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Kansas City Chiefs' schedule 2020: Marquee games start early

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.