Chiefs schedule 2022: Dates, game times, opponents and more

2022 Kansas City Chiefs‘ regular-season schedule is here!

Normally, this is where we would talk about the biggest game of the season — but on this year’s slate, it is probably fair to identify three.

Following their Super Bowl championship in 2019, the Chiefs finished back-to-back seasons with losses in the playoffs. The 2022 schedule presents them with two opportunities to avenge those losses.

The first opportunity comes on the Week 4 edition NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” as the Chiefs visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in primetime. The Buccaneers dominated the Chiefs 31-9 in Super Bowl LV — a game that has left a lingering bad taste in the fan base and organization. The storyline of that title game was the Chiefs’ decimated offensive line. That line has since been rebuilt and replenished, which should provide quarterback Patrick Mahomes a better shot in his final matchup against Tom Brady… we think.

The next opportunity to avenge a tough loss comes in Week 13, as the Chiefs visit the Cincinnati Bengals. Kansas City looked unstoppable as it began the AFC title game on a 21-3 run. Its momentum did n’t last, with the Bengals offense rallying back as Mahomes likely put together the worst half of his young career. The Bengals advanced to the Super Bowl with a 27-24 overtime win. The Chiefs will look the reclaim their stance as the class of the AFC as the Bengals look to prove last year was no fluke.

There is no significant loss for the Chiefs to avenge against the Buffalo Bills, but the Bills will certainly feel that way as they enter Week 6. The Bills lost in the playoffs in successive years to the Chiefs, first in the 2020 AFC title game and then the 2021 Divisional Round. Last year hurt worse, as the Bills had the lead with 13 seconds left on the clock. Things were looking grim for Kansas City… and you know the rest. We identified three games the Chiefs will look at as the biggest of the season; you can bet the Bills will identify only one.

close-behind: Every game against a new-look AFC West division

Odds and ends: The Chiefs open Week 1 away against the Arizona Cardinals (they have opened as 3-point favorites, according to DraftKings Sportsbook).

Rapid analysis

The Chiefs have five scheduled primetime games for the fourth season in a row. As a reminder, teams can be flexed to a maximum of seven primetime games (this change came with a shift to a 17-game schedule. The Chiefs see four primetime games through Week 9 (Chargers Week 2, Buccaneers Week 4, Raiders Week 5 and Titans Week 9) and one near the end of the season (Broncos Week 14).The Chiefs will play three of their five primetime games against a much-revamped AFC West, which is now very clearly the league’s most talented division.

The Chiefs only have five scheduled Noon games. The Chiefs will play four of their final six games on the road. After a Week 8 bye week, the Chiefs’ final 10 games pit them against eight AFC teams, including four games within the AFC West.

Strength of schedule

The Chiefs play the toughest schedule in the league in 2022, according to DraftKings Sportsbook (more on that here).