The Chiefs will have one of the AFC’s toughest schedules in 2025

Posted by author January 6, 2025 NFL

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Following the end of the NFL regular season on Sunday night, we can now calculate each team’s opponents for 2025.

Under the NFL scheduling formula, each franchise plays every team in its own division twice. It also plays every team in one other AFC division and one other NFC division. These other AFC and NFC divisions rotate every year. This accounts for 14 games of the 17-game schedule.

Then, each franchise plays the team from the remaining two divisions of its own conference with the same division finish in the previous season — and the team in a rotating division of the other conference with the same division finish.

So in 2025, the Chiefs will play the teams from the AFC West (twice), the AFC South and the NFC East — and then 2024’s first-place finishers from the AFC North, AFC East and NFC North.

Sometime in May, we’ll learn exactly when all these games will be played. But here’s what we know so far:

Home: Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Chargers, Las Vegas Raiders, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders and Detroit Lions

Away: Broncos, Chargers, Raiders, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants

In 2024, seven of the Chiefs’ 17 games were against 2023 playoff opponents. But in 2025, they will play 10 playoff squads: the Broncos, Chargers, Texans, Ravens, Eagles, Commanders and Lions at home, plus the Broncos, Chargers and Bills on the road. The Chiefs will face the second, third, fourth, fifth and seventh AFC seeds from 2024 — the fifth and seventh seeds twice — along with the NFC’s first, second and sixth seeds.

2025 Opponent schedule difficulty

Rnk	Team	Opp Avg	CRnk
1	Giants	0.5744	1
2	Bears	0.5709	2
2	Lions	0.5709	2
4	Eagles	0.5606	4
5	Cowboys	0.5571	5
5	Packers	0.5571	5
5	Vikings	0.5571	5
8	Commanders	0.5502	8
9	Ravens	0.5329	1
10	Steelers	0.5260	2
11	Chiefs	0.5225	3
11	Chargers	0.5225	3
13	Browns	0.5190	5
14	Bengals	0.5087	6
15	Broncos	0.5052	7
16	Raiders	0.5017	8
17	Rams	0.4913	9
18	Buccaneers	0.4810	10
18	Texans	0.4810	9
20	Falcons	0.4775	11
21	Seahawks	0.4740	12
21	Dolphins	0.4740	10
23	Bills	0.4671	11
23	Jaguars	0.4671	11
25	Colts	0.4637	13
26	Jets	0.4602	14
27	Panthers	0.4567	13
27	Cardinals	0.4567	13
29	Titans	0.4498	15
30	Patriots	0.4291	16
31	Saints	0.4187	15
32	49ers	0.4152	16

Based on 2024 season records, the Chiefs’ 2025 opponents have an average record of 0.5225. That ties with the Chargers as the 11th-hardest regular-season schedule. Based on 2024 regular-season records, the San Francisco 49ers (0.4152) have the easiest schedule, while the Giants (0.5744) have the hardest.

Still, the Chiefs and Chargers will have the AFC’s third-hardest schedule.

Of course, preseason expectations of schedule difficulty tend to be (mostly) inaccurate. But until some of next season’s games are played, it’s pretty much all we have to go on. One thing is sure: Kansas City head coach Andy Reid and his staff will “look forward to the challenge” of playing every one of the team’s 2025 opponents.