Hey, Kansas City Chiefs fans will always tune in to watch red and gold play, regardless of what the result of the game is. But this season, the stakes are different. Coming from an uncharacteristically down year in 2025, their popularity has taken a big hit. Even though the team has its main star power intact in Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes, and Andy Reid, the TE is expecting a drop.

“In previous years, we’ve had up to five or six prime time games,” Travis told his brother, Jason Kelce, on the New Heights Podcast. “This year, I’m gonna guess, three high, and four.”

Travis later specified that he was being “modest.” But it was really him taking a cautionary stance about what could very much present the Chiefs in terms of viewership. The Chiefs tied the league record with seven primetime games in 2025, after consistently bagging at least five such slots since 2018. But after a 6-11 record for a team like Kansas City, networks will find it better to invest in other successful teams.

The situation with the Chiefs’ scope in 2026 is really a head-scratcher. On one hand, you have the down year, and on the other hand, you have the aspect of a comeback. There’s still a sizeable chunk of fans who are really keen to see Patrick Mahomes return from his injury. The Chiefs have retooled on both offense and defense, and present a new picture for fans to dissect. This is a side that has won three Super Bowls since the beginning of this decade. There’s still a lot to be excited about.

With Andy Reid leading them all, Jason Kelce believed the Chiefs’ allure wouldn’t go down.

The former center lifted the team slightly higher and predicted, “So, let’s say four to five.  If it’s five to six, maybe now it’s four to five after a down year. One down year in the past decade.”

Travis let Jason take the lead on deciding a potential schedule of primetime matchups, too.

We already know that the Chiefs begin Monday Night Football with Denver Broncos. The elder Kelce saw opportunity in clashes with the San Francisco 49ers, Buffalo Bills, and Los Angeles Rams. Then there’s also the deep-seated AFC rivalry with the Cincinnati Bengals. The bad blood between the two franchises has become a ratings jackpot for broadcasters. 

It’s going to be tricky for the NFL to assign the slots for the Chiefs’ games. But their opponent lineup warrants them getting more attention this season. Seven of them featured in the playoffs last year, making these matchups very entertaining. Things are lining up for the Chiefs to create some chaos, and people will be down to watch that unfold on their screens.

Even in a bad season, the team was able to pull a good amount of numbers. The Chiefs vs Dallas Cowboys game on the Thanksgiving slate was the most-watched regular-season game, drawing in a total viewership of nearly 60 million. Kansas City actually featured on four of the five most-watched games last season. All four of these games were losses, but fans kept tuning in. The Cowboys game happened after the other three.

It will not be easy to write the Kansas City Chiefs off; 2025 could very well be a small blip for the team. As long as names as big as Patrick Mahomes are still attached to the red and gold, networks will be counting on them to do business.

Kansas City Chiefs have Patrick Mahomes to thank for the prime-time battle against Broncos

In the 2025 season, the Broncos ended the Chiefs’ decade-long AFC West dominance with a 21-19 win. It was the first time in nine years that Patrick Mahomes lost to the Broncos, bringing his record to 13-2 against Denver. They took advantage of a weakened Kansas City and sent them back home as losers. But their getting to open the season on Monday Night Football has more to do with Mahomes’ return than their own recent developments.

“The league must feel very, very good that Patrick Mahomes is going to be out there,” NFL Network insider Judy Battista said. “Otherwise, they would not put that game in that spot. ESPN wouldn’t want that game in that spot. So, they obviously have a level of confidence that Patrick Mahomes will be healthy. And Bo Nix, for that matter, too.” 

The Broncos QB is also coming back from an ankle injury. But when pitted against Mahomes, the hype around the Chiefs QB outshines that of Nix’s. When Mahomes is healthy, defenses really have something to be worried about. He is the obvious crowd puller for this game. Bo Nix still has som distance to cover before people talk about him the way they do about Patrick Mahomes.

Nevertheless, the speculations around the Kansas City Chiefs’ relevance will end on Thursday night (8 pm ET), as the NFL unveils the complete 2026 schedule. All we need to see is whether the elder Kelce’s favorites can get the spotlight that they need.