The National Football League released its full 2010 regular season schedule on Tuesday night and the Kansas City Chiefs know who they will play, when and where. A quick glance at the schedule should have Chiefs fans feeling good about the team as there are no killer parts of their schedule like they had in 2009.
The Chiefs schedule starts off with a bang when they make their first Monday Night Football appearance in Arrowhead in years against the San Diego Chargers. Fans were hoping that the "New Arrowhead" would get featured in prime time at some point this season, but no one could expect it to be the season opener. It's the first time the Chiefs have opened the season on MNF since 1968. Yep, that's 42 years for you math-challenged fans.
The team gets their bye week in Week 4 and then embark on the toughest part of their schedule when they travel to Indianapolis and Houston to take on the AFC South powerhouses, the Colts and Texans.
Finally, if the team finds itself in the playoff hunt, they'll enjoy playing their last two games of the season at chilly Arrowhead against the Titans and Raiders.
THE KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 2010 SCHEDULE (All times listed are Central time)
Week 1 (Monday Sept. 13, 9:15 p.m., ESPN) - Chargers at Chiefs: So much for no national TV appearances in 2010 as the Chiefs kick off the season as the second Monday Night Football double-header games at home against the Chargers. The game won't be ending until after midnight, so you may want to save a vacation day from work for Tuesday.
Week 2 (Sunday Sept. 19, 12:00 p.m. CBS) - Chiefs at Browns: Possibly the most boring pre-game press conferences in the world with Todd "Mumbles" Haley and Eric "Not-so-Mangenius" Mangini taking a half-hour each to say nothing. The Chiefs folded up like a tent in this game last year at Arrowhead allowing Jerome Harrison to break Jim Brown's single game rushing record.
Week 3 (Sunday Sept. 26, 12:00 p.m. Fox) - 49rs at Chiefs: Doesn't have quite the glamor it did when Joe Montana was our QB, but 49rs head coach Mike Singletary is always a threat to blow up on the sidelines if things aren't going San Francisco's way.
Week 4 (Oct 3-4) - BYE WEEK
Week 5 (Sunday Oct. 10, 12:00 p.m. CBS) - Chiefs at Colts: Doesn't the window of being a great team have to slam shut on the Indianapolis Colts at some point? Unfortunately as long as Peyton Manning is the QB, uuuuuuuuh, not so much.
Week 6 (Sunday Oct. 17, 12:00 p.m. CBS) - Chiefs at Texans: Yet another season where the Texans are expected to make the leap to being a great team ... a playoff team ... and yet I still have questions.
Week 7 (Sunday Oct. 24, 12:00 p.m. CBS) - Jaguars at Chiefs: The one team on the schedule that I think the Chiefs will beat every time. But the Chiefs are 2-6 all-time versus the Jags. Jags coach Jack Del Rio is on his last legs in Jacksonville.
Week 8 (Sunday Oct. 31, 12:00 p.m. CBS) - Bills at Chiefs: No Halloween treats as New Bills head coach Chan Gailey comes back to Arrowhead to egg his former boss' house. Todd Haley will have his own tricks for his former offensive coordinator. How much you wanna bet the over/under on trick plays is 5?
Week 9 (Sunday Nov 7, 3:15 p.m. CBS) - Chiefs at Raiders: Remember when the Chiefs used to sweep these guys every year under Marty? Well, they still do whenever they play in the Black Hole. The Chiefs have won 7 in a row in Oakland.
Week 10 (Sunday Nov 14, 3:05 p.m. CBS) - Chiefs at Broncos: The Chiefs finally broke through big time and got their first win at Invesco Field last season when Jamaal Charles set the team single-game rushing record. Can the Chiefs do it two years in a row?
Week 11 (Sunday Nov 21, 12:00 p.m. Fox) - Cardinals at Chiefs: No Kurt Warner, no Anquan Boldin, no Karlos Dansby, no Antrel Rolle? The Chiefs and Cards are a lot closer to each other in terms of talent than people think. Besides, Matt Leinert has yet to show that he can lead a professional football team to glory.
Week 12 (Sunday Nov 28, 3:05 p.m. CBS) - Chiefs at Seahawks: Speaking of overrated USC pretty boys, former USC pretty-boy coach Pete Carroll comes back to the NFL and discovers there are no Fresno States on the schedule any more. By Week 12 he'll be thinking about the Rose Bowl because the Seahawks will be out of any talk of the Super Bowl.
Week 13 (Sunday Dec. 5, 12:00 p.m. CBS) - Broncos at Chiefs: Is it me or does it seem like things are still unraveling in Denver for coach Josh McDaniels? By this time of the year, they'll be in their late-season death spiral/collapse and he could already be on the hot seat.
Week 14 (Sunday Dec. 12, 3:15 p.m. CBS) - Chiefs at Chargers: Taking on the presumptive AFC West leader on the road. Other than last year, the Chiefs have actually played well in Sunny San Diego over the years.
Week 15 (Sunday Dec. 19, 12:00 p.m. CBS) - Chiefs at Rams: Hey, it's the Governor's Cup! Hello? Hello? Is anybody there??? A good game to TiVo and do something holiday-related with the family just to prove that you're not a totally selfish jerk during the football season. (Just don't mention that the Chiefs are playing the Rams and you'll score brownie points with the spouse.) Tell the mother-in-law that this would be an OK day to have the family over for dinner.
Week 16 (Sunday Dec. 26, 12:00 p.m. CBS) - Titans at Chiefs: Talk about a Christmas present! Jamaal Charles vs. Chris Johnson? Ever see a game where two running backs combine for 400 yards rushing?
Week 17 (Sunday Jan. 2, 12:00 p.m. CBS) - Raiders at Chiefs: Far and away the most frustrating game on the schedule for every Chiefs fan because the Raiders own the Chiefs at Arrowhead. I still haven't figured out how we've lost to this terrible team the last two seasons.
Click here to see the entire interactive NFL schedule on NFL.com.
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