In less than a week, the 2022 Kansas City Chiefs will officially begin their season and try to improve on last year’s 12-5 record. This season could be something of a battle for Kansas City, as they’ll face arguably the hardest division in football without the help of superstar wide receiver Tyreek Hill. Still, this is an immensely talented roster that should compete for the division and the Super Bowl.
Related: Ravens Record Prediction
Kansas City Chiefs Record: Predicting Every Game on the Schedule
Week 1: At Cardinals
The Kyler Murray and Kliff Kingsbury Arizona Cardinals have a habit of starting the season strong before fading as the year progresses. However, they’ll have a hard time doing that this year with wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins suspended to start the year. Marquise Brown is a good player, but he’s a clear downgrade from Hopkins, and the team also has no proven option to replace Christian Kirk.
The Cardinals have a good defense, but you need an elite one to have any hope of stopping Kansas City. Even without Tyreek Hill, the Chiefs still have Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and the best offensive mind in the game in head coach Andy Reid. Even though they have to go on the road, the Chiefs should start their year off on a high note.
Prediction: Chiefs Win, 1-0 Record
Week 2: Vs Chargers
Two of the best teams in football face off in what should be a fantastic match. Both of these matches in 2021 went down to the wire, and 2022 should be no different. Justin Herbert is one of the best young quarterbacks in the game and should only improve with another year under head coach Brandon Staley. This could very well be an early preview of the AFC Championship Game, and both teams are evenly matched on both offense and defense. However, since the Chiefs have home-field advantage in this one, we’ll give the edge to them.
Prediction: Chiefs Win, 2-0 Record
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Week 3: At Colts
Going from Carson Wentz to Matt Ryan is an upgrade, but not a dramatic one. The 37-year-old passer has shown signs of slowing down in recent years and isn’t anything more than a league-average quarterback at this point in his career. Even with a strong defense and a talented receiver in Michael Pittman, it’s going to take more than that to beat Mahomes and the Chiefs.
Prediction: Chiefs Win, 3-0 Record
Week 4: At Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are one of the few teams in the league capable of going blow-for-blow with Kansas City’s offense. 45-year-old Tom Brady is as good as ever, and the receiving trio of Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Russell Gage is as good as any in the league. The team also added Julio Jones into the mix, who isn’t quite as washed as most people believe. While the defense isn’t quite as talented as it was in Super Bowl LV, it’s still talented enough to make life difficult for Kansas City. When factoring in that this is a road game, the Chiefs will have an uphill battle to victory.
Prediction: Chiefs Lose, 3-1 Record
Week 5: Vs Raiders
The fact that the Las Vegas Raiders might be the worst team in their own division just speaks to the talent of the AFC West. Derek Carr is an above-average quarterback, Davante Adams is still one of the best receivers in the game, and Darren Waller is a top-five tight end when healthy. Defensively, the Raiders have one of the best pass-rushing duos in the league, and first-year head coach Josh McDaniels should be an improvement on John Gruden and interim head coach Rich Bisaccia. Much like the Chargers game, this one should go down to the wire, so home-field advantage will be the tiebreaker in this prediction.
Prediction: Chiefs Win, 4-1 Record
Week 6: Vs Bills
There is a reason the Buffalo Bills are widely considered the team to beat in the AFC. Josh Allen has transformed into arguably the most dangerous weapon in football, Stefon Diggs is still a top-10 receiver, and the roster is as strong as any in the league. The Chiefs narrowly pulled off a win the last time these two teams met, but now the Bills get revenge for that heartbreaking playoff loss.
Prediction: Chiefs Lose, 4-2 Record
Week 7: At 49ers
If you ignored the quarterback position, the San Francisco 49ers might have the best roster in football. Between Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, Fred Warner, Nick Bosa, and several other fantastic players, this team can beat you in a wide variety of ways.
The big question mark, however, is second-year quarterback Trey Lance. After spending his rookie season on the bench, the former third-overall pick is set to start for Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers. Lance has one of the highest ceilings in the league but is incredibly raw and probably won’t play at an elite level right out of the gate. Because of this, the Chiefs should prevail in this one.
