NFL fans are in for a treat to begin the 2024 season. While the full schedule will not be released until Wednesday evening, we now know who will be kicking off the new season.
According to Adam Schefter at ESPN, the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs will be hosting the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday, Sept. 5 in a rematch of last season’s AFC Championship game.
NFL’s Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024 regular-season opener is now set: Ravens at Chiefs. pic.twitter.com/qD9qr2jMwA
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 13, 2024
As impressive as the Ravens have been in recent years, they have struggled against the Chiefs. Since Lamar Jackson was drafted in 2018 Kansas City has won four of the five matchups between these two teams.
Nevertheless, we expect a competitive game. Jackson may flop in the playoffs but has excelled in the regular season, winning two well-earned league MVP awards. Right now we have Baltimore ranked as the second-best team in the league and Kansas City at No. 1.
The Chiefs lost last year’s regular season opener by one point against the Detroit Lions and they didn’t look like themselves for much of the 2023 campaign. However, like the Chicago Bulls teams of the Michael Jordan era there’s a sense of inevitability around these Chiefs once the postseason begins. Despite the rough start to the regular season, they eventually righted the ship and went on to win another ring.
It’s much harder to repeat in the NFL, but they have won three of the last five Super Bowls and the smart money will remain on KC to keep winning them as long as Patrick Mahomes remains healthy.
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