Week 1 TNF Preview – Last Year’s AFC Finalists Square Off

The NFL made the start to the 2024 season as exciting as it gets. Last year’s two best teams in the better conference of the league. On top of that, it will be played at one of the most electric stadiums in the league: Arrowhead Stadium. This season will continue to feature Thursday night games on Amazon Prime as Amazon is trying to change the theme of boring games this year. This game should do just that tonight.

The Ravens had the more eventful offseason. They filled a hole on offense by signing veteran Derick Henry after losing both Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins to the Chargers. On top of that they added to their defense by signing another veteran Eddie Jackson and drafting Clemson corner Nate Wiggins with the 30th overall pick in the draft. These guys look to make a difference in the secondary to make up for the losses of Jadeveon Clowney and Patrick Queen. The receiver trio in Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, and Nelson Agholor who struggled as a group last year totaling for only 1,606 yards combined. The loss of Odell Beckham may be an impact as he was their second leading receiver but they keep their stud tight ends Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely who had nearly 1,000 yards as a position group.

The Chiefs also have a subtle wide receiver core in which they added to this offseason. Their listed WR1 is Rasheed Rice who had a great rookie year last season finishing over 900 yards. After that, is Marquise Brown who is new to town. Brown has not received as much attention as his yardage has declined since his 1,000 yard season with Baltimore in 2021. However, Brown will miss week one due to injury. Aside from the signing of JuJu Smith-Schuster, who will likely not be a top target, their new weapon is Xavier Worthy, who was drafted at 28 from Texas. Offensively they still have weapons to utilize in surehanded Travis Kelce, with help in the backfield from Isaiah Pacheco, and not to mention the best passer in the league Patrick Mahomes.

I went back and forth on who to pick for this game all week. The reigning back-to-back super bowl champions against last year’s AFC one seed and runner up. The Ravens seem like the more well-rounded team with the edge in the running back position and overall defense. Chiefs may have the edge under center, not to demean last year’s MVP, Lamar Jackson. The eventual deciding factor is the location of this game. Playing in Arrowhead is incomparable to many other stadiums in the league. With this game being the first of the year, Chiefs fans are expected to show out and potentially rattle this young Ravens team.

Betting Lines (According to ESPN Bet)

Chiefs (-3)

Ravens (+130), Chiefs (-150)

O/U 47.5

Score Prediction

Ravens 24, Chiefs 27