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          NFL Nation

          Kansas City Chiefs' schedule looks easy early, but difficult late

          Peter Aiken/Getty Images
          • Adam Teicher, ESPN Staff WriterApr 18, 2019, 12:46 AM
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            • Covered Chiefs for 20 seasons for Kansas City Star
            • Joined ESPN in 2013
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          The NFL has released its 2019 regular-season schedule. Here's a look at what's in store for the Kansas City Chiefs.

          Game-by-game predictions:

          Chiefs reporter Adam Teicher is predicting an 11-5 finish.

          Sept. 8: at Jacksonville, Win

          Sept. 15: at Oakland, Win

          Sept. 22: vs. Baltimore, Win

          Sept. 29: at Detroit, Win

          Oct. 6 (Sunday night): vs. Indianapolis, Loss

          Oct. 13: vs. Houston, Win

          Oct. 17 (Thursday): at Denver, Loss

          Oct. 27 (Sunday night): vs. Green Bay, Win

          Nov. 3: vs. Minnesota, Win

          Nov. 10: at Tennessee, Loss

          Nov. 18 (Monday): vs. L.A. Chargers, Win

          Nov. 24: Bye

          Dec. 1: vs. Oakland, Win

          Dec. 8: at New England, Loss

          Dec. 15: vs. Denver, Win

          Dec. 22 (Sunday night): at Chicago, Loss

          Dec. 29: vs. L.A. Chargers, Win

          Strength of schedule: T-5, .520

          Breakdown

          The Chiefs need to get off to a strong start. Just one of their first four games is against a 2018 playoff team and that one opponent is Baltimore, which is a team in transition. But the Chiefs play three of their final four games against teams that made the 2018 postseason, including a trip to New England for the third consecutive season. If the Chiefs are to win a fourth straight AFC West title, they’d better have a lead heading into that final stretch.

          Winning in the AFC West

          The Chiefs have won three AFC West crowns in a row because they’ve played so well in division games, having won 16 of 18. They tied for first in two of those three seasons but were the champions each time because they held the tiebreakers. So the six-game stretch at the end of the season looms large. The Chiefs will play four of those games against divisional rivals, including two games against the Chargers. The two teams tied at 12-4 last season, with the Chiefs winning the division because of a better AFC West record.

          Home for the holidays

          The Chiefs will play three games at Arrowhead Stadium in December for the fifth consecutive season and they’ve been difficult to beat at home late in the year. The Chiefs are 10-2 at home in December over the past four seasons. The late-season home games are particularly important this year. They will play each of their AFC West rivals at Arrowhead in December and finish the season at home against the Chargers.