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The defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs will open up their season against the Detroit Lions on Thursday night, September 7, at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, according to The Score’s Jordan Schultz. The club later confirmed the report.
BREAKING: #Chiefs will play the #Lions to open the 2023 NFL season on Thursday Night, September 7, sources tell @theScore.
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) May 11, 2023
Patrick Mahomes and company will raise their second banner in four years against Dan Campbell’s revamped Detroit squad.
Considering Kansas City’s 2023 home opponents, there had been some speculation that the NFL could choose to go with an AFC West opponent or present a rematch of last year’s Super Bowl, pitting the Chiefs against the Philadelphia Eagles — but not to be.
Just like last year — when the then-defending champion Los Angeles Rams hosted the Buffalo Bills — the league’s strategy is that a rivalry game on opening night is unnecessary. It simply wants the champ to face a good team — and believe it or not, the Lions are that.
The Lions had a long-awaited resurgent season in 2022. They narrowly missed the playoffs at 9-8 but managed to knock Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers out of the dance in Week 18 when they had nothing else to play for but pride (of Detriot).
Head coach Dan Campbell and quarterback Jared Goff have turned around Detroit’s offense — and you can bet the league expects a lot of points on opening night. Promising rookie wide receiver Jameson Williams is suspended to start the season, but the Lions will still feature wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs. While the offense was impressive last year, their defense held them out of the playoffs, giving up a league-worst 392.4 yards per game.
At the time of this writing, we know the dates and times for five of the 17 games; there will be more throughout the day.
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