The best and worst games of the 2022 Chiefs schedule

Now that we know the Kansas City Chiefs’ 2022 schedule, let’s take a way-too-early look at the best and worst games of the coming season.

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Best games

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Buffalo Bills at Chiefs — Week 6

When two teams have a postseason battle in which the lead changes hands four times in the last two minutes of regulation — and is then decided in overtime — the following year’s regular-season rematch simply has to be one of the best games of the year, right?

A year ago — coming off another big postseason battle — I chose the Week 5 game between these two teams as one of the season’s best. I was as shocked as anyone when the Chiefs fell to the Bills 38-20 in that game.

So as it turned out, I was just wrong about which Bills game it would be. But if I’m wrong in exactly the same way this year — where Buffalo wins easily in the regular season and Kansas City takes the playoff rematch — I can live with that.

Los Angeles Rams at Chiefs — Week 12

When these two teams last met in 2018, it was for a Monday Night Football game under an ashen Los Angeles sky — instead of a torn-up field in Mexico City. But it lived up to every ounce of the hype that preceded it. Expected to be an offensive shootout, it became the third-highest-scoring game in NFL history. The Rams prevailed 54-51 when Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes was intercepted by Lamarcus Joyner at the Los Angeles 28-yard line with 13 seconds remaining. (No, the irony of that is not lost on me).

It was Mahomes’ third pick of the night — and he gave up two fumbles, too. But he threw for 478 yards and six touchdowns. He’s never eclipsed that yardage or touchdown total since then. And you know he wants that game back.

This time, it will be at Arrowhead — but it will be against the World Champion Rams led by quarterback Matthew Stafford. This will be one that should not be missed.

Chiefs at Cincinnati Bengals, Week 13

In 2021, the Chiefs lost two games to the ascendant Bengals. One was at home. One was on the road. One was in the regular season. One was in the playoffs. Both losses were by only three points — and in both cases, they were games the Chiefs should have won.

In 2021, Cincinnati was a better team than many (including me) had expected — and it deserves full credit for both of its victories against Kansas City. But both were costly losses. The Chiefs will have something to prove.

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is famous for doing his best to treat every game on the schedule like every other game. But anyone who believes this game will just be one of 17 — either to Reid or his players — isn’t paying attention.

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Unknown game

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Chiefs at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Week 4

This rematch of Super Bowl LV will be among the most-hyped games of the season’s first half. Later, we may see some other games with even more buzz — that is, when we have a better idea of which teams are good and which teams are... not so good.

The Buccaneers could be in either group. The 45-year-old Greatest-Of-All-Time Tom Brady is back at the helm of the offense, but you have to wonder how his offseason retirement — and unretirement — will actually play out. History shows that an unretirement can go well — and also that it can end badly. It can’t help that Brady already has a golden parachute strapped to his back.

Retiring head coach Bruce Arians is another wild card. You have to appreciate his idea of picking the right time to hand the franchise over to well-respected defensive coordinator Todd Bowles — but will Arians’ presence in the front office help or hinder Bowles? It’s not as if Bowles put together a stellar record as head coach of the New York Jets, either.

In short, the Buccaneers could continue to be one of the league’s best teams. Or... they might not.

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Worst games

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Jacksonville Jaguars at Chiefs — Week 10

For the third consecutive year, the Jaguars selected two players in the first round of the NFL Draft. The theory is that teams at the bottom of the standings get access to better players in the draft, so they have a chance to improve with an infusion of talent.

But that’s just a theory. Since 2008, Jacksonville has eclipsed .500 just once. Will first overall pick Travon Walker — along with linebacker Devin Lloyd, who was taken at 20 — finally help turn things around?

With quarterback Trevor Lawrence (and head coach Doug Pederson), it’s always possible. But I wouldn’t call it likely.

Seattle Seahawks at Chiefs — Week 16

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll has put together a stellar career in Seattle. But it’s fair to wonder how much of it was because of the quarterback who will now suit up for the Denver Broncos every week.

Does Drew Lock once again return to his hometown as an opposing team's quarterback? Or does Geno Smith play his NFL first game in the city where many people thought he’d land in 2013?

Pick your narrative. One is a movie we’ve seen before. The other is a movie whose ending can be predicted pretty easily.

Chiefs at Houston Texans — Week 15

In 2019, the Texans got as far as the AFC’s Divisional round, where they jumped out to a 24-0 lead against Kansas City. The Chiefs went on a 51-point rampage, holding Houston to just seven more points before the final gun.

Since then, the team has accumulated a record of just 8-25. They traded away wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, edge rusher J.J. Watt and quarterback Deshaun Watson. Through these trades, the team has acquired lots of draft capital. But they’ll go into the season with third-round rookie Davis Mills and veterans Kyle Allen and Kevin Hogan competing to become the team’s quarterback.

(Yes... that Kevin Hogan, whom the Chiefs selected in the fifth round of the 2016 draft. The Texans are his seventh NFL team).

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