The Kansas City Chiefs, as the defending Super Bowl champions, will have the honor of hosting the kickoff game for the 2024 NFL season on Thursday, September 5th. The anticipation is high as fans eagerly await the announcement of their Week 1 opponent.
The Super Bowl champion #Chiefs will open up the 2024 NFL season vs. one of these teams….
– Houston Texans
– Baltimore Ravens
– Cincinnati Bengals
– Los Angeles Chargers
– Denver Broncos
– Las Vegas Raiders
– New Orleans Saints
– Tampa Bay Buccaneers https://t.co/iZHZV23YGf pic.twitter.com/OoSgy7crcq— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) May 8, 2024
Let’s take a look at the potential matchups:
1. Houston Texans (35 percent chance): The Texans are this year’s equivalent of the Lions, a young and sneaky Super Bowl contender. They previously faced the Chiefs in the 2020 opener, losing 34-20. A showdown between quarterbacks C.J. Stroud and Patrick Mahomes, along with the offensive talent surrounding them, would make for an exciting, high-scoring thriller and could help elevate Houston into more prime-time games this season.
2. Baltimore Ravens (30 percent chance): Mahomes holds a 3-1 advantage over Lamar Jackson in regular-season matchups. The Chiefs also secured a victory against the Ravens in the AFC championship game before their Super Bowl repeat. Given their first place finishes in their respective AFC divisions, the Texans, Bills, and Ravens are all viable opponents for the Chiefs. However, it’s worth noting that another team from the AFC North has some history with Kansas City.
3. Los Angeles Chargers (20 percent chance): This matchup would be a divisional game, pitting Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes against Jim Harbaugh’s Chargers. Harbaugh recently won a national championship with Michigan, making this clash even more intriguing. However, Mahomes boasts a 5-1 head-to-head record against Justin Herbert, which might raise concerns about competitiveness. Additionally, division games rarely open the season, with the last occurrence being 12 years ago when the Giants hosted the Cowboys after New York’s upset victory in Super Bowl 46.
4. Cincinnati Bengals (15 percent chance): Mahomes has faced Joe Burrow twice in the regular season, losing both times, and split their playoff matchups. Assuming Burrow is healthy, this rivalry could reignite, especially since the Bengals are expected to field an elite, high-powered AFC offense. However, this matchup might be scheduled for later in the season due to its significance in the playoff race.
The Chiefs’ opponent for the 2024 NFL season opener remains unknown, but these four teams are the top contenders. We’ll have to wait until May 15th to find out which team will visit Arrowhead Stadium for the traditional 8:30 p.m. ET NBC telecast. Excitement is building as football fans eagerly await the start of another thrilling season.
The full 2024 NFL regular season schedule is expected to be released on Wednesday, May 15th, as @BenFischerSBJ said. Teams were informed today in a memo. pic.twitter.com/0SG1ioRxCt
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) May 7, 2024
Fans reacted as follows:
Let’s not over complicate this. It should be Houston.
— Jacoby (@JacobyFC) May 8, 2024
Ravens lock it in
— 𝙘𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨🎒 (@SkiMaskChris_) May 8, 2024
Top 4 are all great choices. I think it will be the Texans or Chargers
— NFL Schedule Update (@NerdingonNFL) May 8, 2024
No shot it's Cincy, my guess is Houston, possibly Baltimore.
— Cincy Buckeye (@BuckeyeCincy) May 8, 2024
Raiders it's only fitting.
— Jagger Drury (@JaggerCDrury) May 8, 2024
I've already reported its the Texans week 1. You're way behind pic.twitter.com/n7CxONG0ld
— Beer Belly Sports (@BeerBellySport) May 8, 2024
Gonna be the Chargers. The Harbaugh story will just be too much to pass up.
— Matt Kelley (@MattKelley1) May 8, 2024
The Texans/Bengals are the most sensible answer
Capitalize on Recent Texans Hype
Capitalize on Burrow Healthy comeback
Quality opponents for Chiefs
Can’t Do Ravens dirty like that to open season after their success— 🤡 (@DuhCl0wn) May 8, 2024
Typically that first game is a competitive game. So it won’t be against the saints, broncos, or raiders
— Jason (@smoovedog1) May 8, 2024
One of the worst things in NFL is when people "leak" the schedules before they're released. It's one thing for people that care about the schedule be released, it's a whole other thing for folks to leak it. So weird
— Arthur (@melchor23) May 8, 2024
Yes! I’m ready to see which team is the most creative with their videos! And looking forward to when the Steelers play too
— Katie Pruss (@kp_hockeygirl92) May 7, 2024
— Ben Fischer (@BenFischerSBJ) May 7, 2024
