Mark Zinno
(451) Baltimore Ravens at (452) Kansas City Chiefs
The Ravens and Chiefs open the NFL season Thursday night as a rematch of the AFC Championship game which the Chiefs won 17-10. These were two of the best defenses in the NFL last season and they should be once again. In the Patrick Mahomes/Lamar Jackson era, these teams have met 5 times, including last season's playoff game. They all went over until that playoff game. But season openers have also typically stayed under. There's a lot of distractions in the season opener as the Super Bowl banner-raising and celebration takes up a lot of the pre-game. And when you have a tough defensive opponent, that makes for a slower start. The Ravens also are a run-first team and with Derrick Henry now in the fold, it could be spot where Baltimore relies on him even more. The Chiefs offense still has a lot to prove after a down year last year. Their receiving corps still had more questions than answers other than Travis Kelce and Mahomes is coming off his worst statistical year as a starter. This number continues to move down and I think the kickers will be busy in this one.