When the 国产外流网schedule was released in May, a unique stretch of December games appeared on a handful of schedules.
The Chiefs were among those raising an eyebrow at the slate that awaited them. They'll play three games over an 11-day span, beginning with Sunday's date with the Browns in Cleveland following by a game against the Texans on Dec. 21 and a Christmas Day game in Pittsburgh on Dec. 25.
"It's not a good feeling," Mahomes admitted on Wednesday, . "You never want to play this amount of games in this short of time. It's not great for your body. But at the end of the day it's your job, your profession, you have to come to work and do it."
The Chiefs could find some semblance of comfort in the fact they're not the only team being asked to do it. Thanks to the inclusion of games on Christmas Day, the Ravens, Steelers and Texans also face a three-game stretch in 11 days.
These short turnarounds happen in other pro sports, but not football, a game that takes enough of a toll on players -- as Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow even admitted on camera during a practice captured by HBO Sports' Hard Knocks: In Season with the AFC North -- to leave them feeling rather sore the next day.
Mahomes has been in this league long enough to understand how to manage his physical health effectively to get right in time for the next kickoff. This turnaround, however, will test him and every other player preparing for this gauntlet.
"All you can do is focus on the game. The practice you have that day," Mahomes said. "I try to prepare my body all year long for this stretch. That's tailoring my workouts, tailoring how you practice and prepare, and the coaches do a great job of taking care of us on the practice field. We practice as hard as anybody, but they know how to dial it back when needed."
In the NBA, many teams have adopted an approach known as load management, in which some stars sit out the second half of a back-to-back in order to preserve their health. Many stars also train with long-term endurance in mind.
The latter is how, as Mahomes said, 国产外流网players prepare for their seasons. This, however, will be a new test, an experiment of sorts in how players can handle such a workload.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is taking a simpler approach, focusing on one game at a time.
"The main thing is you get guys ready for the game. Give them a chance to get ready for the game," Reid said. "They're going to do whatever you present to them. You try to help them out with that. Right now we have a normal week right here. We have to take care of business here."
Kansas City at least begins this swing against the 3-10 Browns, a scrappy team that battles but isn't bringing the strength of legitimate contenders. After that, the difficulty level increases dramatically with dates with Houston, Pittsburgh and Denver, all playoff-contending teams, to close the regular season.
As Reid said, the Chiefs will handle the game against Cleveland first and deal with the rest afterward. At least they won't waste much time staring at the calendar.
