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 Taylor Swift) are welcoming reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson to Arrowhead Stadium 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?
Stay with NBC News for in-game updates, highlights and analysis.
Baltimore Ravens at Kansas City Chiefs
- Date: Thursday, September 5
- Time: 8:40 p.m. ET
- How to watch: NBC, Peacock, Telemundo
- Where: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City
The NFL season is finally underway!
After 207 and an extra 20 minutes, the Ravens have received the opening kickoff from the Chiefs and the 2024 NFL season is finally underway!
This is the first regular season kickoff under the new rules, and but we did not see a return. Now let’s see what Baltimore can do on offense.
Chief honor parade shooting victim Lisa Lopez-Galvan
Fans at the Ravens-Chiefs game observed a moment of silence for Lisa Lopez-Galvan, the fan killed at the team's Super Bowl celebration.
Lopez-Galvan was the co-host of “A Taste of Tejano,” a celebration of Tejano, or “Tex-Mex,” music, on a weekly radio show on local station KKFI 90.1
The DJ played local weddings and promoted charity fundraisers.
Chiefs once again primed for a title run
Kansas City is the favorite (+500) to win the Super Bowl for a third straight season. Of all Super Bowl futures tickets, 17% are on the Chiefs.
Baltimore (+1000) is the fourth favorite with 9% of all futures tickets on the Ravens.
Kickoff in 10 minutes
The first game of the NFL season will begin at 8:40 p.m. ET after a short delay for inclement weather.
Eagles and Packers featured in NFL Opening Night No. 1A
The Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers open their season Friday night in São Paulo with thousands Birds backers and Cheeseheads happily winging it south.
But not everyone is happy about this special game, particularly Philadelphians who are being denied weeks of traditional Sunday afternoon football.
This Brazilian event counts as a home game for Philadelphia so Iggles fans will only get eight (and not nine) dates at Lincoln Financial Field.
The Eagles real home opener is a "Monday Night Football" contest on Sept. 16 and their first Sunday afternoon at The Linc won't come until Oct. 13, much to the chagrin of Iggles fans who punch a 9-to-5, Monday-through-Friday clock.
"If you’re a season ticket holder with a tailgating routine and preference for Autumn weather, this schedule straight up blows for you. I am sorry," as the Phialdelphia sports fan site Crossing Broad politely put it.
What are the NFL’s new kickoff rules?
Standard kickoffs will continue to start at the 35-yard line but the rest of the set-up looks pretty different, involving an area called the “landing zone” between the receiving team’s end zone and 20-yard line. You might have seen this zone highlighted by a rectangle in preseason broadcasts.
Here’s what the kickoff setup now looks like:
The 10 players on the kicking team will line up on the receiving team’s 40-yard line and cannot move until the ball hits a player or the ground in the landing zone or the end zone.
The returning team can have a maximum of two returners anywhere in the landing zone, while at least nine players line up between their 30- and 35-yard lines (or the “setup zone”) with at least seven players touching the 35. Only the kickers and two returners can move until the ball hits a player or the ground in the landing zone or the end zone.
By bringing teams closer together at the start and restricting their movement, players have less space and speed for high-force collisions that have plagued the league in the past.
Here are the key changes to touchbacks and returns:
If the ball reaches the end zone in the air, the receiving team can return it or opt for a touchback and possession at the 30.
If the ball hits the landing zone and then goes into the end zone, the receiving team can return it or opt for a touchback and possession at the 20.
Any kick that hits the landing zone (but doesn’t go into the end zone) must be returned.
Any kick out of bounds or short of the landing zone places the ball at the 40.
This could incentivize teams to kick the ball just short of the end zone, forcing a return and creating more room for an exciting play. But kickers might still kick the ball deep to put it at the 30, even though it gives the receiving team a better starting position than in previous seasons.
No new Chiefs gear for Taylor Swift tonight
Swift is sporting a denim corset and denim shorts set paired with thigh-high red boots at tonight's game in Kansas City, but she didn't appear to be wearing any new — and unique — Chiefs gear to tonight's game.
Last season, she made a habit of wearing some one-of-a-kind designs in Chiefs red and gold. She'll have plenty of opportunities to break out some new fashion later this season.
Kickoff delayed to 8:40 p.m. ET
The Chiefs and Ravens are back on the field to warm up, with kickoff pushed back to 8:40 p.m.
