Chiefs 2026 NFL Schedule Released as Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce's Super Bowl Push

Coming off their worst season in 14 years, the Kansas City Chiefs will look to rebound in 2026.

The NFL unveiled the entire regular-season schedule for all 32 teams on Thursday, with the Chiefs set to open the year against the Denver Broncos in Week 1.

Full schedule information available on the team's official website.

Analysis

Any talk about Kansas City's upside for next season depends heavily on Patrick Mahomes' return from a torn ACL. He suffered the injury in a loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Dec. 14, giving him approximately nine full months to recover before Week 1.

Mahomes posted a video of himself throwing again at the end of March. He is reportedly on track to be healthy for the start of the regular season, but the Chiefs have been careful to avoid putting a specific timeline on his return.

The Chiefs have the fifth-hardest schedule in the league based on their opponents' winning percentage from 2025.

That difficulty primarily stems from divisional games against the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers, as well as non-divisional matchups with the NFC West that produced three teams with at least 12 wins last season.

It's not uncommon for the Chiefs to be playing a difficult schedule because they have traditionally been one of the best teams in the NFL throughout Andy Reid's tenure as head coach.

The 2026 season is different because the Chiefs are coming off a 6-11 record last year and a roster that had to undergo some big changes with the hope things will get back on track.

Pivotal Matchups

No better place to start in figuring out how things will go for the Chiefs in 2026 than with their divisional matchups. One of the big reasons they finished under .500 was a 1-5 record against the AFC West last season.

The five losses against the AFC West nearly matched the Chiefs' total in the first seven years of Mahomes' career as the starting quarterback (35-7). They had never lost more than two divisional games in a season since 2014.

In trying to evaluate where the Chiefs stand in the Super Bowl hierarchy, four of their biggest non-divisional games will be on the road against the Bills, defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks, Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams.

Kansas City will host the defending AFC champion New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers at Arrowhead Stadium.

This is a gauntlet the likes of which you don't usually see in the NFL for a team coming off a six-win season, but the Chiefs are uniquely positioned for a fast turnaround as long as Mahomes returns at full strength.

Even if the Chiefs have to hold Mahomes back at the start of the year, he is the biggest swing player in the entire league whenever he suits up.