Ravens v Chiefs kicks off action – all you need to know about NFL season

The new NFL season is upon us and history beckons for the Kansas City Chiefs.

After winning the past two Super Bowls, they have the chance to become the first team to win three on the bounce.

Star players Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce are set to face fierce competition in the AFC Conference, however, with the long-suffering New York Jets looking to get in on the act.

After losing new quarterback Aaron Rodgers just four snaps into last year’s season opener, the Jets have bolstered their roster for the return of the NFL’s four-time Most Valuable Player.

Lamar Jackson was last season’s MVP after helping the Baltimore Ravens to the regular season’s best record, and they have brought in Derrick Henry, the league’s two-time rushing leader.

The Chiefs defeated the Ravens in the play-offs, before beating the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl 58, and those teams are favourites to meet again in the NFL’s championship decider.

But two rivals in the NFC Conference hope to challenge the 49ers having picked up potential superstars in the draft.

This season the big game returns to ‘the Big Easy’ and the road to Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans starts in Kansas City on Thursday (01:20 BST Friday), with a repeat of last season’s AFC Championship game between the Chiefs and Ravens.

Chiefs chase unprecedented ‘three-peat’

At the start of last season, some still questioned whether the Chiefs were a dynasty as they were yet to win back-to-back titles.

They put an end to that debate by winning on the road during the play-offs before coming from behind to beat the 49ers in Las Vegas.

They have reached four of the past five Super Bowls, winning three. Most importantly, last season they became the first team to win consecutive titles since the New England Patriots in the 2003 and 2004 seasons.

Now the Chiefs and quarterback Mahomes can go one better with a Super Bowl ‘three-peat’, something no other NFL team has managed – not even the Patriots with Tom Brady.

In the NFL’s 104-year history, the Green…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/ravens-v-chiefs-kicks-off-074730608.html

Author : BBC

Publish date : 2024-09-05 07:47:30

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