After a week off, the Kansas City Chiefs are at the facility this week, preparing to host the Los Angeles Chargers at Arrowhead Stadium for a Week 6 divisional matchup. Two weeks after playing the Chargers, the Chiefs hit the road and play the Denver Broncos.
The games will be the team’s third and fourth divisional games this season. The 4-0 Chiefs are 2-0 in the division, giving them an early lead in the AFC West.
Division Standings after Week 5
The Chiefs can put a chokehold on the division race if they come out of the bye week and take care of the lowly Chargers, then find a way to go to Denver and leave with a win in Week 8.
Although the team fell to the Seattle Seahawks on the road in Week 7, wins in Week 6 and Week 8 would strengthen the divisional record and the record against conference opponents, the two tiebreakers for the division standings at the end of the season.
The Chiefs now have four wins against AFC opponents, while the Raiders are 2-2 in those matchups. The Broncos’ only conference loss so far has been to Kansas City, but sweeping Denver in the season series would give them the season-ending tiebreaker regardless of AFC games.
If the Chiefs enter the second half of the regular season with a 4-0 division record and both wins over the Broncos, it gives the team some margin for error as it navigates the rest of the schedule, which features multiple games against playoff contenders.
The two remaining divisional games are the final games of the season: a road trip to Los Angeles, then a home game against the Raiders. If Kansas City wins the rivalry games ahead of them over the next three weeks, neither game may matter to the divisional standings by the time the Chiefs get there.