Report: Chiefs will face Packers in 2021’s new 17th regular-season game

The NFL recently agreed to expand the 2021 regular season to include a 17th game to help offset the revenue loss from a 2020 season impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. That means fans are due for 272 games in 2021, up from the typical 256 regular-season games in 2020.

One of the biggest questions regarding a 17th game has been about who the game would be played between. Would it be an extra division matchup, an in-conference opponent or a non-conference game? Now, MMQB’s Albert Breer has provided some clarity regarding that 17th opponent.

According to Breer, the 17th game will be an inter-conference game against an opponent of like-standing in their respective division. That means, as the winners of the AFC West, the Chiefs would face another division winner. Breer says the AFC West will be matched up against the NFC North in 2021. The NFC North division title this year has already been clinched by the Green Bay Packers, so that’s who Kansas City will play in 2021.

This could potentially be a Super Bowl rematch for the Chiefs and Packers. They’re both considered betting favorites in their respective conferences to win Super Bowl LV. They also both happen to have the top records in the league with Green Bay at 12-3 and Kansas City at 14-1. Even if these teams don’t face off in the Super Bowl, it’ll still be a highly anticipated matchup. Fans were deprived of a game featuring Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers in 2019 due to the knee injury suffered by Mahomes. Now, the stars could align for both quarterbacks to finally meet on the gridiron. We can even call it the “State Farm Bowl.”

What’s still not clear is whether this will be a road game or a home game. The expectation is that conferences will rotate, meaning all AFC teams or all NFC teams would be the home or away opponents in 2021. We also don’t yet know what the inter-conference rotation will look like in 2022, but we can assume it’ll be another NFC division as part of a rotation, similar to the full inter-conference crossover that takes place every season.

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First injury report for Chiefs vs. Chargers, Week 17