Here’s Why Chiefs Love Noon Kickoffs on Sundays

The Chiefs (3-3) get one of those rare starts this week when they host the Raiders (2-4) at Arrowhead Stadium (12 p.m. CT, CBS/KCTV, Channel 5, 96.5 The Fan). Barring any flexes in the NFL schedule, it’s Kansas City’s first of four early Sunday kickoffs this season.

In comparison, the Carolina Panthers have 14 early Sunday kickoffs this season.

No standalone window this week

Over the season’s first six weeks, the Chiefs have played in four standalone primetime windows. They opened the year in Brazil on a Friday night in a loss to the Chargers, registered Sunday night wins in New York over the Giants in Week 3 and last week over Detroit, and lost on a Week 5 Monday night in Jacksonville.

In between, the Chiefs aired to 100 percent of the country on America’s Game of the Week, a Super Bowl rematch in Week 2. And two weeks after losing that thriller, 20-17 to Philadelphia, Kansas City crushed the Ravens, 37-20, in a late-afternoon window on CBS.

It’s familiar territory for the team people either love or hate – or invest significant resources in attempt to prove an NFL conspiracy favoring the Chiefs. Kansas City isn’t only the NFL’s resident dynasty; the Chiefs also are the NFL’s resident ratings darlings.

On Thanksgiving next month, the Chiefs and Cowboys are expected to shatter the NFL record for most-watched non-playoff game. Dallas and the New York Giants established that mark on Nov. 24, 2022, an earlier Thanksgiving at AT&T Stadium, drawing an average of 42.1 million viewers on FOX.

Like Sunday, this year’s Thanksgiving contest is on CBS.

Back to non-noon kickoffs

After meeting the Raiders – and catching up on sleep -- the Chiefs are back on Monday Night Football the following week, hosting Jayden Daniels and the Commanders in Week 8. Then, it’s off to Buffalo for the now-annual Mahomes-Josh Allen Bowl. That’s also on the CBS marquee, another 3:25 CT kickoff.

The next time Kansas City is scheduled to kick off at noon isn’t until Week 12. And for those who believe the NFL will move that game out of the noon slot because Daniel Jones and the Indianapolis Colts, who visit Kansas City that day, have the AFC’s best record (5-1) through six weeks? A league source told OnSI Tuesday that it’s likely to stay at 12 noon.

Ironically, the last time the Chiefs lost a Sunday noon kickoff was against the Colts – more than three years ago. It was Sept. 25, 2022, at Lucas Oil Stadium. Matt Ryan threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jelani Woods with 24 seconds remaining to beat the Chiefs, 20-17.

Since then, the Chiefs have reeled off nine consecutive wins in Sunday noon games.

Overall since that loss at Indianapolis in 2022, the Chiefs are 11-1 in noon kickoffs, including Saturday and Wednesday victories over Houston and Pittsburgh during Christmas week 2024, and a loss on a Christmas Monday in 2023, at home to the Raiders.