The Chiefs will be the least-travelled AFC West team in 2026. But will it matter?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Chiefs will travel 18,401 miles and undergo 26 time zone changes in 2026.
- Chiefs rank 17th in league travel and are least-travelled in the AFC West.
- Chargers will travel 24,816 miles, the most in the AFC West and seventh league-wide.
The 2026 NFL schedule is officially out, and the Kansas City Chiefs will log the fewest travel miles of any team in their division.
According to the Chiefs’ 17-game schedule, released officially in full Thursday night, the team will travel 18,401 miles and go through 26 time-zone changes, according to data collected by betting site Bookies.com. The outlet measured the distance between stadiums using the WGS-84 ellipsoidal Earth model, which accounts for the curvature of the earth. Round-trip distances were determined by ChatGPT calculations from the exact coordinates of each game site.
The NFL t ohis coming season will break the mileage record that it set last season; easy to do with nine international games in seven different countries on three continents.
Here is the Chiefs’ schedule for the season ahead:
Week 1: Denver Broncos, Sept. 14, MNF, 7:15 p.m. ABC/ESPN
Week 2: Indianapolis Colts, Sept. 20, SNF, 7:20 p.m. NBC
Week 3: at Miami Dolphins, Sept. 27, TBD
Week 4: at Las Vegas Raiders, Oct. 4, 3:25 p.m.
Week 5: Bye
Week 6: Los Angeles Chargers, Oct. 18, 3:25 p.m.
Week 7: at Seattle Seahawks, Oct. 25, SNF, 7:20 p.m., NBC
Week 8: at Denver Broncos, Nov. 1, 3:25 p.m.
Week 9 New York Jets, Nov. 8, noon
Week 10 at Atlanta Falcons, Nov. 15, TBD
Week 11: Arizona Cardinals, Nov. 22, noon
Week 12: at Buffalo Bills, Nov. 26, Thanksgiving, 7:20 p.m., NBC
Week 13: at Los Angeles Rams, Dec. 3, TNF, Amazon
Week 14: at Cincinnati Bengals, Dec. 13, 3:25 p.m.
Week 15: New England Patriots, Dec. 21, MNF, 7:15 p.m., ABC/ESPN
Week 16: San Francisco 49ers, Dec. 27, 3:25 p.m.
Week 17: at Los Angeles Chargers, Jan. 3, 3:25 p.m.
Week 18: Las Vegas Raiders, Jan. 9 or 10, TBD
The Chiefs will not play in an international game after appearing in two in the last three seasons, including last year in Brazil. Their longest road trips are to the West Coast against Seattle, Los Angeles for trips to play both L.A. teams, Miami and Las Vegas.
The Chiefs will be the least-travelled team in the AFC West, trailing the third-place Broncos by 728 miles to rank 17th overall in the league. The Chargers will log the most travel miles in the division in 2026: 24,816, seventh most league-wide.
Last season, the Chiefs ranked 10th in most miles traveled and second in the division behind the Broncos.
The Chiefs’ toughest road stretch this fall will be from Weeks 12 to 14: They’ll get the best shots of the Bills (13th in miles traveled), Rams (2nd) and Bengals (24th), all on the road. And road trip mileage could matter in Week 16, when the Chiefs play host to the San Francisco 49ers — who will set an NFL record for miles traveled this coming season.
Once the NFL reaches the meat of the 2026 season, it will be worth evaluating whether more travel affects teams’ performance.
This story was originally published May 14, 2026 at 8:29 PM with the headline "The Chiefs will be the least-travelled AFC West team in 2026. But will it matter?."
