Much of the Kansas City Chiefs' dynastic run has been built on an undeniable intimidation factor that is waning after the 2025 season. It's as if the blowout loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2024 Super Bowl showed a chip in the armor of the franchise, and the league realized that it's actually possible to beat Patrick Mahomes, though it remains a feat. With this in mind, part of Kansas City's path to returning to its past dominance is re-establishing itself as a feared opponent.
The clear path to this starts in Week 1 against the Denver Broncos and sets up a potential hot start that will allow the Chiefs to once again get in the heads of opponents. Kansas City's schedule sets up a potential run after Week 1, with the Colts, Dolphins, Raiders, and Chargers the first five games of Kansas City's 2026 season.
All five of these games are very winnable and could feature two divisional wins that help the Chiefs get back on top and once again become the standard the rest of the league is chasing. After these five games, the Chiefs' first real test is traveling to take on the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. However, after this, there is yet another another stretch four-game stretch of lesser teams in the Broncos, Jets, Falcons, and Cardinals.
Stacking early-season wins will be key for the Chiefs in 2026
It's very much on the table that in the first ten weeks of Kansas City's season, the franchise goes undefeated or doesn't pick up more than one or two losses. This speaks to a favorable schedule with the lone difficult team being the Broncos. Mahomes has a career 13-2 record against the division rivals and has left every reason to believe he will return to this level of domination.
For the Chiefs, it's especially important to take advantage of this soft schedule due to the fact that on Thanksgiving, a brutal run will start with the Buffalo Bills and be followed by matchups against the Rams, Bengals, Patriots, and 49ers.
This is as difficult a stretch as any schedule in the league offers, pointing to the need to pile up early wins and once again get in the minds of opposing teams. The schedule lends itself to this and should allow Kansas City to set an early tone.
The only thing that could prevent this is if Mahomes isn't as healthy as he appears to be heading deeper into the summer. As long as the quarterback's rehab continues to go well, there is zero reason to believe KC won't get off to a hot start and turn up the pressure on the rest of the AFC West.
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