With the 2024 NFL Schedule set to be released in its entirety on Wednesday May 15th at 8 PM on the NFL Network, you can expect that some matchups will be both officially and unofficially revealed over the course of the next 60 hours. The first of those matchups is the annual season-opener showdown hosted by the defending Super Bowl champions. In this case, it’s the reigning two-time champs the Kansas City Chiefs, and their now recently-revealed opponent, a familiar AFC foe, the Baltimore Ravens.
“NFL’s Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024 regular-season opener is now set: Ravens at Chiefs,” according to a tweet from ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Over the last six seasons, since Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson took over as the starting quarterbacks for Kansas City and Baltimore respectively, the Chiefs and Ravens have become well-acquainted with one another. Last year in the AFC Championship Game, the Chiefs needed to go into Baltimore and defeat a favored Ravens squad to keep their hopes of a second-consecutive Super Bowl title alive. They did so, coming away with a 17-10 win on their way to collecting a third Lombardi Trophy in the Patrick Mahomes-Travis Kelce-Andy Reid era.
Including last season’s AFC Championship Game, Patrick Mahomes is 4-1 in his career against Lamar Jackson, with the only loss coming in a Sunday Night Football thriller at Baltimore back during the 2021 season. But in two prior matchups at Arrowhead Stadium, Lamar Jackson has failed to topple Patrick Mahomes.
The AFC Favorites
While the start of the NFL season may still be four long months away, Vegas has already tabbed the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens as the betting favorites to represent the AFC in Super Bowl LIX. According to DraftKings Sportsbook, the Chiefs are +300, and the Ravens are +475, and this is for good reason: not only were Kansas City and Baltimore the last two teams standing in the AFC one season ago, but both teams have proven to consistently be among the best in the league since their MVP candidate quarterbacks became starters six years ago. Since 2018, the Chiefs and Ravens have the most wins in the NFL, with Kansas City sitting atop the list with 75 wins and Baltimore trailing behind in second with 66.
Not only do the Chiefs and Ravens have a strong track record of recent success, but each team has also bolstered what were already two of the best rosters in the league over the offseason. The Ravens not only added Derrick Henry, one of the NFL’s most prolific and dominant running backs, but they re-signed both Justin Madubuike and Kyle Van Noy, and are banking on continued growth under second-year offensive coordinator Todd Monken.
Meanwhile, in Kansas City, the Chiefs have once again reloaded after winning the Super Bowl. Travis Kelce and Chris Jones have both been signed to lucrative extensions, and the Chiefs made efforts to upgrade at wide receiver, signing Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, and drafting NFL Draft Combine darling Xavier Worthy.
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