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The first NFL game of the 2024 season is set to be a doozy. The defending champion Kansas City Chiefs will kick off the NFL season with the first game of the year, although it won't be labeled Thursday Night Football. The Chiefs will take on the Baltimore Ravens in a highly anticipated clash.
This first game of the season is labeled the NFL Kickoff Game, and the Ravens will look to redeem both their AFC Championship Game loss to the Chiefs from last year, as well as their loss from their only other NFL Kickoff Game performance (49-27 loss to the Denver Broncos in 2013). In this article, we are going to explain everything that you need to know about the first game of the new NFL season.
When and where is the Ravens vs. Chiefs game?
As is tradition during the NFL Kickoff Game, the first game of the season will be played at the home of the defending Super Bowl champions. That is, of course, Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, the stadium where the Chiefs play their home games.
Kansas City's status as back-to-back champions means this will be the first NFL Kickoff Game to be played at the same venue in back-to-back seasons since the game was played at Gillette Stadium in both 2004 and 2005. The first game of the 2024 season will be on Thursday, Sept. 5, at 8:20 p.m. ET.
How to watch the NFL Kickoff Game
Prime Video will have the vast majority of Thursday night games this year, but the NFL Kickoff Game will not be called a Thursday Night Football Game because it will instead be on NBC. That means that the game can also be streamed on Peacock or with FuboTV.
Date: Thursday, Sept. 5 | Time: 8:20 p.m. ET
Location: Arrowhead Stadium — Kansas City, Missouri
TV channel: NBC | Live stream: fuboTV (free trial)
Odds: Chiefs -3 | O/U 46.5
Ravens storylines
The Ravens played in the NFL Kickoff Game once before. Their opening matchup against the Denver Broncos ended up being one of the worst games in franchise history. In the 49-27 loss, Baltimore gave up a league-record seven passing touchdowns to Peyton Manning.
Manning is one of the best NFL players of all time, but the Ravens now have to take on a quarterback who is on the trajectory to be even better. With a win at Super Bowl LVIII, Patrick Mahomes officially has more championship wins than even someone as dominant as Manning, and no one has proven that they can slow the Super Bowl MVP down.
The Ravens themselves lost to the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game last season. It was a close game, and the Ravens were even able to limit Mahomes' offense, but the Chiefs still walked away with a 17-10 victory. Turnovers were the big difference in that game, as Kansas City won the turnover battle 3-0. Still, limiting the Chiefs' offense to only 17 points was impressive, and their game plan can be used as a recipe in this game.
The Ravens have a great defensive unit headlined by Roquon Smith, Marlon Humphrey, and Nnamdi Madubuike. All three players are elite at their respective positions, but fans might not be familiar with Madubuike. That is because the elite defensive tackle who became one of the best players at his position last season has gone by the name Justin Madubuike in the past. He is still the same defensive interior monster, though, but the team has added talent elsewhere.
Notably, the Ravens signed Derrick Henry in the offseason. An already scary rushing attack led by one of the best rushing quarterbacks ever (Lamar Jackson) has the potential to be even scarier now. While some have questioned Henry's fit in the Baltimore offense, there is no denying his talent. Henry is one of only eight running backs to run for 2,000 yards in a season, and opposing defenses are going to have a hard time choosing who to focus on when stopping the run.
Jackson won the MVP last season, and he has proven himself to be one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, including as a passer. While winning a third MVP is statistically unlikely, no one would deny that Jackson has the talent to do it.
Henry has stated that he wishes that he was on the Ravens when they took on the Chiefs in last year's conference championship battle. The future Hall of Fame running back will have a chance to prove that he could have been the difference in the first game of the NFL season, and he will do it in front of millions of eyes.
Chiefs storylines
The Chiefs are playing in the NFL Kickoff Game for the second straight time, but they lost their opener last year. The first game of the 2023 season was between the Chiefs and the Detroit Lions, and Detroit walked away with a one-point victory. The Chiefs bounced back and won their next six games, but they will want to ride their championship high and get off to a better start this season.
Kansas City is certainly capable of defeating the Ravens. Although Baltimore is out for revenge, the Chiefs have beaten them in five of their last six matchups. The Chiefs only look more stacked this year, too. Last season, the defense finally matched the talent of the offense, and now the offense has been rebooted even further.
Hollywood Brown and Xavier Worthy join forces with Mahomes to improve the receiving corps, the latter of whom was made a first-round pick after breaking the scouting combine 40-yard dash record. Although Brown will miss Week 1, the Chiefs still have way more speed than they did last year on the outside. Travis Kelce is still in town, too. His relationship with Taylor Swift was one of the biggest storylines in the NFL last season, but fans shouldn't forget that he is arguably the best tight end in NFL history.
No team has won three straight Super Bowls, but the Chiefs are set up to make history this year. In fact, they are the favorites to win it all despite the mathematical unlikelihood of that happening. Their journey to three-peating starts in the NFL Kickoff Game.
History of the opening NFL game
The first game of the NFL season has been called the NFL Kickoff Game since 2002. Since 2004, the game has been played at the home of the defending champions during the first Thursday of the season, with three exceptions to that rule.
In 2013 the Ravens had to play the game on the road because of a scheduling conflict with the Baltimore Orioles. In 2019, the New England Patriots didn't play in the game despite winning the previous Super Bowl because the league wanted to showcase a rivalry game between historic teams like the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers in what was the 100th season of the NFL. Additionally, the New York Giants played their 2012 opening game on a Wednesday to avoid conflict with the Democratic National Convention.
The Chiefs will be playing in the NFL Kickoff Game for the fourth time, which will tie the Patriots for the most appearances in the game. Although Kansas City lost the game last year, the defending champions are still 13-5 in the game. So, will the Chiefs reign supreme over Baltimore and win the NFL Kickoff Game this year after losing it last year, or will the Ravens get revenge for their AFC Championship and 2013 NFL Kickoff Game losses?
