"NFL front loads Kansas City schedule" - Colin Cowherd sees Chiefs struggling while doubling down on his AFC West prediction

The Kansas City Chiefs will open the 2025 NFL season in the global spotlight, but Colin Cowherd isn’t convinced they will come out of it looking like contenders. After the league released its official schedule, Cowherd pointed to a brutal opening stretch and persistent offensive line questions as reasons to expect a slow start.

“As the Chiefs try to figure out their OLine, the NFL front loads the Kansas City schedule,” Cowherd wrote on X. “Meanwhile the middle of the Chargers schedule is REALLY soft. Feel even better about my AFC West prediction.”

Kansas City starts the year with a Friday night opener against the Los Angeles Chargers in Sao Paulo, Brazil. It’s the NFL’s first regular-season game in South America, and the start of a brutal stretch for the defending AFC champions.

In Week 2, the Chiefs host the Philadelphia Eagles in a Super Bowl 2025 rematch. That’s followed by prime-time games against the New York Giants (Week 3), Jacksonville Jaguars (Week 5), Detroit Lions (Week 6), and the Minnesota Vikings (Week 8). All five are standalone national broadcasts, making Kansas City the most featured team on early-season television.

The NFL has scheduled seven prime-time games for the Chiefs in 2025, the most in the league. However, the early overload concerns Cowherd, especially as the team adjusts to major changes.

---

Chiefs' offensive line remains a work in progress ahead of 2025 NFL season

Veteran guard Joe Thuney was traded to the Chicago Bears earlier this offseason. That move cleared cap space and created a hole in one of the league’s most important positions. The team is expected to rely on second-year guard Jerome Carvin and rookie draft pick J.C. Latham to help stabilize the line.

With new starters in multiple spots, Patrick Mahomes may need time to rebuild chemistry and timing. That’s a tall task against pass-rushing units like Philadelphia, Detroit and Jacksonville, all of whom finished in the top 10 in sacks last season.

While Colin Cowherd sounded the alarm on Kansas City, he’s leaning in on the Los Angeles Chargers. Their midseason slate includes games against the Patriots, Raiders, Broncos and Titans, all in transition or rebuilding.

If the Chiefs stumble early, Cowherd believes that will give Jim Harbaugh’s group a window to take control of the division.

Still, Kansas City has shown they can win ugly early and peak when it counts. Last year, they dropped back-to-back games in October before winning eight of their final ten and making another Super Bowl run.

But with so many national games packed into the front half of the season, this year’s margin for error may be thinner than usual. Colin Cowherd’s warning may be early, but the spotlight and pressure arrive fast with this schedule.