History will be made in the annual NFL Kickoff Game on Thursday when defending league MVP Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens visit Patrick Mahomes and the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in a rematch of their Jan. 28 AFC Championship Game. The Chiefs are -3 with a total of 47. And yes, Taylor Swift is expected to be there. 

It will mark the fourth all-time Week 1 matchup in NFL history featuring the past two regular-season MVPs, but the first such quarterback matchup in an opener. Jackson won his second MVP last year, becoming the youngest-ever QB to win a second, while Mahomes claimed his second the year before. This also will be just the second season opener between the regular-season MVP and Super Bowl MVP from the previous season as Mahomes won his third Super Bowl MVP in February after leading the Chiefs to an overtime victory over San Francisco. 

Mahomes improved to 4-1 vs. Jackson with the 17-10 AFC title game upset in Baltimore and is the only NFL quarterback with at least three wins against the former Heisman Trophy winner. Mahomes ranks first all-time among quarterbacks (minimum five starts) in Week 1 passer rating at 125.6 and Jackson is second at 123.6.  

Kansas City is 2-1 straight-up in the Kickoff Game and was upset at Arrowhead Stadium last year by Detroit. Baltimore is 0-1 in it, losing in Denver in 2013. Defending Super Bowl champions are 14-5 in the Kickoff Game since 2004.

We'll take you through every aspect of the Ravens-Chiefs game that you need to know before you lock in your bets, including SportsLine expert picks, props, trends, DFS, injury information and everything else that will help you know which plays are worth making for the primetime matchup.

Who wins Ravens vs. Chiefs in the Week 1 Thursday night game, and what critical X-factor makes one side of the spread hit HARD? Join SportsLine right now to see everything you need to know about the game in the Thursday night matchup to kick off Week 1 of the 2024 season!!