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Brooke Pryor, ESPN Staff Writer
Crack open a beverage, place a wing order and load up on the ranch — or blue cheese if you’re in Buffalo — the NFL is back, baby.
After wandering a football desert speckled with the mirages of preseason games for the past seven months, the Kansas City Chiefs — reigning Super Bowl champs — are hosting the Baltimore Ravens in an AFC title game rematch to kick off the regular season.
While Patrick Mahomes‘ bid for a rare three-peat starts in earnest tonight, Lamar Jackson is searching for what would be just his second victory against Kansas City. Although the two each have a pair of league MVP trophies, the rivalry between them is lopsided. Jackson is 1-4 all time against the Mahomes-led Chiefs, including last year’s 17-10 loss in the playoffs in which Jackson completed 20 of 37 attempts for 272 yards with a touchdown and an interception and was sacked four times.
This time each, quarterback enters the game with new supporting cast members, including Ravens running back Derrick Henry and speedy Chiefs rookie receiver Xavier Worthy. Some old faces return, too, including a pair of tight ends in Swiftie-in-Chief Travis Kelce and Mark Andrews.
Don’t be fooled into reading too much into tonight’s results, no matter how it turns out. A year ago, the Super Bowl-defending Chiefs lost 21-20 to the Detroit Lions in the Thursday night opener at Arrowhead.
Five months later, the Chiefs were covered in confetti and the Lions were at home after a heartbreaking exit in the NFC title game.