The best and worst games on the 2019 Chiefs schedule

The National Football League released its complete 2019 schedule on Wednesday night, and it’s time to figure out which will be the best and worst parts of it for the Kansas City Chiefs...

Top-level takeaway

It’s pretty obvious the NFL and the television networks expect the Chiefs to be serious contenders in 2019. Just like last season, there are games against top AFC and NFC contenders in the last four weeks of the season, along with two division games.

The best game(s) of the year

Five contenders: Chiefs-Patriots Week 14 in Foxborough, Packers-Chiefs Week 8 at Arrowhead, Chiefs-Bears Week 16 in Chicago, and Chiefs-Chargers Week 11 in Mexico City or Week 17 at Arrowhead.

Take your pick.

But with what is now known, it’s hard not to see the matchup with the Patriots as one of the best games of the whole season — not just the Chiefs season. But the Bears should be very tough in 2019, and the two games against the Chargers will be critical.

Whether or not the Packers game will be a good matchup will primarily depend on what happens during the first seven weeks of the season. If the Packers come out strong under new head coach Matt LaFleur, it could be quite a game. Either way, as a primetime game between Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes, it will draw lots of national attention.

Once again... a late bye week!

Yes! Nothing at all wrong with having a late bye week; I always feel bad for the teams that have them in Week 6. Perfect time to rest and recover for the big push at the end of the season.

The worst part of the schedule

I see it as the final six games of the season: four division games — two of them against the Chargers — and two of the four games we just addressed: the Patriots and the Bears. The good news is that three of the four division games will be at Arrowhead, and the Chiefs will get their bye week after the first game of the stretch: the Mexico City game against the Chargers.

Unless they arrive in Mexico City 10-0 — and the Ravens, Colts, Texans and Packers will all have something to say about that — it’s likely the Chiefs will need to win nearly every one of these last six games. Say what you want about the rest of the AFC West, but division games are rarely cakewalks — and both the Raiders and the Broncos have the potential to play more capably than we expect in 2019.

Viva Estadio Azteca!

For the second consecutive year, the Chiefs are scheduled to play a Monday night game against a team from Los Angeles — this time the Chargers — during Week 11 in Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca. Once again, the Chiefs will be designated as the away team, so there will be no worries about giving up a home game in order to play in the NFL’s International Series.

Like last year, it should be a great game that will be very entertaining for local fans — provided, of course, that the game is actually played there. After last season’s debacle, it’s almost inconceivable that the stadium won’t be ready for an NFL game. But then again, at this time a year ago, I would have put the odds that the Week 11 game would be moved to Los Angeles on the Tuesday before the game at well over 100-1 — and that calculation would have been based largely on the possibility of an earthquake.

Five primetime games

The Chiefs are scheduled for five nationally-televised primetime games. Three will be on NBC’s Sunday Night Football. Then there’s the Chargers game in Mexico City on Monday Night Football, and a Thursday night game at Mile High against the Broncos. Only two of the primetime games will be played at Arrowhead. Then there is the neutral-field game at Estadio Azteca. Finally, the Patriots game at Foxborough in Week 14 is now set for 3:25 p.m., which means it will likely be seen nearly nationwide.

Primetime games in bold — all times Arrowhead Time