Chiefs to start 2024 off with a bang, reportedly travel to Pittsburgh for Christmas
Tyler Brown
With Rashee Rice or without Rice, the new-look Kansas City Chiefs will get tested early. With the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals and San Francisco 49ers, they play their last two AFC Championship game and their last Super Bowl opponent by week seven.
NBC has released that the Chiefs will kick off their season against the Ravens and CBS announced that week two will be against the Bengals.
Jordan Schultz reported that the Super Bowl rematch will take place in San Francisco in week seven and he also went on to report this morning that the
Chiefs will face off against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas Day in week 17. The rest of the 13 games will be released tomorrow by 7 p.m. with shows showcasing the schedule on ESPN and NFL Network.
With the four games leaked so far, there is no shortage of storylines, which is probably why the networks chose these games to release early. On opening night when Kansas City raises their fourth Super Bowl Banner, the last two MVPs will face off. Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes are no strangers but Mahomes has bested Jackson in four out of the five meetings, including last year's AFC Championship Game. It will be two, two-time MVPs and the 2023 regular season MVP heading up against the 2023 Super Bowl MVP.
The Ravens were favored in that game in Baltimore last January when the Chiefs got out to a 17-7 halftime lead. Kansas City did not score again, but that was all they needed as they ended the Ravens season with a 17-10 victory. Similar to last year when the Lions beat the Chiefs on the NFL’s season kickoff, the Ravens will come in with a chip on their shoulder and a lot to prove.
If there is one player to watch for in particular, now second-year wide receiver Zay Flowers should come to play after making some big plays in that game, but ultimately costing his team some real chances. Flowers had a costly personal foul penalty against former Chiefs cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, which was then followed by Sneed causing a forced fumble on Flowers just before entering the endzone. There were also extracurricular activities with kicker Justin Tucker, who riled up Mahomes and Travis Kelce before the game after choosing to warm up in the same area they were running routes pregame.
The Chiefs new-look, Sneed-less cornerback room will get their first test going up against Jackson and company but it is the defensive line and linebacker room that will need to step up as the Ravens surely regret calling only six designed runs with their running backs. This year the tailback to stop will be the new Baltimore running back, Derrick Henry. The Chiefs could also be without AFC Championship Game stalwart, Charles Omenihu, who tore his ACL in that game. The potential Omenihu absence and replacing Sneed will be something the Chiefs have to overcome as they both played huge parts in that game.
With the possible Rice suspension, rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy will be depended on as soon as week one. Luckily he will have the help of a new Chiefs receiver and former Raven, Marquise Brown. Brown will surely want to stick it to his old team after he requested a trade due to Baltimore not utilizing him the way he saw fit. Whether it is rookie Kingsley Suamataia or second-year left tackle Wanya Morris, they will be challenged big time in week one as well against a talented Ravens defensive line.
The Left tackle and Worthy conversation applies to all three of these early released games with some rumors pointing to a suspension for Rice reaching up to half of the season. The assignment does not get any easier heading into week two hosting another tough AFC North opponent with the Bengals. While Jackson has a decent arm, Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and now rookie receiver Jermaine Burton have a whole different thing coming at 3:25 p.m. CDT, aired on CBS.
The Bengals do not lean nearly as much on the run as the Ravens normally do so cornerbacks Trent McDuffie, Joshua Williams and Jaylen Watson will get their first real test as the top three corners on the team at Arrowhead in week two. While you cannot count out new sixth-rounder Kamal Hadden, three-year veteran Nazhee Johnson, 2023 seventh-rounder Nic Jones, 2023 undrafted free agent Ekow Boye-Doe or even newly signed UDFA Miles Battle inching up the depth chart, it is the former three that have real championship experience.
NFL fans did not get to see part five of the Burrow-Mahomes battle last year after the former Heisman winner suffered a season-ending wrist injury prior to the matchup. Burrow has beaten the Chiefs in three out of those four games, including an AFC Championship Game, so this is a true rivalry.
