Stay updated on Thursday Night Football with our insights on the Baltimore Ravens vs. Kansas City Chiefs. Check out the odds and expert picks now!
The Kansas City Chiefs are used to hosting the NFL season opener at this point. As the Super Bowl champions for three of the last five years, the Chiefs opened the season at Arrowhead Stadium against the Houston Texans in 2020 and the Detroit Lions in 2023. Kansas City emerged victorious when they faced Houston four years ago, but the Chiefs fell to the Lions 21-20 as four-point favorites per the NFL betting odds last September. They will look to start the season on a winning note this time around when they face Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday, September 5, 2024, at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.
Week 1 Baltimore Ravens at Kansas City Chiefs
Baltimore Ravens +3 -118
Kansas City Chiefs -3 +102
Total 48.5
While we have seen movement in other Week 1 betting lines since they were released in the spring, there has been no real shift in what the oddsmakers are dealing for this game. Kansas City is a three-point favorite at home, but the juice is with Baltimore. The line may have dropped a bit if Rashee Rice would have been suspended for this game given that former Raven Marquise Brown will be unavailable while recovering from a dislocated shoulder, but Rice has yet to be suspended by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell while his legal issues play out.
Baltimore Ravens Overview
Lamar Jackson is coming off an incredible 2023 campaign in which he was named the NFL MVP for the second time in his career. Jackson has been incredible in the regular season during his career with a 58-19 record as a starter. Unfortunately, Kansas City has been his bugaboo, and he is just 1-4 in five starts against the Chiefs. The most recent defeat was the most painful as Baltimore fell 17-10 to Kansas City in last year’s AFC Championship Game. In that game, the Ravens scored a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter but didn’t score again until there were less than three minutes remaining.
The Ravens lost Hollywood Brown on offense, but they added a true workhorse running back in Derrick Henry. We’ve seen Baltimore deal with numerous injuries at that position over the last few seasons, so they are happy to have someone as durable as Henry since he has only missed 11 games over the last eight seasons, and eight of those games came in the 2021 campaign. Henry is averaging 4.7 YPC as a pro and will team with Jackson to make arguably the most effective backfield in the league.
Defensively, Baltimore’s strength is in the secondary. Marlon Humphrey, Marcus Williams, and Kyle Hamilton are all elite talents, and the Ravens added two-time Pro Bowler Eddie Jackson in July. To add to that, Roquan Smith is one of the top linebackers in the game, so this secondary has the potential to show Patrick Mahomes some unique looks.
Kansas City Chiefs Overview
Mahomes is without question the best quarterback in the league and could surpass Tom Brady as the GOAT by the time it’s all said and done. He will always make Kansas City a serious Super Bowl contender, and he is still in his 20s despite being a three-time Super Bowl champion, three-time Super Bowl MVP, and two-time league MVP. His favorite target Travis Kelce is not the same threat he was in the passing game, so the team gave him some new weapons in Brown, first-round pick Xavier Worthy and JuJu Smith-Schuster to go with Rashee Rice after a promising rookie season from Rice in 2023.
Kansas City was able to re-sign most of its defense from last season in order to contend for a third consecutive Super Bowl victory. The biggest move was keeping Chris Jones despite his hefty price tag, as Jones is the heart and soul of the defense. Derrick Nnadi and Drue Tranquill are also returning to the fold, so there is plenty of continuity in this unit.
Thursday Night Football Prediction
There’s no doubt that the road to Super Bowl LIX goes through the Kansas City Chiefs. However, Kansas City is somewhat vulnerable right now. Mahomes will need to build a rapport with his new receivers, and we saw the Chiefs struggle a bit while that happened last year. That will give Baltimore a great shot to show it can go into Kansas City and knock off the reigning champs.
Final Score: Baltimore 23, Kansas City 21
