After 206 days, the wait is finally over. The National Football League kicks off their 2024-2025 season tonight at 8:20 p.m. with the Baltimore Ravens taking on the defending Super Bowl champs, the Kansas City Chiefs.
Both teams have changed from the previous season, with players leaving for free agency and new players being signed. This could either hurt or improve teams, but one thing is for sure: Lamar Jackson wants revenge. In last season’s American Football Conference Championship, the Ravens were favored to go to the Super Bowl, but the Chiefs knock them out. Safe to say, Baltimore is coming into this game with a chip on their shoulder.
Coming into every season, there is a different story to tell, with new faces starting their NFL career and history in the making. Rookie quarterback for the Chicago Bears, Caleb Williams, is a great example. After trading quarterback Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers and fully committing to Williams, all eyes are on the Bears. At the end of the day, every team’s goal is to make it to the promised land and win a Super Bowl. This year, the Chiefs want it more than anyone else. In the last two seasons, Kansas City won both Super Bowls, going back-to-back. In the 2024-2025 season, history could be made if they win a third championship, making them the first team to three-peat in the NFL. If this outcome happens, it will make the best quarterback of all time debate a lot harder.
There are a lot of doubters saying it won’t happen, which is fair because winning once is hard, and going back-to-back is nearly impossible. However, when Patrick Mahomes is your quarterback, you have to think twice about what is possible. Over the last seven years, other than Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce, Mahomes hasn’t had top-tier receivers. In the 2023-2024 season, the wide receiver room was the worst it had ever been but because of Mahomes, they still were able to win the Super Bowl.
Back in March during free agency, the Chiefs were able to sign wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown to a one-year deal. They were also able to draft wide receiver Xavier Worthy out of the University of Texas at Austin, who set a record in the 40-yard dash with a time of 4.21 seconds. The only problem is Brown cannot stay healthy and their second-year receiver, Rashee Rice, will be suspended at some point this season for causing a six-car crash back in March.
A phrase often used in the NFL is defense win championships. When it comes to the Chiefs, their offense is usually better than their defense, but not last year. With the offense having a terrible season, the defense came up strong and gave Mahomes many opportunities to score. Everyone but cornerback L’Jarius Sneed is back to make the three-peat happen, so the defense should be just as powerful as last year.
Chief’s head coach Andy Reid will go down as one of the best coaches, although it would not be accurate to say he was the reason they won all their championships. Yes, Reid is the one making the offense look great, but Mahomes is the one making the plays. If Mahomes was not on the team, there would be no conversation of a possible three-peat. Back when Reid was with the Philadelphia Eagles, he had Donovan McNabb and Michael Vick, and still could not win a Super Bowl. When a team is great and consistently makes the playoffs, but it can’t win a Super Bowl, the season is a failure. When Reid made the switch to Kansas City, he had Alex Smith as quarterback and made the playoffs, but still could not make it to the Super Bowl. Mahomes is the only quarterback to get Reid a Super Bowl as a head coach, which says a lot.
There will be a lot of surprises and upsets throughout this football season, but the Chiefs can make the biggest surprise out of them all.