NFL affirms it gave KC Chiefs a brutal schedule. Andy Reid’s reaction: Bring it on
The lineup for the 1927 New York Yankees was dubbed “Murderers’ Row” because it included stars like Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.
In the upcoming season, the Chiefs will face a Murderers’ Row of their own. The Chiefs play games on six different days of the week, including the Friday after Thanksgiving and on Christmas, which falls on a Wednesday.
The only day the Chiefs don’t play on is a Tuesday, but they do have a stretch of three games in 11 days late in the season.
It’ll be the first time an NFL team will play on six different days of the week since the 1927 Yankees. That’s the football team, which had Red Grange at running back.
Mike North, the NFL’s vice president of broadcast planning, said on ESPN writer Adam Schefter’s podcast that the league knows it didn’t do the Chiefs any favors. But North still expects the Chiefs to make the postseason.
“You can give the Kansas City Chiefs the worst possible schedule, and some have been saying we did, right? They’re playing every day of the week except a Tuesday,” North said. “They’ve got multiple short weeks and catch Buffalo off their bye. ... Like, we maybe gave the Chiefs the hardest schedule in the league. I suspect they’re gonna be there come playoff time, right?”
Chiefs coach Andy Reid was asked Wednesday at a news conference if the NFL had consulted him about the schedule and what he thought about the slate of games.
“They don’t ask me,” Reid said. “It’s the first time in my career that’s happened. It’s unique. So you know how we are. I mean, we don’t really care. They could give us a Tuesday game if they want and we’ll be OK there, too. So we work through it and we’ll play anybody anywhere. Whatever they want to do, we’re on board.”
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who spoke after Reid on Wednesday, acknowledged the Chiefs are playing an unorthodox schedule.
“I feel like our schedule has gotten crazier and crazier every single year,” Mahomes said. “And so it’s just about preparing for the week ahead of you. We know that we’re going to have a lot of prime-time games. We’ve built up the equity to be able to be in those games.
“And so now it’s about: How can we find a way to be better than we were last year at the end of the season? And so learn from our mistakes from last year trying to motivate ourselves to try to get ourselves healthier faster. And then go out there and win those games because there’s a lot of great football teams we play at the end there.”
The Chiefs play on Christmas Day for a second straight year after losing 20-14 to the Raiders last season. Mahomes said that holiday game is the one he circled on the schedule.
“I’m gonna try to be better on Christmas,” Mahomes said, “because last Christmas was not great.”
