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          NFL Nation

          Kansas City Chiefs' schedule 2020: Marquee games start early

          • Adam Teicher, ESPN Staff WriterMay 7, 2020, 08:15 PM ET
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            • Covered Chiefs for 20 seasons for Kansas City Star
            • Joined ESPN in 2013
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          The Kansas City Chiefs' schedule for 2020 was released Thursday.

          The 2020 NFL season will kick off on Thursday, Sept. 10 with the Houston Texans at the Kansas City Chiefs. ESPN will have a Monday Night Football doubleheader on Sept. 14 featuring the Pittsburgh Steelers at the New York Giants (7:10 p.m. ET) and the Tennessee Titans at the Denver Broncos (10:20 p.m. ET).

          Check out the full week-by-week schedule here. Here’s what is in store for the Chiefs:

          Game-by-game prediction

          Chiefs reporter Adam Teicher is predicting a 12-4 finish:

          Sept. 10: vs. Texans, Win

          Sept. 20: at Chargers, Win

          Sept. 28: at Ravens, Loss

          Oct. 4: vs. Patriots, Win

          Oct. 11: vs. Raiders, Win

          Oct. 15: at Bills, Loss

          Oct. 25: at Broncos, Win

          Nov. 1: vs. Jets, Win

          Nov. 8: vs. Panthers, Win

          Nov. 15: Bye

          Nov. 22: at Raiders, Loss

          Nov. 29: at Buccaneers, Win

          Dec. 6: vs. Broncos, Win

          Dec. 13: at Dolphins, Win

          Dec. 20: at Saints, Loss

          Dec. 27: vs. Falcons, Win

          Jan. 3: vs. Chargers, Win

          Strength of schedule: T-18th, .500

          Breakdown

          The Chiefs will face defending division champions in three of their first four games. The Thursday night opener against the Texans at Arrowhead Stadium features an opponent the Chiefs split with in two home games last season. Particularly challenging will be the Week 3 Monday night game against Lamar Jackson and the Ravens in Baltimore.

          Home sweet home

          This will be the sixth straight season the Chiefs will have three home games in December or January. The Chiefs are 13-2 in those games over the past five seasons. This year, with home games against the Broncos, Falcons and Chargers in the last five weeks, the Chiefs can count on their usual dose of home cooking to carry them to a strong finish.

          AFC West dominance

          The Chiefs won their division in each of the past four years and are 27-3 against their closest rivals since 2015. But that dominance could get challenged this year by a group of teams that geared up to score points against them. Three of the first four divisional games are on the road, starting in Week 2 against the Chargers. Los Angeles gave the Chiefs a couple of difficult games last year, and if the Chargers can pull the upset here, it would make Kansas City’s road to a five-peat more difficult.