The wait is over for NFL fans clamoring to see the 2024 season get started.
After the fireworks, championship banner ceremony, the national anthem, and even Taylor Swift’s rumored entrance, the Baltimore Ravens and Super Bowl defending champion Kansas City Chiefs will kick off the year.
This rematch of the AFC Championship Game will need a strong broadcast team. So who will have the honor of calling the Thursday night opener?
Ravens-Chiefs Announcers, Broadcast Details, and More
- Start time: Thursday, Sept. 5, 8:20 p.m. ET
- Location: GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Mo.
- TV Channel: NBC
- Announcers: Mike Tirico (play-by-play), Cris Collinsworth (color analyst), Melissa Stark (sideline)
- Streaming options: Peacock, NFL+, YouTube TV
- Radio Station: The Fan 96.5 FM Kansas City,
- Betting lines:
- Spread: Chiefs -3
- Total: 46.5
- Moneyline: Chiefs -151, Ravens +127
With NBC once again having exclusive rights to showcase the league’s opener, the duo of Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth will have the call.
It’ll be the second straight season both men will start the year in K.C. They were on hand to watch the Detroit Lions stun the Chiefs 21-20 to start the ’23 campaign.
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Tirico’s last NFL broadcast last season also happened to be at Arrowhead. He called the frigid Miami Dolphins at Chiefs contest with a wind chill factor of negative-27 degrees, making it the fourth-coldest playoff game ever. Tirico, though, called the game without Collinsworth and Stark. Instead, he was joined by Jason Garrett and Kaylee Hartung.
Now, he gets to reunite with the rest of NBC’s No. 1 NFL broadcasting crew, and they’ll soon make their way over to the Motor City after the game to call the Sunday Night Football prime-time contest between the Los Angeles Rams and the Lions.
Ravens vs. Chiefs Preview
This will mark the 14th time in league history both teams will square off with one another.
However, this one comes with higher emotions, considering their last meeting and the expectations hovering above both teams.
The Ravens fell 17-10 on their home field to the eventual Super Bowl-winning Chiefs in January. That game marked the first time two-time NFL Most Valuable Player Lamar Jackson played in a conference title game.
Jackson, who claimed the 2023 MVP honor, was asked if he viewed Thursday’s opener as a revenge game. The Ravens’ QB1 painted the picture that he sees every contest, regardless of opponent, as a revenge one for him.
This time he’ll be joined by former NFL rushing leader and 2,000-yard running back Derrick Henry, considered one of Baltimore’s top free agent additions. Henry also knows the feeling of losing to the Chiefs with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line — he watched K.C. claim the conference’s Lamar Hunt trophy against his Tennessee Titans in the 2019 season.
Baltimore is one of the league’s trending teams to contend for a spot in Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans.
As for the back-to-back Super Bowl winners, Patrick Mahomes will this time have Travis Kelce healthy for the evening. The All-Pro tight end sat out last year’s Thursday opener with a knee injury. Kelce is not enduring any significant health ailments ahead of the Ravens contest.
Meanwhile, top defenders Chris Jones and Trent McDuffie spearhead a defensive unit that became the strength of the Chiefs’ 2023 title run.
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But one intriguing newcomer is their 2024 first-round selection Xavier Worthy out of Texas. The Fresno, Calif., native scorched the NFL Combine 40-yard dash record with an uncanny time of 4.21 seconds. The wide receiver has many Chiefs fans envisioning their team now having a young Tyreek Hill in the lineup ahead of Thursday.
The Chiefs own the all-time series lead against the Ravens 8-5. Kansas City has also won five of the last six meetings against Baltimore.
Baltimore Ravens Key Stats
- The Ravens trailed for only 19.2% of their offensive snaps last season, the lowest rate since the 2019 Ravens (18.6%).
- Lamar Jackson was the third most accurate red zone passer in 2023 (67.2% complete, league average: 56.1%).
- Offense: The Ravens were the only team to score over 20 points in 13 or more games last regular season
- Defense: The Ravens allowed 26 TDs last season, the fewest for a year since we moved to a 17-game regular season.
Kansas City Chiefs Key Stats
- The Chiefs averaged 5.6 yards per play last season, their lowest rate during the Mahomes era (Mahomes era average: 6.2)
- Patrick Mahomes’ average depth of throw has declined every season. His 6.5 yards ranked ahead of only Joe Burrow among qualifiers last season.
- Offense: The Chiefs had the 4th worst turnover differential in the NFL last season (-11).
- Defense: The Chiefs owned the highest sack rate of 2023 (9.3%, NFL average: 7.1%).