An FTW guide to Chiefs-Ravens on Thursday night and the rest of the NFL season
This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.
Good morning, Winners! You’ve made it! After all of those long months, the time has finally come. The NFL season has finally arrived, folks.
Things will kick off when the Chiefs and Ravens face each other tonight. This AFC Championship rematch game is going to be so good, folks.
The Chiefs booted the Ravens out of the playoffs last year and coaxed Lamar Jackson into one of his worst games of the season at the worst possible time. Though this isn’t a shot at a spot in the Super Bowl, this is still a shot at redemption for Jackson, in particular.
And it somehow feels like he needs it?
That felt super weird to type. But, look. Let’s be honest. There are (SOMEHOW) still people questioning how good the two-time NFL MVP is. He still (again, SOMEHOW) gets called overrated by pundits and analysts out there.
To be frank with you all, those pundits are silly. And they’re wrong, too, by the way. Jackson is, indeed, one of the best quarterbacks in the league. He’s elite by any standard you want to set. That’s the bottom line on that.
If the past between these two teams don’t make this game juicy enough for you, think about what’s at hand for both squads this season. The stakes are high for both teams.
On one hand, Kansas City is trying to pull off the first three-peat in NFL history with a third straight championship. It’d be a big feather in Patrick Mahomes’ GOAT cap and would further solidify Kansas City’s dynasty and dominance over the league.
It’d be a fourth championship in five years for the Chiefs overall. This league has never seen anything like that. That’d be some 90’s Chicago Bulls stuff right there.
On the other hand, the Ravens are trying to get back to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2012, which would be the first time in the Jackson era. That’d be an amazing breakthrough that would silence all those doubters we talked about before.
But that’s putting the cart way before the horse here. Talking about the Super Bowl this early in the season is futile. This is just Week 1 and this is only one game between two out of 32 teams. There’s a lot more football to be played, folks.
This game signals the beginning of the journey we’re all taking this season. Let’s see how this all plays out.
One under-the-radar thing
Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
There will be a ton of storylines following the Chiefs this season, but the one I don’t see talked about nearly enough is the possibility of Kansas City moving.
There’s a solid chance the Chiefs could move (a few miles) from Missouri to Kansas after Kansas Governor Laura Kelly signed legislation last week that included a plan to coax the Chiefs and Royals away from their current locations, according to the Associated Press. The plan would allow bonds to cover 70 percent of the cost of new stadiums in Kansas for the Chiefs and Royals.
Kansas is trying to pull a caper here. This move comes after Missouri citizens voted to halt a sales tax used for the upkeep of the two teams’ current stadiums, all while the Royals planned on building a new $2 billion ballpark and the Chiefs had prepared for $800 million in renovations to Arrowhead.
This could be a bit of a dark cloud hanging over the Chiefs’ heads this season. This certainly won’t be the team’s last season in Arrowhead, sure. The Chiefs just got good a few years ago. Now, the team might move. I can’t imagine fans feeling great about that.
Leases on the Royals’ and Chiefs’ current stadiums don’t end until 2031. Decisions will need to be made eventually. We’ll see what happens when they do.
READ MORE: The Chiefs and Royals need to stay
Get seasoned for the season
Our excellent NFL team here at For The Win has done a fantastic job putting together preview content for you on the season.
Here are some of the key pieces you need to check out to get ready for all the action.
— We’ve got Week 1 picks against the spread from Blake
— Week 1 straight-up picks for the season from Christian D’Andrea
— Super Bowl odds with Chiefs and Ravens setting the tone for the year from Prince
— Division winner predictions and how they’ll do in the playoffs from Cory.
— The first quarterback rankings from Christian D’Andrea are here and 49ers fans will be thrilled with them.
— The 15 players who will have make-or-break seasons this year from Robert Zeglinski.
— Power Rankings heading into Week 0 from Robert and Christian.
— Fantasy football studs, duds and sleepers from Robert.
— A fun Manning-Cast musical that you absolutely need to watch. More from Charles Curtis
— 1 under-the-radar player for every NFL team’s playoff hopes from Christian
— Why we won’t see automated first-down technology this season like we were promised. Andrew Joseph has more.
— More Taylor Swift for Week 1 this year, folks. Get ready. We’re so back.
Quick hits: More history from Caitlin Clark … The Petty list … and more
— Caitlin Clark made history on Wednesday night with another triple-double for the Fever thanks to a last second rebound. Cory Woodroof has more.
— Blake Schuster has the College Football Petty List ready to go for Week 1 and this is phenomenal. Top-tier content.
— Are we sure Bill Belichick isn’t crying out for help here? He’s on Instagram now. I can’t believe this. Robert has more.
— Christian has seven NFL quarterbacks that you won’t believe are still on NFL rosters.
— Simone Biles said handing a flag to Tom Cruise was the most stressful part of the Olympics for her. Wow. Meg Hall has more.
— Here’s Prince on why NFL bettors like the Ravens to upset the Chiefs tonight.
That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for reading. We appreciate you. Let’s do this again tomorrow. Peace.
-Sykes