Ladies and gentlemen, we finally made it. The NFL officially returns on Thursday night with a star-studded season opener between the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens. Soak it in, folks. The best time of the year has arrived.

With the return of the NFL upon us, let's craft up a same-game parlay to start the season off with a bang.

Leg 1: Chiefs moneyline

The Chiefs are coming off back-to-back Super Bowl victories, and they might be better this year than they were the previous two. Kansas City returns almost the entire defense which ranked second in the NFL last season in points allowed per game (17.0), the offensive line is still a major strength, Rashee Rice and Isiah Pacheco are ready to make the jump to star weapons in this offense and Xavier Worthy and Marquise Brown (out for 'TNF') will inject some much-needed speed into the offense. What's not to like?

As for the Ravens, they lost defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald and a league-high 15 players in free agency. This defense isn't going to be the same dominant unit we watched all of last year. 

Leg 2: Rashee Rice 5+ receptions

Rice was Patrick Mahomes's favorite short-yardage target in the playoffs last year. In four postseason games, the rookie wide receiver averaged 8.25 targets and 6.5 catches. Rice reeled in at least five receptions in nine of his last 10 games of the season, and he figures to have an even larger role in the offense in his second year as a pro. 

Leg 3: Derrick Henry under 78.5 rushing + receiving yards

This line doesn't make much sense. Henry's rushing yards prop is set at 65.5, while his receiving yards prop is set at 8.5. Add those two together and you get 74, but the rushing + receiving prop is 4.5 yards higher than that. We like both of those unders separately, so we obviously love the combined under with some more wiggle room.

Henry isn't going to be a receiving option in this offense, and he might have trouble rushing efficiently as the Ravens work in three new starters on the offensive line. 

Leg 3: Second half under 23.5

This is what we like to call the Steve Spagnuolo special. The Chiefs defensive coordinator is a mastermind with halftime adjustments, which is why Kansas City ranked No. 1 in the NFL last year in second half points allowed per game (6.9). The Chiefs went 18-3 to the second half under last season including the playoffs, and these two teams combined to score only three points in the second half in the AFC Championship. 

Put it all together, and you get a +493 same-game parlay on FanDuel. Let's start the season with a cash!

In the news ...

Cubs throw combined no-hitter against Pirates — The Chicago Cubs threw a combined no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 12-0 win on Wednesday night. Shota Imanaga gets most of the credit for going seven strong innings with seven strikeouts, but Nate Pearson and Porter Hodge followed in relief and finished the job. The no-hitter marked the 18th in franchise history but only the second combined no-no for the Cubs. Chicago, which is 4.5 games back of the final NL wild-card spot, is +1700 to make the playoffs. 

Jessica Pegula stuns World No. 1 Iga Swiatek to reach U.S. Open semifinal — Down goes No. 1! On Wednesday night, Pegula knocked off Swiatek 6-2, 6-4 in the U.S. Open to reach the first Grand Slam semifinal of her career. The American hasn't dropped a set all tournament, and she's a -165 favorite to knock off unseeded Karolina Muchova to reach the championship match. 

Caitlin Clark records second triple-double as Fever continue to roll — Clark and the Fever cannot be stopped right now. Indiana took down the Los Angeles Sparks, 93-86, on Wednesday night for its fifth straight win and seventh victory in eight games since the Olympics break. Clark was sensational once again with her second triple-double of the season (24 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists). The Fever, which have already clinched a playoff spot, are +1600 to win the WNBA title. 

Today's Bark Bets is written by Jack Dougherty