Andy Reid's past lends to 2020 optimism for the Kansas City Chiefs

The 2020 NFL schedule has been released and season predictions have been made. Now, is the optimism justified for the 2020 Kansas City Chiefs?

The 2020 NFL schedule has been released and season predictions have been made. Now, is the optimism justified for the 2020 Kansas City Chiefs?

Andy Reid is one of the best coaches in the NFL and, when given extra time to prepare, he will make opponents pay. This bodes well for the 2020 Chiefs.

Reid is 18-3 in the regular season when his team is coming off a bye. This is a stat that seems to pop up every year during the Chiefs bye week. Reid is 6-1 in season-opening games as the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs. Throughout his career, there is a trend that includes winning games when given extra time to prepare.

This trend indicates good news may be on the way for the 2020 season. The Chiefs will have the most net rest days compared to their opponents of any team in the NFL at +10. Not only does this help players get their minds and bodies a little bit of extra healing time throughout the course of the season, but it gives Reid more time than the rest of the league to prepare for opponents.

Net Rest Days vs. Opponents:

+10: KC
+9: TEN
+8: BUF, WAS
+7: HOU
+6: CHI, CLE
+5:
+4: NE
+3: BAL, PHI, SF
+2: ATL, LV
+1: DET, IND, LA
0: CAR, DAL, PIT, SEA
-1: ARI. NO
-2: NYJ
-4: NYG
-5: JAX
-6: MIN
-7: MIA
-8: GB, LAC, TB
-9:
-10:
-11: CIN
-12:
-13: DEN

— Lee Sharpe (@LeeSharpeNFL) May 8, 2020

It wouldn’t be shocking if Andy Reid is already drawing up plays for Week 1 versus the Houston Texans. The Chiefs will be ready to roll. Reid and company will have nine days in between their first game against the Texans and their second game against the Los Angeles Chargers. After Week 2, they have a full seven days to get ready for their Week 3 opponent, the Baltimore Ravens.

After their Week 6 Thursday Night Football matchup against the Buffalo Bills, they have nine days to get ready for a Week 7 road game in Denver. The first part of the schedule culminates with two home games against the Jets and Panthers before the Week 10 bye. Following the bye, there’s a road game with the Raiders before closing out Weeks 12-17 on a “normal” Sunday to Sunday slate of games on the schedule.

The team should feel very confident heading into the home stretch of the season after receiving plenty of rest throughout the first half of the schedule. Now that only one team in the AFC will get a bye come playoff time, gaining that edge is a huge motivation for the team. Resting players down the stretch may not be an option this year. No matter the situation, Reid will have his guys prepared both mentally and physically.

As seen last season, having an extra bye week during the playoffs can be a major factor in getting to — and winning — a Super Bowl. With 20 of 22 starters back in Kansas City this season, the players have the experience to lean on and understand what they need to do in order to get back on the mountain top again. With Andy Reid’s record, an extra week of preparation certainly wouldn’t hurt their chances to repeat as Super Bowl Champions in 2021.