The latest NFL campaign is officially in the books, and with the offseason now underway, there's no better time to start looking ahead to next year. That discussion begins with who the Chiefs will play in 2022, and while the schedule itself won't be announced until later this spring, we already know the slate of opponents that Kansas City is set to play.
Here's a look at the Chiefs' opponents next season alongside each respective team's record in 2021. Teams that qualified for the postseason are marked with an asterisk. You'll also notice that the Chiefs have nine road games to eight home games next season. The onset of the 17-game schedule last year meant an unbalanced number of home-road contests, prompting a solution that alternates the extra home game between conferences from season to season. The AFC had the benefit of the ninth home game last season, meaning that each member of the NFC will have an extra home game this time around.
Additionally, an explanation of how these opponents were determined is below.
Home
Denver Broncos (7-10)
Las Vegas Raiders (10-7)*
Los Angeles Chargers (9-8)
Jacksonville Jaguars (3-14)
Tennessee Titans* (12-5)
Los Angeles Rams* (12-5)
Seattle Seahawks (7-10)
Buffalo Bills* (11-6)
Away
Denver Broncos (7-10)
Las Vegas Raiders (10-7)*
Los Angeles Chargers (9-8)
Houston Texans (4-13)
Indianapolis Colts (9-8)
San Francisco 49ers* (10-7)
Arizona Cardinals* (11-6)
Cincinnati Bengals* (10-7)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers* (13-4)
To start with the obvious, six of the Chiefs' games next year will take place against AFC West opponents (the Broncos, Raiders and Chargers). That's the component of the schedule that remains the same from season to season. Kansas City went 5-1 against division rivals last season, winning each of its five final AFC West matchups.
Beyond that, the Chiefs (and the rest of the AFC West) will take on the entirety of the AFC South (Titans, Colts, Texans and Jaguars) and NFC West (Rams, Cardinals, 49ers and Seahawks) in 2022. Every division in the NFL plays one division from the AFC and one from the NFC on a rotating basis. For example, the Chiefs played the AFC North and NFC East this past year.
That already accounts for 14 of the Chiefs' matchups next season, leaving three remaining opponents. Two of those (the Bengals and Bills) were determined because of where each team finished in their respective division last year. Kansas City won the AFC West, locking them in with matchups against the champions of the AFC North (Cincinnati) and AFC East (Buffalo). The second-place team in the AFC West (the Raiders) will play the second-place teams from those two divisions (the Steelers and Patriots) and so on.
The final game was calculated in a similar manner, as each member of the AFC West will play the team that finished in its same position in the NFC South. That pins the Chiefs against the champion of the NFC South (the Buccaneers) while the Raiders, for example, will play the New Orleans Saints (who finished second). The location of this game is the one that alternates between conferences, which is why Kansas City will travel to Tampa Bay next year. This inter-conference matching occurs on a four-year rotational basis, meaning that the AFC West will line up with the NFC East in 2023 and the NFC West in 2024.
Once again, the schedule will be announced later this spring. The timing of that announcement is to be determined, but regardless, it all wraps up into another exciting slate of opponents in 2022 as the Chiefs look to get back to the Super Bowl.
