KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Chiefs will begin their quest for an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl title with a rematch of last year’s AFC Championship, hosting the Baltimore Ravens at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Sept. 5.
The game is slated for a 7:20 p.m. central time kickoff and will be broadcast on NBC and streamed on NFL+.
While more details of the schedule may be announced (or leaked) in the hours and days to come, the NFL has informed its teams the full schedule will be announced on Wednesday, May 15. The schedule is usually announced in the evening with special programming on NFL Network but no exact time has been announced.
The Chiefs-Ravens rematch is a throwback of sorts for the contest dubbed as the NFL Kickoff Game. The Thursday night season opener was introduced in 2002, and generally the defending Super Bowl champions are featured. But it’s been eight years since the NFL featured a rematch of a conference championship or Super Bowl in the Kickoff Game. In 2016, the defending champion Denver Broncos opened their title defense in a Super Bowl 50 rematch against the Carolina Panthers.
This will be the 23rd Kickoff Game, and the 19th featuring the defending champions. This will be the fourth time the Chiefs have played in the game, tying the New England Patriots for the most appearances. The Chiefs are 2-1 on opening night with wins at New England in 2017 and against Houston in 2020. Kansas City fell to the Detroit Lions in last year’s game 21-20.
In last season’s AFC Championship game, the Chiefs took an early 7-0 lead and never trailed in the contest. A 19-yard touchdown pass from Patrick Mahomes to Travis Kelce midway through the first quarter put the Chiefs on top early, and Baltimore responded with a 30-yard connection from Lamar Jackson to Zay Flowers to tie the game.
But 10 second-quarter points from a 2-yard run by Isiah Pacheco and a 52-yard field goal by Harrison Butker with 4 seconds remaining in the first half put Kansas City up 17-7. Baltimore made it a one-possession game with 2:34 remaining on a 43-yard field goal from Justin Tucker but the Chiefs ran out the clock to ice the 17-10 victory and punched their ticket for Super Bowl LVIII.
Mahomes finished the game 30-of-39 passing for 241 yards and a touchdown. Kelce led Kansas City in receiving with 11 catches for 116 yards while Pacheco rushed for 68 yards on 24 attempts.
Jackson completed 20-of-37 passing for 272 yards with a touchdown and an interception while also rushing for 54 yards on eight carries. Flowers passed the Ravens in receiving with five catches for 115 yards.
Single-game tickets go on sale to the public at 11 a.m. Thursday, May 16. Season ticket members have an exclusive online presale starting at 10 a.m. while taxpayers of Jackson County, Missouri have a presale beginning at 8 a.m. Tickets may be purchased on the team’s website.
