The Kansas City Chiefs open regular season play on the road against AFC West Division rival the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. Kickoff on ROKiT Field at StubHub Center is slated for 3:05 p.m. CT.
Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid enters his sixth season with the club after recording 53 wins in his first five seasons, marking the highest combined win total of any head coach in franchise history in that time frame. The Chiefs have made the playoffs four out of fi ve years under Reid and earned backto-back AFC West Championships in 2016 and 2017. In the last 20 games against division foes, the Chiefs own an 18-2 record. KC has won 32 of its last 42 regular season contests (.762). Reid ranks ninth on the all-time wins chart with 194 victories (regular and postseason combined). He trails only Bill Belichick (278) among active coaches for most combined wins.
In 2017, the Chiefs finished with a 10-6 regular season record and earned the fourth seed in the AFC Playoffs. The club had three players earn 2018 Pro Bowl honors (Hill, Hunt and Kelce) along with five alternates. Rookie RB Kareem Hunt earned the NFL’s rushing title last season with 272 carries for 1,327 yards (4.9 avg.) with eight rushing TDs and three receiving touchdowns. He had 10 games with 100+ scrimmage yards last season. WR Tyreek Hill led all KC pass catchers with 75 receptions for 1,183 yards (15.8 avg.) with seven TDs. TE Travis Kelce had 83 catches for 1,038 yards (12.5 avg.) with eight touchdowns. The Chiefs offense ranked third in the AFC and sixth in the NFL in points scored per game (25.9). Defensively, the Chiefs had 31.0 team sacks. LB Justin Houston led the club with 9.5 sacks and DL Chris Jones had 6.5. The Chiefs owned a +15 turnover differential last season with 26 takeaways and 11 giveaways. On special teams, P Dustin Colquitt owns 420 career punts inside the 20-yard line, ranking fourth all-time in NFL history. Chiefs K Harrison Butker had a franchise record streak of 23 consecutive FGs made last season. He was successful on 38 of his 42 attempts, the most makes in a single season in team history.
The 2018 Chiefs feature several new faces including at starting quarterback where Patrick Mahomes takes the helm. Mahomes was victorious in his rookie debut as the starter last season, leading the Chiefs to a 27-24 win over the Denver Broncos in the season fi nale. Chiefs GM Brett Veach added WR Sammy Watkins, LB Anthony Hitchens, CB Kendall Fuller and DT Xavier Williams among others this offseason to boost the roster. The average age of Kansas City’s current roster is 25.7 years.
Kansas City’s 2018 schedule features games against four playoff teams from last season, including the defending AFC Champion New England Patriots. The Chiefs 2018 opponents tallied a 126-130 (.492) combined record in 2017. Next week the Chiefs hit the road again, this time to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers (9/16), before the club’s home opener against the San Francisco 49ers (9/23).
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