David Smith/Cal Sport Media/Sipa USA

Baltimore Ravens vs Kansas City Chiefs: The NFL is back

The Kansas City Chiefs are hosting the Baltimore Ravens in the season opener at Arrowhead Stadium on Thursday.

Is this the season for the Ravens?

The Baltimore Ravens are coming off a winning season as they finished on top of the AFC Norrth with a 13-4 record. They won the division for the first time in four years but were stopped by the Chiefs in the conference game. The Ravens went 1-2 in the preseason, defeating the Atlanta Falcons and losing to the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles. The Ravens ran successful plays on 46.6% of rush attempts last season — 4th-best in NFL. They threw the ball just 45.9% of the time last season — lowest in NFL. The Ravens ran successful plays on 61.5% of pass attempts on play action passes in the last 4 weeks of the regular season — 4th-best in NFL.

Can the Chiefs make history this season?

The Kansas City Chiefs are fgoing into this season with hope to become the first team since 1968 to win the NFL title for three consecutive seasons. On their way to the last one, they defeated the Ravens 17-10 in the conference game last season. The Chiefs are going into this one after losing all three preseason games against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears. The Chiefs allowed successful plays on 46.3% of rush attempts last season — 3rd-worst in NFL. They allowed just 5.4 yards per dropback last season — 3rd-best in NFL. The Chiefs allowed successful plays on 61.9% of pass attempts on play action passes in the last 4 weeks of the regular season — 2nd-worst in NFL.

Betting Trends

The Chiefs are 6-0 SU in their last 6 games overall, 13-4 SU in their last 17 games against opponents from the AF North, and 16-4 SU in their last 20 games played in August and September. The Chiefs are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 games overall, 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games against opponents from the AF North and 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games played in Week 1. Kansas City has played under the total point line in 5 of their last 7 games overall, 8 of their last 9 home games and 6 of their last 9 home games against Baltimore. The Ravens are 11-3 SU in their last 14 games overall, 1-5 SU in their last 6 games against the Chiefs, 5-0 SU in their last 5 games on the road and 6-2 SU in their last 8 games played in August and September. The Ravens are 6-3 ATS in their last 9 games overall, 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games against Kansas City and 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games against teams from the AF. Baltimore has played under the total point line in their last 5 games against teams from the AF West.

Prediction and Conclusion

This year’s kickoff game could not be more interesting than the rematch of last year’s American Conference game. The Chiefs won 17-10 in that one, which was their fourth win in the last five games against the Ravens. Patrick Mahomes seems ready for another spectacular season and will prove that he is still the best QB in the league in the matchup against Lamar Jackson. This is a must-watch game for the start of the season, and we go with the Chiefs to win it.