Prediction: Chiefs Win, 5-2 Record
It's officially Trey season in San Francisco. 🔥@treylance09 | @49ers pic.twitter.com/Mhw7Fzg0vg
— NFL (@NFL) August 30, 2022
Week 9: Vs Titans
The 2021 Tennessee Titans finished the year with the best record in the AFC, but it’s hard to see them repeating that performance. A.J. Brown is now in Philadelphia, Julio Jones is in Tampa Bay, and it’s hard to see how this team will move the ball through the air. Robert Woods is coming off an ACL injury, and first-round rookie Treylon Burks hasn’t exactly drawn rave reviews throughout the offseason. Factor in an aging Derrick Henry and the Titans will have a very hard time keeping up with Kansas City.
Prediction: Chiefs Win, 6-2 Record
Week 10: Vs Jaguars
Trevor Lawrence will improve in 2022 with an actual NFL head coach leading the team, but he won’t be ready to make the Jaguars genuine contenders. This team has some intriguing young talent, but they’re a year or two away from making any real noise in the conference.
Prediction: Chiefs Win, 7-2 Record
Week 11: At Chargers
Just like in Week 2, this matchup between two of the best young passers in football should result in one of the best games of the year. However, unlike the first matchup, this one takes place in Los Angeles, so the Chargers should walk away with a win this time.
Prediction: Chiefs Lose, 7-3 Record
Week 12: Vs Rams
The reigning Super Bowl champions bring back a lot of the same core to try and win it all again. While this won’t be an easy win by any stretch of the imagination, the Chiefs should have what it takes to pull off a win. Jalen Ramsey isn’t the dominant player he once was, and Kansas City should be able to move the ball through the air without much trouble. This should be a close one, but the Chiefs should ultimately come away with the win.
Prediction: Chiefs Win, 8-3 Record
Week 13: At Bengals
The Bengals won both matchups against the Chiefs last year, but neither win was particularly likely. In both instances, Kansas City jumped out to a massive lead before crumbling down the stretch. Winning these types of games isn’t particularly sustainable, and Kansas City should be the better team.
Prediction: Chiefs Win, 9-3 Record
Week 14: At Broncos
The Denver Broncos have had one of the better top-to-bottom rosters in the league for the past few years if you ignored the quarterback position. However, a collection of backup-caliber quarterbacks prevented them from ever reaching their ceiling. Now, with Russell Wilson in town, the sky is the limit for this win-now roster. Just like with all the divisional games, this one could go either way, but home-field advantage gives the win to Denver.
Prediction: Chiefs Lose, 9-4 Record
Week 15: At Texans
After facing four Super Bowl contenders in a row, the Chiefs catch a break in Week 15 with the Houston Texans. Davis Mills showed plenty of promise as a rookie, but Houston doesn’t have the type of roster talent required to compete even if Mills builds on his inaugural NFL season.
Prediction: Chiefs Win, 10-4 Record
Week 16: Vs Seahawks
Russell Wilson spent the better part of his career dragging a flawed Seattle Seahawks team to relevance. Now that he’s in Denver, it will be up to Geno Smith and/or Drew Lock to make a bottom-five roster competitive. Good luck with that.
Prediction: Chiefs Win, 11-4 Record
Week 17: vs Broncos
The Chiefs close out their season with two battles against AFC West foes that will almost certainly have a massive impact on playoff seeding. As mentioned earlier, both teams have remarkably balanced rosters with elite quarterback leading top passing offenses. The Broncos won the first game in this prediction article, so we’ll give this one to Kansas City.
Prediction: Chiefs Win, 12-4 Record
Week 18: at Raiders
The Chiefs finish out the year with a trip to the desert. Both teams will likely still have something to play for, so let’s assume the starters for both teams are active and giving it their all. Patrick Mahomes is better than Derek Carr, but the collective talent of the Raiders pass-catchers far exceeds Kansas City’s. With both teams boasting solid offensive lines and similar defenses, we’ll give the edge to the home team.
Prediction: Chiefs Lose, 12-5 Record
