The NFL will launch the total schedule for the 2024-2025 season on Wednesday. However forward of its launch, the league will begin to unveil a few of the key video games for the upcoming marketing campaign.
A kind of key video games? The standard “NFL Kickoff Sport” which traditionally options the defending Tremendous Bowl champions, as an evening to honor their accomplishments earlier than starting a brand-new 12 months. That seemingly means for the second season in a row, the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs will likely be internet hosting that sport on the primary evening of the season.
However who will they be taking part in?
Under are the eight groups on Kansas Metropolis’s dwelling schedule, with the potential matchups for opening evening ranked by the fun issue. Which sport do we predict can be essentially the most thrilling for opening evening? Learn on to search out out.
8. Denver Broncos
In some unspecified time in the future the quarterback battle between Bo Nix and Patrick Mahomes might very effectively be appointment tv.
However the opening sport of the 2024 season might be not going to be that time.
The historic rivalry between the Chiefs and the Broncos has made for thrilling tv over time, however with the Broncos coming off an 8-9 season, and certain beginning a rookie quarterback, this sport has “Week 4 Thursday Evening Soccer” written throughout it.
7. New Orleans Saints
It could be troublesome to choose a extra disappointing workforce than the 2022-2023 New Orleans Saints. With the addition of Derek Carr — and questions at quarterback in the remainder of the division final summer time — the Saints appeared a straightforward wager for an NFC South title.
However nothing within the NFL is assured, and New Orleans misplaced 5 of eight video games after beginning the 12 months with a pair of wins. Whereas the Saints stayed in playoff competition till the ultimate day of the season, it was nonetheless an underwhelming 12 months.
And in the meanwhile the Saints are listed at +8000 in relation to Tremendous Bowl LIX over at DraftKings, giving them a few of the longest odds within the league.
There are higher choices for the season opener.
6. Las Vegas Raiders
Final Christmas Day the Las Vegas Raiders shocked the NFL world — in addition to Taylor Swift — with a 20-14 upset of the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. That stunning victory led to many questions on the Chiefs as they headed in direction of the playoffs, and will make this an intriguing possibility for the league for the “NFL Kickoff Sport.”
Nonetheless, there are two issues working in opposition to this sport as an possibility.
First, the league tends to draw back from divisional video games because the season opener, given the implications of these video games come playoff time. The final time a divisional sport was featured on opening evening got here again in 2019, when the defending Tremendous Bowl Champion New England Patriots weren’t featured. As an alternative, the league paid tribute to the Chicago Bears’ a hundredth season, that includes a sport between the Bears and the Packers.
In reality, you would need to return to 2012 to search out the final time the season opened with a divisional sport in addition to the defending Tremendous Bowl Champions, when the New York Giants hosted the Dallas Cowboys.
Past these components? There are nonetheless some higher choices.
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
It is a very sneaky possibility for the league, and finally the NFL might come all the way down to this as the selection.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are coming off a stunning season of their very own, having received the NFC South and a street playoff sport final 12 months. With Baker Mayfield and firm again, the Buccaneers might make one other run to the playoffs.
If the league have been to choose from one in every of Kansas Metropolis’s two NFC dwelling opponents for the season opener, Tampa Bay is the selection.
4. Los Angeles Chargers
Jim Harbaugh’s first sport again to kick off the season?
Definitely an possibility.
Nonetheless, with the Chargers and Ravens slated to play this season, odds are these two groups meet in Week 1 for the most recent installment of the “Harbaugh Bowl.”
3. Cincinnati Bengals
Now we’re getting someplace, and from the place we sit, one in every of these three groups are the almost certainly — and thrilling — possibility for the season opener.
The Bengals-Chiefs rivalry has flourished these previous few seasons, with these two groups assembly in two of the previous three AFC Championship Video games. Joe Burrow’s wrist damage helped to derail Cincinnati’s season a 12 months in the past, however with Burrow coming again, this may be one heck of a approach to start the 12 months.
The one factor stopping this from being the decide? There could be two higher decisions.
2. Houston Texans
Final 12 months the NFL season started with an up-and-coming workforce seen as a probable playoff squad going into Arrowhead Stadium on opening evening.
It might occur for the second 12 months in a row.
In fact, a season in the past it was the Detroit Lions, who received on opening evening and marched to an NFC North title in addition to a spot within the NFC Championship Sport. Might the Houston Texans be the selection alongside related strains this 12 months? Due to an amazing rookie season from C.J. Stroud, the Texans stormed to an AFC South division title and a house playoff win, and have loved an unimaginable offseason as they added round their gifted rookie QB.
The one matchup on the Chiefs’ dwelling schedule that might be higher?
A rematch of the AFC Championship Sport.
1. Baltimore Ravens
An AFC Championship Sport rematch to begin the 2024-2025 NFL season?
Appears like a winner to us.
