Chiefs’ 2024 NFL Schedule: Release date, opponents, biggest games, and predictions

The Kansas City Chiefs' offseason is well underway following free agency and the 2024 NFL draft. From this point on, it's all about preparing for the 2024 NFL season and sharpening your skills ahead of training camp.

One key offseason aspect is hurling itself towards us over the coming weeks, as well, and that's the NFL's schedule release. We already know the Chiefs' 2024 opponents, but when and where they play is what everyone still awaits.

So, let's not waste any more time and review everything we know about the Chiefs' 2024 schedule. 

Chiefs' Schedule Release Date

During the 2024 NFL draft, the NFL teased that the schedule release would happen in May, but they neglected to reveal an exact date. Given what we've seen the last couple of years, it should come out around the middle of May. It was released on May 12, 2022, and May 11, 2023.

Once that comes out, we will update this with the Chiefs' exact schedule.

Home and Away Opponents

2024 Away Opponents:

• Atlanta Falcons
• Carolina Panthers
• Cleveland Browns
• Denver Broncos
• Las Vegas Raiders
• Los Angeles Chargers
• Buffalo Bills
• San Francisco 49ers
• Pittsburgh Steelers

2024 Home Opponents:

• Denver Broncos
• Los Angeles Chargers
• Las Vegas Raiders
• Baltimore Ravens
• Cincinnati Bengals
• New Orleans Saints
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Houston Texans

Biggest Games on the Chiefs' 2024 Schedule

Chiefs @ Bills: This game is always an instant classic, but it should be extra intriguing after the first-round trade between the two clubs.

Chiefs vs. Bengals: This might be the most heated conference rivalry in the NFL. These teams don't like each other, and the Bengals typically have K.C.'s number during the regular season.

Chiefs @ 49ers: Super Bowl LVIII rematch? Yeah, that should be a good one.

Predicting Primetime Matchups and Week 1/Week 18 Opponents

Which games will be primetime viewing?

Including the season opener, I won't be shocked if the Chiefs wind up with 5-6 primetime games this season. They had six last season, but their "Monday Night Football" game against the Patriots got flexed to a Sunday.

The Chargers are the likeliest AFC West opponent to get a primetime game because of the head-coaching matchup between Jim Harbaugh and Andy Reid. 

The Bills and Bengals are always good bets for primetime against Kansas City, but don't sleep on the Browns, Steelers, Saints, and Buccaneers games as good options. Derek Carr and Russel Wilson are former AFC West quarterbacks. Baker Mayfield and Patrick Mahomes have some history dating back to their Big 12 days. At one point, many thought that Mahomes and Deshaun Watson would be the next Brady/Manning. 

Who are the Week 1 and Week 18 opponents?

The season opener is typically the first Thursday in Septemeber. In this case, that'd be Thursday, Sept. 5. The Texans could wind up being the Week 1 opponent for the Chiefs when they raise their Super Bowl LVIII banner. It follows the tradition of an up-and-coming team against the reigning champions. 

I bet the Raiders are the Week 18 opponent for Kansas City this year. A rivalry game will keep things exciting should there be playoff implications. 

Strength of Schedule (based on Vegas win totals, not the 2023 record)

Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis ranks teams' strength of schedule based on Juice (Vegas' projected win totals for the upcoming season). At the time of this publication, it doesn't reflect Vegas' updated, post-draft totals and I'll update this once the information becomes available. Regardless, Sharp has the Chiefs' SOS as 12th, which means they've actually got a pretty weak schedule for a change.