Life in the NFL is all about routine.
Players know their in-season weekly schedule involves preparing for an opponent by learning a game plan, then taking the practice field as plays are installed. And then comes game day.
Since becoming the NFL’s most popular team, the Chiefs have found their week-to-week work is anything but routine.
Heck, a year ago, the Chiefs played on six different days of the week. That was the first time an NFL team had to do that since the 1927 Yankees, and in those days teams made their own schedules.
The Chiefs’ schedule this year is historic for multiple reasons and one of them is because of the number of prime-time games for KC.
Mike North, the NFL’s vice president of broadcast planning and scheduling, talked about the Chiefs schedule on the Up & Adams show.
“I don’t think the Chiefs were surprised. I don’t think the Chiefs fans are surprised,” North said. “Anybody who’s been watching football for the last few years know that the Chiefs have almost kind of surpassed the Cowboys really as the bell cow. And this is what happens when your pop culture, part of the fabric of the country right now. And this is par for the course for the Chiefs.”
The Chiefs may not be surprised, but one former NFL quarterback believes the schedule puts KC at a competitive disadvantage.
Former NFL QB Chris Simms, who is now with NBC Sports, noted how each week of preparation will look different for the Chiefs.
“It’s crazy how intense the Chiefs schedule is. 7 night games. Thanksgiving. Christmas,” Simms wrote on X. “The lack of routine really jumps out. They don’t play in same day/timeslot in consecutive weeks until mid December. And Reid & Mahomes and the whole crew embrace it and never use as an excuse.”
