Baltimore (14-5) at Kansas City (15-6)
Thursday, 8:20 p.m. EDT, NBC/Peacock/Universo
BetMGM NFL Odds: Chiefs by 3.
Series record: Chiefs lead 8-5
Last meeting: Chiefs beat Ravens 17-10 on Jan. 28 in the AFC championship game in Baltimore.
Ravens offense: overall (6), rush (1), pass (21), scoring (4).
Ravens defense: overall (6), rush (14), pass (6), scoring (1).
Chiefs offense: overall (9), rush (19), pass (6), scoring (15).
Chiefs defense: overall (2), rush (18), pass (4), scoring (2).
Turnover differential: Ravens plus-12, Chiefs minus-11.
Ravens player to watch
Lamar Jackson won his second NFL MVP award last season, leading the league in yards rushing for a quarterback with 821 while finishing fourth in passer rating (102.7) and yards per attempt (8.0). But the numbers that matter most are 1-4, which is Jackson’s record in head-to-head matchups with Chiefs counterpart Patrick Mahomes.
Chiefs player to watch
TE Travis Kelce will turn 35 next month, an age at which most players at his position have long hit retirement. There were moments last season in which Kelce appeared to be slowing down a bit, but he still finished with 93 catches for 984 yards and five touchdowns in 15 regular-season games.
Key matchup
Mahomes against the Ravens defense. The reigning Super Bowl MVP threw for 241 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions in a 17-10 victory over the Ravens in the AFC championship game. Baltimore ranked sixth in the NFL against the pass last season and led the league in scoring defense, allowing just 16.5 points per game.
Key injuries
Ravens C Tyler Linderbaum (neck) did not appear on the injury report after missing time last week and is expected to play. … Chiefs WR Hollywood Brown will not play after dislocating the sternoclavicular joint in his shoulder in their preseason opener against Jacksonville. RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire was put on the non-football illness list this week and will miss the first four games.
Series notes
The Chiefs have won five of the past six games in the series, including the AFC title game in January. Three of those wins have come in Baltimore. The most recent time the Ravens beat the Chiefs in Kansas City was Oct. 7, 2012.
Stats and stuff
Jackson and Mahomes are both two-time NFL MVPs, making this the first time in history that players with multiple MVP awards meet in Week 1. … Ravens coach John Harbaugh is 12-4 in season openers. … TE Mark Andrews needs one TD catch to tie Todd Heap (41) for the most in Ravens history. He needs 143 yards receiving to reach 5,000 for his career. … WR Zay Flowers has 858 yards receiving in 16 games. He needs 142 in his next two games to become the fastest player in Ravens history to 1,000. … Jackson has 5,258 yards rushing. He needs 50 to pass Russell Wilson for third most by a QB in NFL history. Michael Vick leads with 6,109 yards. … Ravens K Justin Tucker needs to make five more FGs to become the first kicker with 400 in his career. He scored a franchise-record 147 points last season. … Baltimore led the league in scoring (16.5), sacks (60) and takeaways (31), the first time a team has accomplished all three in a season in NFL history. … The Ravens allowed a league-leading 26 TDs last season. The Chiefs were third with 32. … Mahomes has led the Chiefs to the AFC title game all six seasons as a starter. Four of those seasons ended in the Super Bowl and three with championships. … Mahomes has 28,424 yards passing. He needs 84 to pass Len Dawson for first in Chiefs history. … Mahomes and Kelce have connected for 51 TD passes. They need one more to pass Drew Brees and Jimmy Graham for third most by a QB-TE tandem. … Kelce needs three TD catches to pass Tony Gonzalez (74) for most in franchise history. He needs seven TDs to pass Priest Holmes (83) for total career touchdowns in Kansas City. … Kelce needs 10 catches to pass Gonzalez (916) for most in Chiefs history. … WR Rashee Rice had 938 yards receiving last season, second only to Dwayne Bowe (995) for most by a rookie in Chiefs history. … C Creed Humphrey can pass Art Still for the Chiefs record with his 52nd consecutive start to begin his NFL career.
Fantasy tip
While the Chiefs quietly had one of the NFL’s best defenses last season, they were susceptible to giving up yardage on the ground. That bodes well for Jackson, whose ability to scramble for yards and touchdowns makes him the No. 1 quarterback in fantasy, and newcomer Derrick Henry, who will try to prove that a 30-year-old running back can still carry the load for a run-heavy offense after eight seasons in Tennessee.
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