The NFL season is finally back, and the opening game of the 2024 season is among the most anticipated of the entire year.
Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce (and maybe Taylor Swift?) will welcome reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson to Arrowhead Stadium at 8:20 ET on NBC. The matchup is a rematch of last season’s AFC title game that saw Kansas City hold on for a 17-10 win on the road.
Do the Chiefs have enough firepower to become the first team in NFL history with three consecutive Super Bowls? Will the addition of running back Derrick Henry help Baltimore get over the hump?
It all starts Thursday night. Stay with NBC News for in-game updates, highlights and analysis.
Baltimore Ravens at Kansas City Chiefs
- Date: Thursday, September 5
- Time: 8:20 p.m. ET
- How to watch: NBC, Peacock, Telemundo
- Where: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City
Chiefs trying to win third straight Super Bowl
No team in NFL history has won three consecutive Super Bowls. Will that change this season? The Chiefs have won eight straight division titles — the longest active streak in NFL — and have made the playoffs nine straight seasons (also the longest active streak in the NFL).
What Derrick Henry means for Baltimore
The Ravens signed All-Pro running back Derrick Henry in free agency on a two-year, $16 million deal that could be up to $20 million with incentives.
Henry comes over from the Tennessee Titans. He has rushed for at least 1,500 yards in three of his last five seasons. The 30-year-old led the league in rushing in both 2019 and 2020 and has at least six straight seasons with 10+ rushing scores.
Rematch of last season’s AFC title game
The Chiefs won last season’s postseason matchup 17-10 on the road in Baltimore. In that game, the Ravens committed three turnovers (including two in the end zone) and raised questions about star QB Lamar Jackson.
Jackson, who claimed MVP last year, fell to only 2-4 all-time in the playoffs.
Mahomes was 30-for-39 for 241 yards and a touchdown in that game. Travis Kelce exploded for 11 catches, 116 yards and a score.
