The NFL is getting used to the Kansas City Chiefs playing in the opening game of the NFL season because it is getting used to the Chiefs winning Super Bowls.
As is customary for every defending champion, the Chiefs will host the opening game of the NFL regular season for the third time in the last five years. And once more, we’re curious about the Chiefs’ opponent. In order to kick off the season and fight the champions, the NFL usually seeks to secure a big opponent.
Since we have known every team’s opponents for the 2024 season for months, we are aware of the eight contenders for opening night. Here’s a hunch as to who Kansas City will start the season with:
Not many people would be talking about any of these teams. Of the group, the Buccaneers would be the best, but nah. The NFL is aware that we will all be watching, even if Liberty North High School is the opponent, which is the only reason any of these three teams would be on opening night.
The NFL almost never plays its initial game as a divisional match. That last occurred in 2012 during the Dallas Cowboys’ game against the New York Giants. 2008 was the sole other occasion, also with the Giants.
It seems doubtful that the NFL would match up the Chiefs with an AFC West opponent for this year’s opening game, since we don’t have to worry about their fascination with the NFC East. Perhaps Jim Harbaugh’s arrival as head coach of the Chargers or the Raiders, who happen to be the last club to defeat the Chiefs and boast a little about it, could make a difference. However, it doesn’t seem likely.
The NFL usually provides us with a decent, but not spectacular, first-round match. Again, whatever happens, we’re watching. Although the Bills and Bengals games last season received prime time on the networks during the late Sunday afternoon slot, they would have been less exciting than the Lions-Chiefs matchup.
A repeat of the AFC championship game against the Ravens could be the finest potential match for the season’s first game, but that one will most likely take place in prime time this autumn.
This season, the schedule planners plan to give the Texans a lot of prime-time love. The Texans are now among the most entertaining teams in the NFL because to the signing of Stefon Diggs and the rapid rise of C.J. Stroud. Patrick Mahomes vs. Stroud would make for fantastic football. Nothing would be wrong if this turned out to be the decision. I think it would also be a really fun game.
The injury to Joe Burrow played a major role in the Bengals’ 2023 season setback.
We can ratchet up the Bengals-Chiefs rivalry now that Burrow is back. We might forget the drama from the Chiefs-Bengals playoff games, the “Burrowhead” rhetoric, and Travis Kelce calling Cincinnati’s mayor a “jabroni” after Kansas City defeated the Bengals in the AFC title game because the Bengals weren’t a major player in the previous season. There will also be curiosity in Burrow’s appearance following his season-ending wrist injury in November of last year.
This seems like an easy choice for the NFL, barring any worries that Burrow might not be ready, which don’t seem to be many. However, there are a few worthy contenders for opening night in the league.
A surprising visit by Peyton Manning occurred during Sunday night’s Tom Brady roast. Manning verified something that shouldn’t come as a surprise throughout his routine.
Bill Belichick, the former coach of the Patriots, will make an appearance on the ManningCast this season, according to Manning.
“For those who don’t know, Coach is gonna be doing some work on Eli and my Monday Night Football show this year,” Manning stated. It’s going to be fantastic, I have to say that. I can’t wait to see Eli. Coach Belichick will also receive something that he hasn’t had in a long time. the opportunity to spend time with respected quarterbacks.”
It’s unknown how many weeks Belichick will be making appearances. Only ten or so episodes of the show are usually broadcast each season.
Manning has a few more memorable lines.
“It is great to be here with a bunch of people, sitting around talking smack about Tom Brady,” Manning stated. Or Thanksgiving, as the Manning family refers to it. It’s a true story: after spending multiple Thanksgivings with my parents, my kids now use the excuse “I have to go take a Brady” to excuse themselves from using the restroom.
Additionally: “I think about Applebee’s for dinner. Eating apples and beetles is Tom’s notion of dinner.”
“The last time Tom Brady had to wait this long to get on stage, it was the 2000 NFL Draft,” Manning said as he introduced Brady, capping an extremely eventful night.
Although rookie quarterback Jordan Travis isn’t anticipated to play for the Jets in his first season, the fifth-round pick has his sights set on eventually taking over as the team’s main quarterback.
When Travis is cleared to return from the fractured leg that terminated his 2023 season and hurt Florida State’s chances of making the NCAA football playoffs, he will be seated behind Aaron Rodgers and Tyrod Taylor. During the team’s rookie minicamp, he declared that he would “watch every little thing that they do” to determine what qualities Aaron Rodgers’ successor, the Jets quarterback, would need to possess.
According to Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post, Travis stated, “I do think about that a lot, but right now I’m just focused on where my feet are — getting healthy, getting everybody around me better, and being a great teammate.”
Although the Packers’ switch from Aaron Rodgers to Jordan Love wasn’t smooth, if Travis develops in time for Rodgers to declare retirement, the timing in New Jersey may be better.
According to Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post, Travis stated, “I do think about that a lot, but right now I’m just focused on where my feet are — getting healthy, getting everybody around me better, and being a great teammate.”
