to end the year.
Final Thoughts on the Chiefs 2025 Schedule
The Chiefs will play 10 games against teams that had a winning record last season. Of those 10 games, five are against teams who had at least 12 wins. The good news is, seven of the 10 games are at home, one of the road games is actually on a neutral field, and the final two road games of the season are against teams who won a combined seven games last year. They also have a Week 10 bye, which comes after games against the Commanders and Bills and prior to a road game against the Broncos.
The Chiefs certainly have their work cut out for them once again.
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Kyle Jones
Kyle joined The League Winners in May of 2024 and is currently covering the Kansas Jayhawks, while also dabbling in the Kansas City Chiefs. He is a born and raised Chiefs and Jayhawks fan, as well as the Royals. When he's not watching and writing about sports, Kyle enjoys reading, playing video games, and spending time with his wife and dog.