The Kansas City Chiefs’ schedule for the 2020 NFL season has finally been revealed.
Head coach Andy Reid joined both the Chiefs’ broadcast and the NFL Network broadcast revealing the schedule for the team. He shared his unique insight on the schedule, what he looks for and the opponents the Chiefs will face during the upcoming season. Below you’ll find five takeaways from what Reid had to say during both interviews.
Things that Reid looks for in the schedule
Andy Reid is excited about the schedule announcement just like everybody else. There are a few specific things that he looks for in the schedule, just to find some assurances about the season and have an idea of the challenges the team might face.
“I think we all get excited,” Reid told Chiefs team reporter BJ Kissel. “Not necessarily with the way the schedule is set up but just to find out when you’re playing these teams. We kind of know who we’re playing, we just don’t know when. You go to that prime time. What games did you get there? Your Sunday night, Monday night, and Thursday night. When do those happen and who are you playing at those times?”
The Chiefs get a healthy dose of prime-time action early on with two big games in the first three weeks of the season. Reid also often finds himself looking at when he plays AFC West opponents and whether he plays in any cold-weather teams.
“Also, you always look for, ‘Am I going to be playing in Green Bay or Buffalo in December?’ You look at those things,” Reid said. “What home games you have and when. Your division opponent, AFC West, when do you play the AFC West? How does that work out, are you home, are you away? What part of the season are you in? And so on. You look at those things. Now, does all that matter? Eh, I don’t know if all matters, but it’s kind of fun to look at.”
At the end of the day, Reid isn’t certain that any of what he looks for in a schedule matters in terms of a Chiefs win or loss. What he knows is that he has fun looking at it and thinking about it, just like the rest of us.
Reid isn’t afraid of the tough competition early on
Andy Reid’s Chiefs will face three AFC division winners from the 2019 season within the first four weeks of the 2020 season. He’s not shying away from the competition, though. In fact, he’s excited about the preparation his team has already accomplished. And for the players that might be slacking during installs, he says this is a wake-up call.
“How great is that, though? You talk about having something that gets your attention right now. That gets your attention,” Reid told Chiefs team reporter BJ Kissel. “So, if you weren’t paying attention to these virtual installs that we have, you’d better pay attention doggone it, because we’ve got some good teams coming up.”
Each year the schedule presents different challenges and this year the challenge will be getting the team prepared to face top-notch opponents right away.
“They’re all different, right? Every year is different,” Reid said. “I would tell you, what you said, it starts off with some good football teams. I mean they’re all good in this league, but I mean guys that have been champions in their division. So you’re ready right away, that catches your attention.”
Reid wants Chiefs to start fast in AFC divisional round rematch
Speaking of tough opponents early on, the Chiefs will face the Houston Texans in the NFL season opener. This will be a rematch of the AFC divisional round game at Arrowhead Stadium where the Chiefs found themselves at an early 24-point deficit before roaring back to win the game handily.
“(Bill) O’Brien has done a great job there,” Reid told NFL Network host Steve Mariucci. “They’ve got a heck of a football team. We respect the heck out of them. We didn’t play very well to start [The AFC divisional round game] and we’ve got to do a better job next time, starting faster. I was proud of the guys for hanging in there. I didn’t see anybody hang their heads, everybody kept a positive attitude and were able to turn it around.”
This time around it sounds like Reid is hoping to get his team prepared to start the game a little faster. That way they don’t have to dig themselves out of a hole. It’s amazing that even in a game that ended up as a victory, Reid is always looking for ways to make sure that the next time around against that opponent they can do even better.
Reid anticipates another strong finish
Andy Reid coached teams have a history of finishing the season strong, especially in Kansas City. Just last season, the Chiefs won six-straight games to finish the regular season heading into the postseason. Reid puts emphasis on strength and conditioning and mental preparedness as reasons his teams can accomplish that success.
“Yeah, well that is important,” Reid told Mitch Holthus. “You’ve got four quarters and you can kind of relate that to the players. That last quarter, we’re going to condition you during camp, and then [strength and conditioning coach] Barry (Rubin) is going to take you through the season so you can finish strong. So you can be in a position physically and mentally where you can finish up the season strong. You can still learn — you’re not so beat up that mind is shot and that your body is shot — that those two things come together and are working in unison once the last part of the season takes place.”
A combination of body and mind working in unison at the end of the season is the ultimate goal for Kansas City. They’ll have a unique task of preparing in a similar way amidst the COVID-19 pandemic but you can rest assured they’re ready to face those challenges head-on.
Chiefs’ schedule and weather go together like cheese on a hamburger
Reid is ready to bust out his Hawaiian shirt for the Chiefs’ late-season road games. Kansas City will travel to both Tampa Bay and Miami late in the season and that is preferable according to Reid because of the weather.
“Well, those later games, the one positive about those later games is that we have Miami and Tampa and they’re late in the season,” Reid told NFL Network host Steve Mariucci. “You remember when we had to play Tampa Bay when we were at Green Bay and we dreaded it if you had to play them early because of the heat. We’ve got both Florida teams late in the year which is positive, I think, if you look at those things. You kind of look at Buffalo and Green Bay and you want to play them early in the season and the Florida teams you want to play late in the season.”
The Chiefs will beat the heat in their Florida away games by playing there during the winter when the weather is milder. Remember when the Chiefs opened the season in Jacksonville last year and could barely sustain a defensive line rotation because of the heat? They’ll avoid that issue entirely this season.
Additionally, the Chiefs will get to play at Buffalo early in the season before it gets brutally cold. So any cold-weather games will likely be played within the confines of Arrowhead Stadium.
