NFL kickoff game: Key facts and figures ahead of Ravens-Chiefs - ESPN

Football is back, and the 2024 NFL kickoff game will see two familiar opponents face off Thursday night as the Kansas City Chiefs host the Baltimore Ravens.

In a rematch of the 2023 AFC Championship Game, Kansas City is chasing history and aiming to become the first team to win three straight Super Bowls, while Baltimore looks to spoil the party.

As if that wasn't enough, this opener features a quarterback duel for the record books: Patrick Mahomes vs. Lamar Jackson — the first time two multi-MVP winners under 30 have faced off in Week 1.

Kansas City is playing in its fourth NFL kickoff game, tying the New England Patriots for the most appearances — 2004, 2005, 2015 and 2017. The Patriots went 3-1 in those matchups with their only loss coming in 2017, and they have the most wins in the opener. The team they lost to? The Chiefs, who can tie the Patriots with a victory on Thursday.

Here are notable facts behind the NFL's annual kickoff game.

The defending Super Bowl champion has lost just five times since 2004 when appearing in the kickoff game. The Chiefs are the second team to appear in the game two years in a row — the Patriots are the other.

The NFL's kickoff game began in 2002 when the San Francisco 49ers faced the New York Giants. It's become a tradition ever since, though it has evolved into what the league now calls «Kickoff Weekend.»

A loss to Baltimore would mark the second straight loss for Kansas City in the season opener, and the third in a row for a reigning Super Bowl winner — the Los Angeles Rams lost in 2022. That would mark the first time the defending Super Bowl champion has lost its season opener in three straight seasons since 1981-83.

The Denver Broncos-Ravens matchup in 2013 includes multiple NFL