Metro Kansas City hopes to be rid of rain that poured down on the region through the late afternoon and early evening.
It’s pouring rain in Kansas City right now
What started as a light shower around 6:15 p.m. CT turned to heavy storms by 6:30 — with less than an hour before the scheduled kickoff at 7:20 p.m. CT.
Lightning strikes were visible from the stadium, with loud thunder claps sounding seconds after.
Press originally huddled in a tunnel onto the field have had to slowly retreat from the entrance, as the rain pelts sideways.
It was not immediately clear if the game start time would be delayed as a result of the weather. Warmups have been interrupted and the players have returned to their sidelines and locker rooms to wait out the storm.
Baltimore Ravens fans at the Reckless Shepherd Brewing Company and Kansas City Chiefs fans at Union Station are getting fired up to kick off the NFL season.
WBAL’s Jennifer Franciotti and KSHB’s Lindsay Shively join "TODAY" live from the pep rallies.
Miss Americana has arrived at Arrowhead
The most anticipated question surrounding the first NFL game of the season has finally been answered: Taylor Swift has made it to Arrowhead stadium.
Swift is on a break from her marathon Eras Tour, which picks back up in the States next month, giving her a few chances to cheer on boyfriend Travis Kelce as he and the Chiefs kick off football season.
Video via Rob Collins of FOX4 Kansas City.
NFL season expected to spur record $35 billion in legal sports wagers
Football is back, and it’s expected to bring with it record-breaking betting.
U.S. adults will wager $35 billion this NFL season, according to projections from the American Gaming Association.
That would mark more than 30% growth over the $26.7 billion Americans wagered over the course of last year’s season of the National Football League, according to the AGA, and would set a fresh record. Since last NFL season, Maine, North Carolina and Vermont have allowed sports betting operators to launch in their states. And court decisions have permitted Hard Rock International to relaunch sports betting in Florida.
Today, sports betting is live and legal in 38 states and Washington, D.C.
Betting nuggets ahead of Ravens-Chiefs
A couple interesting stats that may be of particular interest to sports bettors:
- Mahomes is 3-1 vs. Baltimore straight up & against the spread since 2019
- Baltimore has not won in Kansas City since Oct. 7 2012
- Baltimore is 1-5 straight up vs. Kansas City since 2015
- Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has recorded 73+ receiving yads in each of his last six games vs. Baltimore.
Lamar Jackson looking for revenge
Jackson and the Ravens were eliminated from the postseason last year in a 17-10 loss to the Chiefs at home in the conference title game. Will the reigning MVP get at least a bit of revenge Thursday night?
Which team boasts better offensive weapons?
This is such a tough call, but I have to go with the team with the better signal-caller and that's easily Mahomes. The Kansas City QB has three Super Bowls and might lead the Chiefs to a third consecutive title. The only edge I give Baltimore is at running back but Derrick Henry is now 30 and we've seen what happens when that position hits a certain age. Chiefs' Isiah Pacheco, 25, is entering his prime and has the potential to be among the NFL's top running backs this season.
Patrick Mahomes has arrived
The Chiefs superstar QB — a three-time Super Bowl champion, three-time Super Bowl MVP and two-time NFL MVP — has arrived at Arrowhead Stadium ahead of his team's matchup with the Baltimore Ravens.
Chiefs WR Hollywood Brown ruled out vs. Ravens
Head coach Andy Reid previously announced Brown would not play in Week 1 after the receiver suffered a shoulder injury in the team’s preseason matchup with Jacksonville last month.
But, Brown should return sometime within the next couple of weeks.
While the Chiefs had several other players listed on the injury report, all were listed as full participants throughout the week.
Defensive lineman Chris Jones (shoulder), linebacker Nick Bolton (elbow), guard Joe Thuney (pectoral), defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi (triceps), cornerback Nazeeh Johnson (hamstring), cornerback Joshua Williams (hamstring), offensive lineman Wanya Morris (knee), and long snapper James Winchester (shoulder) all do not have a game status and are set to play. – Myles Simmons.
Will Taylor Swift be at the game?
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce had a remarkable year on and off the field. He led Kansas City in receiving yards (984), receptions (93), and targets (121), and his girlfriend Taylor Swift was in the audience 13 times last season, watching him shine.
The 14-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter has no shows scheduled for September so there is a chance that she could be at Thursday’s Baltimore Ravens vs Kansas City Chiefs game. – Mary Omatiga
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.