Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs will try to become the first team in NFL history to win the Super Bowl in three consecutive years. However, their 2024 schedule won’t help on that quest.
Although their strength of schedule isn’t one of hardest in the league (16th / .502), the big problem comes with rest days and traveling. For example, the Chiefs will play almost every day of the week (except Tuesday) in the upcoming season.
In a shocking statement, Mike North, VP of Broadcast Planning for the NFL, acknowledged that, as the defending champions, the schedule is detrimental to Andy Reid and his players. It all happened during an interview with Adam Schefter.
“We maybe gave the Chiefs the hardest schedule in the league. They’re playing every day of the week except a Tuesday. They’ve got multiple short weeks. They knew. Look, they’ve been our bell cow for a while. They’re kind of used to carrying our water for some of these unique opportunities here.”
NFL acknowledges tough schedule for Chiefs
Mike North revealed that, in order to get massive TV ratings, all networks want to have Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs on big days. That’s why, in a way, they are already accustomed to that.
“You think about the Peacock playoff game last year. If you want to make Peacock a destination for an NFL playoff game, well, put a Chiefs game there. If Amazon wants to continue to try to build Black Friday into an event, put a Chiefs game there. You want to make Christmas on Netflix a thing? Put a Chiefs game there. The Chiefs definitely were not surprised by their national television schedule and some of the windows we decided to use.”
