Surviving Suspensions and Holdouts

The latest newsletter from KCSN Sports Data Scientist, Joseph Hefner.

Charles Omenihu is suspended for the first six games of the season. Chris Jones has yet to report to the team, and has indicated on Twitter that he would sit out until game 8 if needed to get the extension he wants from the Chiefs. That’s two members of our starting defensive line that could be missing for the whole first portion of our schedule.

Perhaps the Chiefs and Jones have come to a deal that works for both of them between the time I wrote this article and you read it. I hope so. Omenihu is certainly out for six games, though. If they are both out, that could make those first games very ugly.

I had previously written about how the Chiefs have the fourth most difficult schedule this year, per Vegas odds. That article only considers the schedule as a whole, and compares it to the rest of the NFL. Today, I want to look at only the Chiefs schedule, and see where it’s easier, and where it’s more difficult.