Baltimore (0-0) at Kansas City (0-0)
When: Thursday, September 5th 2024
Where: Arrowhead Stadium,
Kansas City, MO
Time: 8:20 ET | TV: NBC
Opening Odds: Kansas City -2.5/45.5
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No team has ever won three consecutive Super Bowls, and the Kansas City Chiefs will begin their quest to become the first when they host the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night to kick off the 2024 NFL season. This will be rematch of last year’s AFC Championship Game, in which the Chiefs won 17-10 in Baltimore. Patrick Mahomes is now 4-1 in head-to-head matchups against Lamar Jackson. The Ravens, who had the best running game in the league last season, ran the ball just 16 times for 81 yards in that AFC Championship Game.
Overall, the Chiefs are 2-1 in the Kickoff Game and were upset last year 21-20 at home by the Detroit Lions. This will be Baltimore’s second Kickoff Game as they were beaten in the 2013 opener in Denver as the reigning Super Bowl champs. This game will also mark the first-ever Week 1 game featuring the past two league MVPs facing off as quarterbacks. Mahomes won his second career MVP in 2022 and Jackson won his second last year.
BALTIMORE RAVENS
The Ravens signed four-time Pro Bowler Derrick Henry as a free agent in the offseason to make the ground attack even better. Henry ran for 672 yards with eight touchdowns in six games, including the postseason, against Kansas City over eight seasons with the Tennessee Titans. The defensive unit is solid once against despite coordinator Mike MacDonald leaving for Seattle. John Harbaugh promoted within and made linebackers coach Zach Orr the new coordinator. The Ravens have been good in Week 1 games under Harbaugh. Baltimore has a +222 point differential in season openers, the second-best by any NFL head coach in history.
Baltimore Ravens Injury Report [Week 1]
| Player | Status/Updated | |
|---|---|---|
| Nick Samac | C | Ques Sept 5 - Leg - 8/27/24 |
| Tyler Linderbaum | C | Ques Sept 5 - Undisclosed - 8/27/24 |
| Rasheen Ali | RB | Ques Sept 5 - Concussion - 8/27/24 |
| Owen Wright | RB | Ques Sept 5 - Foot - 8/31/24 |
| Trayvon Mullen | CB | Ques Sept 5 - Shoulder - 8/27/24 |
| Kyle Hamilton | S | Ques Sept 5 - Hip - 8/27/24 |
| Mark Andrews | TE | Ques Sept 5 - Undisclosed - 8/27/24 |
| Malik Hamm | LB | Out indefinitely - Knee - 8/26/24 |
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
The Chiefs have some injury concerns heading into Week 1 and played without their best offensive (Joe Thuney) and defensive lineman (Chris Jones) during the preseason. Both are expected Thursday. However, starting receiver Marquise Brown is not expected to play. Solid backup running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire is out at least the first four games as he deals with a mental health issue. Mahomes has a career passer rating of 125.6 in Week 1 games, the highest in NFL history. He is 5-1 in his six season openers and needs 84 passing yards to pass Hall of Famer Len Dawson (28,507) as the Chiefs’ all-time yardage leader. Defending Super Bowl champions are 14-5 in the Kickoff Game even with Kansas City’s loss to Detroit last year.
Kansas City Chiefs Injury Report [Week 1]
| Player | Status/Updated | |
|---|---|---|
| Nazeeh Johnson | S | Ques Sept. 5 - Hamstring - 8/27/24 |
| Wanya Morris | OL | Ques Sept. 5 - Knee - 8/27/24 |
| Chris Jones | DT | Ques Sept. 5 - Shoulder - 8/27/24 |
| Jawaan Taylor | OT | Ques Sept. 5 - Shoulder - 8/27/24 |
| James Winchester | LS | Ques Sept. 5 - Shoulder - 8/27/24 |
| Joshua Williams | CB | Ques Sept. 5 - Hamstring - 8/27/24 |
| Hollywood Brown | WR | Out Thurs - Shoulder - 9/2/24 |
| Clyde Edwards-Helaire | RB | Early October - Illness - 9/2/24 |
| Charles Omenihu | DE | Early November - Knee - 8/27/24 |
| BJ Thompson | DE | Out indefinitely - Undisclosed - 8/27/24 |
This is a great matchup to start the NFL season with two teams who are capable of winning it all this year. I’m taking the points with the Ravens. They want revenge from last year’s playoff exit to the Chiefs and Harbaugh is terrific in Week 1 games. Baltimore is on a 7-1 ATS run in Week 1 and the road team is 9-4 ATS in the last 13 meetings.
