CHIEFS PRESEASON AND REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE SET F
The National Football League officially announced its 2006 schedule on Thursday. The Chiefs schedule includes at least five nationally-televised contests with the possibility of being selected for additional Sunday night games based on the league’s flexible scheduling package which is new for 2006.
The Chiefs will also be featured in the first-ever Thanksgiving contest at Arrowhead Stadium as Kansas City hosts Denver in the inaugural live regular season game to be broadcast by the NFL Network. The Chiefs will also be featured in a prime-time Saturday contest broadcast by the NFL Network at Oakland on December 23rd. In addition to being scheduled for pair of national CBS double-header games at Denver (9/17) and at Pittsburgh (10/15), the Chiefs will be also featured on a national FOX telecast in the preseason at the N.Y. Giants on August 17th.
“With the exception of the bye week in the third week I think it’s a fair schedule,” Chiefs President Carl Peterson commented. “We always enjoy opening at home and finishing the regular season at home. We never play more than two games in a row on the road. I am disappointed that we do not have a Monday Night Football game, but I am pleased that we are going to have at least two national prime-time games in the regular season.”
“Right away, you start off with two playoff teams,” observed Chiefs head coach Herm Edwards. “If we want to consider ourselves a playoff team, that will set the stage for the type of team we want to become. Those are two very good teams and two well-coached teams with one being a division opponent, which is always important. Bye weeks can either help you or hurt you according to how you handle them. After that, it’s a 14-week schedule.
“What we do in the month of October after the bye will be pretty critical. There are five games in that month and that will be a big run, especially that three-game stretch against Pittsburgh, San Diego and Seattle. That will set the table for us in November. A big game for us will be playing on Thanksgiving here at Arrowhead Stadium. Three of our games are on the road in December, including back-to-back division games before we finish up at home. It’s a tough schedule, but it’s a fair schedule.”
For the 2006 season, flexible scheduling will occur in Weeks 10-15 and Week 17. Week 16 is a holiday weekend and will not be subject to flexible scheduling. Twelve days prior to the scheduled Sunday games in each flex week, the NFL will decide (after consultation with CBS, FOX and NBC) and announce the game being moved to 7:30 PM (Central) and also may announce games moving to 3:15 PM (Central). For the Week 17 games, the decision may be made on six days notice to ensure a Sunday night game with playoff implications. Fans are encouraged to be flexible in their travel arrangements and those fans booking flights are strongly encouraged to purchase refundable or changeable airline tickets.
Kansas City’s schedule for 2006 features six games coming against five teams that qualified for the 2005 playoffs, including both Super Bowl participants. Four of those contests against 2005 playoff squads will come at Arrowhead. In addition to a home contest against the reigning NFC champion Seattle Seahawks, other match-ups at Arrowhead against 2005 playoff squads in 2006 will include a Thanksgiving night outing against Denver, as well as contests vs. Cincinnati and Jacksonville. The Chiefs will also make their debut at Heinz Field against the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers, marking Kansas City’s first regular game in Pittsburgh since ‘89.
The Chiefs begin the 2006 regular season with a home contest against Cincinnati on September 10th, marking the first time the franchise has met that club on Opening Day since ‘86. Coincidentally, the Bengals are same opponent Kansas City faced in the final contest of the 2005 regular season as the Chiefs registered a 37-3 win. The Chiefs contest vs. Cincinnati will mark the fifth time since 2000 that the franchise has played at Arrowhead on Opening Day.
Kansas City then takes to the road for a nationally-televised game at Denver on September 17th. The Chiefs enjoy their bye week on September 24th before hosting San Francisco on October 1st. The schedule then features a pair of road contests beginning at Arizona on October 8th, marking Kansas City’s first-ever appearance at Cardinals Stadium. Next, the Chiefs travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Super Bowl XL champion Steelers in a nationally-televised CBS doubleheader game on October 15th.
A two-game homestand begins vs. San Diego on October 22nd before Kansas City hosts the 2005 defending NFC champion Seattle Seahawks on October 29th. That game will mark the Seahawks first regular season visit to Arrowhead as a member of the NFC West. The Chiefs will travel to St. Louis on November 5th and Miami on November 12th before hosting a pair of AFC West foes to round out the month of November. First, Kansas City entertains Oakland on November 19th, followed by a nationally-televised Thanksgiving Night match-up against the Denver Broncos.
December begins with a December 3rd date at Cleveland. Next, the Baltimore Ravens make their first-ever appearance at Arrowhead Stadium on December 10th. The Ravens are the last of the NFL’s 32 teams to appear at Arrowhead Stadium. A West Coast road swing that includes matchups against AFC West rivals San Diego and Oakland is up next on the Chiefs slate. The Chiefs play at the Chargers on December 17th and then face the Raiders in a Saturday night game televised on NFL Network on December 23rd. Kansas City’s 2006 regular season schedule wraps up with a New Year’s Eve home game vs. the 2005 Wild Card qualifier Jacksonville Jaguars on December 31st.
The Chiefs preseason schedule begins at Houston on Saturday, August 12th. Kansas City then travels to New York for a nationally-televised contest against the Giants on August 17th. The Chiefs renew their Governor’s Cup rivalry with St. Louis at Arrowhead on Saturday, August 26th and conclude their preseason slate with a home contest vs. New Orleans on Thursday, August 31st.