While the first two-game stretch is daunting, the good thing about the matchup with Cincinnati is Kansas City will have 10 days to prepare and it sets up an easier schedule later on. Head coach Andy Reid has experienced a ton of success on longer than usual rest and preparation time. Unless the Chiefs' defense picks right back up where they left off last year, this could be a high-scoring affair as the Bengals allowed the second-most yards in the league last year and did not do much in the way of adding free agents this offseason.
The Chiefs have gotten the best of the Bengals in the last two matchups, but after losing the three prior games and the Bengals being known for poking the bear, I would imagine the Chiefs have this game circled. I could see this being a big Kelce game. Burrow and his star receivers will not lay down easy though after a frustrating year last season.
For the second year in a row, the Chiefs will have a mid-season rematch with their prior Super Bowl opponent that they delivered the L to. While the Eagles caught the Chiefs at Arrowhead last season coming off a bye on Monday-night football, the 49ers will host a 3:25 p.m. CDT game on FOX.
Kansas City has not lost to San Francisco since 2014 and Mahomes is 4-0 with Kyle Shanahan at the helm, with two of those coming in the Super Bowl. George Kittle vs. Kelce is always good for TV and it can go unsaid that the 49ers will be getting up for this game. This is another game where the defensive line and defensive backfield will need to step up with quarterback Brock Purdy still possessing pass-catching weapons Kittle, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and 2024 first-round receiver Ricky Pearsall.
This game is teed up to be a classic Chris Jones game, but Shanahan will empty his bag to get revenge on the team that has kept him from hoisting two Lombardi's. San Francisco has a talented, well-balanced roster with Christian McCaffrey still being the game's most elusive running back, so linebackers Nick Bolton, Drue Tranquill and Leo Chenal better come to play too, after losing Willie Gay to the Saints this offseason.
There is not a whole lot to glean from the Chiefs offense-49ers defense matchup due to so much turnover on the Chiefs. The 49ers still have defensive end Nick Bosa, linebacker Fred Warner, cornerback Charvarius Ward and many other studs, but the Chiefs weaponry is completely revamped.
Who knows if Rice will be available in this game but the Chiefs match up well with the speed of Brown and Worthy heading up against the 49ers' static defense. Mahomes has thrown for 1,356 yards, 10 touchdowns and four interceptions in his four games against them, so this just appears to continue to be a good scheme for Reid and Mahomes to go up against.
Rice will surely be back for the Christmas matchup against the Steelers. The week 16 matchup will be something to watch for in connection with this game too because it was reported that the Christmas game, which is on a Wednesday, the week prior will be slated for the Saturday beforehand. That way teams would get the same amount of rest as they would on a normal Sunday to Thursday game.
What will also be interesting about this is if this means the Chiefs will not have a second Thursday Night Football game. This also means the Chiefs will have 10 or 11 days of rest, depending if they play on Saturday or Sunday in week 18. Then again, often times week 18 is a game where starters are rested if playoff positioning is locked up, so it may not matter. Regardless, the long rest period before the playoffs will be welcomed by Kanas City. Another thing of note is the Christmas game will be the first ever streamed by Netflix.
The Chiefs match up well with the Steelers with their newfound stout defense going up against Pittsburgh’s ground-and-pound playing style. Their offense has not exactly lit up the scoreboard for several years now since Ben Roethlisberger was in his prime. The Chiefs are 3-0 against the Steelers going back to Mahomes rookie season. The key matchup here, and the same can be said about the 49ers matchup with Nick Bosa, will be bookend tackles Jawaan Taylor and either Morris or Suamataia going up against T.J. Watt.
While the Chiefs appear to be set up to have a grueling schedule to start the season, the Houston Texans, Buffalo Bills, Steelers, Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the only teams left that had a winning record in the 2023 season. With the Steelers, Saints and Bucs, performing beyond their talent last season, the second half of the season could be set up to ride a hot streak into the playoffs in Kansas City’s quest to be the first team to win three Super Bowls in a row.
