The NFL season begins Thursday night as the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs host the Detroit Lions at Arrowhead Stadium.
While the league’s first game of the season and the national audience are significant factors for both sides, the teams have downplayed the importance of the matchup, choosing to focus on it as just another game against a quality opponent.
“We look forward to this challenge of playing the Lions,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid told the media during a press conference on Tuesday. “They’ve got a good football team, and our guys have had a good week of prep. We’re looking forward to the challenge of playing a good football team.”
The Chiefs enter the season as one of the true contenders in the AFC, solidifying their presence over recent seasons with Reid and two-time MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes leading the way.
The duo has helped Kansas City take the NFL by storm over most of the last decade, as they lead a lethal offense that also includes tight end Travis Kelce and several interchangeable wide receivers. The explosiveness of the unit has helped usher in an era of prolific offenses that dominate headlines across the league.
Kelce hyperextended his knee in practice earlier this week and is questionable for Thursday night’s contest. The Chiefs will also be without All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones, who continues to hold out over his contract.
“We’re focused on the guys that are here playing the Lions and are getting ready to play the Lions,” Reid said in his press conference. “If you’re not there, you’re not there, and, unfortunately, that’s the name of the game. You’ve got to exhaust your time on the team you’re playing.”
Detroit seems poised for its best season in a long time. The Lions won eight of their last 10 games last season and narrowly missed the playoffs. The team has drawn the praises of the national media throughout the offseason, with many picking Detroit to win the NFC North as Aaron Rodgers leaves Green Bay.
The Lions have not won a division title since 1993 when they played in the NFC Central, and the uncharacteristically high expectations for Detroit entering the season are the culmination of a changing culture and meticulous and diligent roster construction by general manager Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell.
On paper, they have one of the few offenses that can give Kansas City a battle, adding intrigue to the opening matchup. But will it show on the field on Thursday night?
“I don’t want to get too caught up in that because this is one out of 17 games,” Campbell told the media earlier this week. “This is the first one. I get that [there’s excitement] because it’s Thursday night, [and] it’s the first one [against] the Chiefs, but for me and for our guys, the important thing is that if you win this game, that’s a win. That’s win number one.”
“… Just take it one game at a time,” he continued. “This is the next one, and it’s the most important one because it’s the one right in front of us, and we take it as it comes.”
Kansas City is probably in a better spot defensively to start the season, but the game provides an excellent barometer for Detroit to test the progress it has made in the three years since the end of the abysmal Matt Patricia era, which saw the departure of several beloved team members amid a complete dismantling of the roster that left the team bereft of legitimate NFL talent.
While Thursday is just the season’s first game, it could help both teams set the tone for the rest of the year.
The Chiefs and Lions kick off at 7:20 p.m. CT on NBC.