Two NFL analysts see Chiefs as having one of the easier schedules in 2020
The Chiefs already knew which teams they’d be facing in the 2020 season and where, but on Thursday night, they’ll know when those games will take place.
The NFL will unveil the entire 2020 schedule, which should include a game at Arrowhead Stadium to begin the season. The motto for the season is #RunItBack as the Chiefs hope to win a second consecutive Super Bowl.
In addition to the home-and-away AFC West contests, this season will feature games against the AFC East (Patriots, Bills, Jets and Dolphins) and NFC South (Saints, Falcons, Buccaneers and Panthers), as well as fellow AFC division winners Houston and Baltimore.
Only five of the Chiefs’ games are against teams that had a .500 record or better last season, and that partially explains why they have one of the easiest schedules in the NFL.
Naturally, this doesn’t take into account offseason roster changes such as Tampa Bay adding Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski. So when determining each NFL team’s strength of schedule, CBS Sports’ Jared Dubin used a different criteria: each team’s over-under win expectation for the 2020 season from the William Hill Sport Book.
Using that gauge, the Chiefs are tied for the eighth easiest schedule in the NFL with the Steelers (.500 strength of schedule). But the Chiefs don’t have the cushiest set of opponents in the AFC West. The Chargers are tied for the third easiest schedule.
Indianapolis (.480) has the easiest schedule in this analysis.
It’s not just Dubin who sees the Chiefs’ schedule as being among the NFL’s easiest.
ESPN’s Mike Clay, who forecasts an 11-5 record for the Chiefs in 2020, has Kansas City’s schedule ranked as the 10th easiest. While not a cakewalk, that’s still in the top third of easiest schedules.
Clay’s projections, which were made after the NFL Draft, have the Chiefs getting the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs, which would be the only bye in the conference in the postseason.
This story was originally published May 7, 2020 at 8:48 AM.
