In 2017, the Kansas City Chiefs will have the opportunity to avenge each of the last two playoff losses on the very field in which those games took place.
We might yet not know the dates or times, but we know the Chiefs will host the Pittsburgh Steelers at some point and travel to take on the New England Patriots as well.
The Chiefs fell to the Steelers at Arrowhead Stadium in the divisional round last year by a score of 18-16, and fell to the Patriots by a score of 27-20 to end the 2015 campaign.
Those are just two of the games that will highlight the 2017 schedule, which should be announced sometime within the next couple of weeks, if not sooner.
Here's a look at the games and locations for the Chiefs in 2017:
Home: Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers, Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, Pittsburgh Steelers
Away: Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Houston Texans
Overall, this is an extremely difficult matchup for teams in both the AFC West and NFC East divisions, which were inarguably the top two divisions in all of football last season.
According to the winning percentages of teams last year (which doesn't mean everything, but it does mean something), the Chiefs have the second-toughest task in 2017—facing teams with a combined winning percentage of .576 next season.
The Broncos' road looks to be the toughest (.578).
Here’s a full look at the strength of schedule numbers for next season, per CBS Sports.
So, the question for Chiefs fans becomes, which game are you looking forward to the most?
Here's a quick snapshot of four of the top games on the schedule for next season:
Hosting the Philadelphia Eagles at Arrowhead:
This doesn't need much explanation.
It's Andy Reid against his former team and his former protégé in Eagles head coach Doug Pederson, who has three former Chiefs' assistants on his staff in Philadelphia right now as well (Eugene Chung, Joe D'Orazio, Dino Vasso).
Since arriving in Kansas City four years ago, Reid has led the Chiefs to a 43-21 regular-season record and three playoff trips in four years.
Hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers at Arrowhead:
A win against the Steelers in the regular season isn't going to make last year's playoff loss sting any less, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be cathartic for everyone involved anyways.
The Steelers are going to be good again, and it'll be another huge test for a Chiefs team that's shown it belongs with the top teams in the AFC, and this is another big chance to prove they've taken the next step.
On the road against the New England Patriots:
If you want to be the best, then you've got to beat the best (cliché, but true).
The defending Super Bowl champion Patriots, particularly in Foxboro, are the class of the NFL. They're 110-26 under head coach Bill Belichick at home in the regular season and haven't lost back-to-back home games since 2008.
Right or wrong, this game will be looked by those on the outside at as one of the most important games for the season in terms of gauging where this Chiefs team ranks among the best in the AFC.
On the road against the Dallas Cowboys:
This will be the sixth time in franchise history that the Chiefs are travelling to take on the Cowboys in Dallas.
Overall, the Chiefs are 1-4 against the Cowboys on the road.
This game will be particularly special because it's where the Chiefs franchise began, originally based in Dallas as the "Texans" before Lamar Hunt moved the team to Kansas City prior to the 1963 season.
It'll be two good teams with high hopes for the 2017 season battling it out in a game that has a deeper meaning than most of the people on the field or in the stands might be able to comprehend.
