The 3 best and 2 worst games of the 2023 Chiefs schedule

Now that we know the Kansas City Chiefs’ 2023 schedule, let’s take a way-too-early look at the best and worst games of the coming season.

Best games

Philadelphia Eagles at Chiefs — Week 11

Re-match of the previous season’s Super Bowl — played on GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium? Yes, please!

Kansas City’s 38-35 victory in Super Bowl LVII might have been more lopsided if Philadelphia wasn’t so good at extending drives (and scoring touchdowns) by pushing quarterback Jalen Hurts through the line of scrimmage. During the offseason, consideration was given to again making these plays illegal. But the league decided to allow defenses the opportunity to figure out how to counter these plays. So be it. This game will be very interesting.

Miami Dolphins at Chiefs (in Frankfurt) — Week 9

It’s been fun to poke fun at Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill for making a big deal about returning to Arrowhead — only to find out that the game will be played on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. But that’s over now.

We’re left with a matchup against a good team being played in front of fans who have been hungering for NFL football — and who haven’t become jaded by years of being served matchups between the league’s least impressive teams. I have a sneaking feeling that so far, we haven’t really seen what these European games can look like. The German NFL experience may end up being pretty cool.

And besides... even if the game isn’t in Kansas City, it’s going to be fun to watch Hill play against the Chiefs.

Cincinnati Bengals at Chiefs — Week 17

There’s every reason to expect that this game will be between two of the AFC’s top teams — and that its result will significantly impact the AFC playoffs that will be just two weeks away.

What else could you possibly want from an NFL game on New Year’s Eve? Perhaps an undercard featuring a no-holds-barred wrestling match between the mayors of the two cities? Let’s not kid ourselves: that could happen.

This could easily end up being touted as the season’s biggest game — and that’s exactly what it might be.

Unknown games

Chiefs at New York Jets — Week 4

The media storm for this matchup will be completely off the chain — especially since quarterback Aaron Rodgers is now playing for the Jets. It’s impossible to overestimate how much press coverage there will be for a controversial game involving a New York team.

But here’s the thing: we really have no idea how Rodgers’ acquisition is going to affect the Jets. Sure... on paper, it should at least make New York a competitive team — if not a contender. So we have to allow for the possibility that this matchup will live up to every single bit of the hyperbole.

But it was only last season that everyone said that Russell Wilson would turn Denver around, right? So we also have to allow for the chance that this could be a terrible game, too.

Denver Broncos at Chiefs — Week 6

After his first season with the Broncos, the Wilson trade looked like an absolute disaster. Can bringing in former New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton turn things around? Stranger things have happened, right?

Denver will have played the Raiders, Commanders and Bears before coming to Kansas City — so the Broncos may be one of those teams whose record becomes artificially inflated during the early part of the season. By the time the team deplanes at KCI’s brand-new terminal, we might not have a clear idea about how much difference Payton has really made.

Just like the game in New York two weeks earlier, this one could go either way.

Worst games

Chiefs at Las Vegas Raiders — Week 12

It might take another few years for the Raiders to completely clean up the mess Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden left behind. It looks like the team will continue to be what it has been for the last several seasons: one capable of putting up impressive wins against good teams — but usually demonstrates how an NFL team should not be run.

But at least it will be an opportunity for the Chiefs to get another good look at Allegiant Stadium’s locker rooms. The goal will be to use them again in February.

Chiefs at New England Patriots — Week 15

Three weeks later, Kansas City will travel to the stadium where the Chiefs have had a significant number of great games under head coach Andy Reid. But since the departure of quarterback Tom Brady, the Patriots have been a shell of their former selves — even under the coaching of certain Hall of Fame coach Bill Belichick.

It will remain interesting to watch Reid and Belichick — who are very good friends off the field — play chess against each other. But it sure was a lot more fun when Belichick’s king wore No. 12.