The Kansas City Chiefs are back-to-back world champions following their victory in Super Bowl LVIII, and with the goal of a three-peat now firmly in mind, we already know the Chiefs' full slate of opponents in 2024.
It's worth mentioning that the schedule for next season is still to be determined, but at least for now, here's a look at the Chiefs' opponents next year alongside each respective team's record in 2023. Teams that qualified for the postseason are marked with an asterisk.
You'll also notice that the Chiefs have eight home games to nine road games next season. The onset of the 17-game schedule in 2021 brought about an unbalanced number of home and 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 this past 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 (8-9)
Los Angeles Chargers (5-12)
Las Vegas Raiders (8-9)
Baltimore Ravens (13-4)*
Cincinnati Bengals (9-8)
Houston Texans (10-7)*
New Orleans Saints (9-8)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-8)*
Away
Denver Broncos (8-9)
Los Angeles Chargers (5-12)
Las Vegas Raiders (8-9)
Atlanta Falcons (7-10)
Buffalo Bills (11-6)*
Carolina Panthers (2-15)
Cleveland Browns (11-6)*
Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7)*
San Francisco 49ers (12-5)*
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 lone component of the schedule that remains the same from season to season.
Beyond that, the Chiefs (and the rest of the AFC West) will take on the entirety of the AFC North (Ravens, Browns, Steelers and Bengals) and NFC South (Buccaneers, Saints, Falcons and Panthers) in 2024. Every division in the NFL plays each team from one division in the AFC and one in the NFC on a rotating basis. For example, the Chiefs played the AFC East and NFC North this past year.
That already accounts for 14 of the Chiefs' matchups next season, leaving three remaining opponents. Two of those (the Texans and Bills) were determined because of where each team finished in their respective division this past year. Kansas City won the AFC West, locking them in with matchups against the champions of the AFC East (Buffalo) and AFC South (Houston). The second-place team in the AFC West (the Raiders) will play the second-place teams from those two divisions (the Dolphins and Jaguars) 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 West. That pins the Chiefs against the champion of the NFC West (the 49ers) while the Raiders, for example, will play the Los Angeles Rams (who finished second). The location of this game – which is often referred to as "the 17th game," although it could occur at any time on the schedule – is the one that alternates between conferences. The NFC has more home games than the AFC this year, which is why this game will take place in San Francisco. This inter-conference matching occurs on a four-year rotational basis, meaning that the AFC West will line up with the NFC North in 2025.
It all makes for another great slate of opponents in 2024, and as the offseason kicks into high gear in the coming months, we'll learn the exact schedule soon enough.
