The NFL just dropped its schedules, and it looks like the Kansas City Chiefs were dealt a brutal hand this time. FOX Analyst Colin Cowherd is straight up doubting their chances this year, calling their late-season run absolutely ridiculous and packed with trouble.

Cowherd didn't hold back on his The Herd segment.

"Weeks 12 through 17 is ludicrous; they face in succession on the road: at Josh Allen, at Matt Stafford, at Joe Burrow… Drake Maye, Brock Purdy at home, and then at Justin Herbert. There is no six-game stretch that you face more top quarterbacks," he stated.

Elite quarterbacks like the ones mentioned force defenses to play flawless football. Playing three heavy hitters, namely, Josh Allen, Matthew Stafford, and Joe Burrow back-to-back-to-back on the road is wild.

He also goes into details about how the NFL decides on the matchups and dates. He observes that while the NFL wasn't trying to punish or target anyone specifically, pitting two recovering QBs against each other in Week 1 was no joke.

"This to me is a tough schedule. The Kansas City Chiefs Mahomes is coming off an injury. First game, best pass rush in the NFL, Denver. That's a tough opener. Could have given him the Dolphins, the Raiders. Nope."

And sustaining that high a level can strain the team's defense, especially with a lack of breather games in between. The timing of this rough stretch of fixtures is even more alarming.

Weeks 12-17 are usually when the rosters are taking the maximum brunt of the season fitness-wise. Depth in the teams runs thin with injuries piling up. Cowherd further pointed this out, "They're facing the best quarterbacks as the weather gets cold."

The Chiefs' situation reveals just how much the schedule matters in the NFL. When the league clusters high-stress road games together, facing that level of offensive firepower every week means recovery time basically drops to zero.

An Early Bye Week Spells Trouble for Kansas City Chiefs

To make things harder, the Chiefs have a Week 5 bye. Co-host on The Herd, Jason McIntyre, had an interesting point to make, based on a bye-week analysis that he did.

He noted, "You don't want the early bye, that's obvious, right? 11 of the last 13 Super Bowl champs had the bye week 8 or later… That doesn't really help the Chiefs."

Having to rest in Week 5 means Kansas City plays thirteen straight regular-season matchups right into the playoffs. For a team with older defensive veterans, taking non-stop hits for almost three months straight without a single week off is a pretty massive disadvantage.

Agreeing with McIntyre's analysis, Cowherd added that for an older team, great quarterbacks on the road, middle to late in the season, is not a good sign.

"To me, that's as tough a schedule, based on the roster you have," he concluded about the Kansas City Chiefs.

Will this rough stretch of games late in the season be the reason behind the Chiefs' downfall in the 2026 season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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Written by

Nisarga Aseem Barkule

Edited by

Arundhoti Palit