The Kansas City Chiefs became the eighth team to go back-to-back when they won their third NFL Championship in five years with a 25-22 overtime win over the San Francisco 49ers in February.
Andy Reid's men are now looking to become the first team to win three NFL Championships on the bounce but they have been given little time to settle into the new season as they open their campaign in a blockbuster clash against the Baltimore Ravens, who finished last season as the top seeds in the AFC with quarter-back Lamar Jackson winning the season MVP award for the second time.
These two sides clashed in the AFC Conference Championship game at M&T Bank Stadium last season with the Chiefs managing to emerge from a tense tussle with a 17-10 victory, having been 17-7 up at half-time.
The Chiefs have home advantage this time for the huge season-opener, with these two teams in the top three in the outright betting for overall glory.
Baltimore Ravens @ Kansas City Chiefs is available to watch live via bet365's Sports Live Streaming service, whilst subscribers of the NFL GamePass can also take in the action.
The game will also be broadcast on Sky Sports' Main Event and Action channels, as well as Sky Showcase.
Baltimore Ravens @ Kansas City Chiefs will kick off at 01:20am BST on Friday 6th September at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, USA.
The Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs have met 13 times previously, with the Chiefs holding the advantage with eight wins to five.
Four of Baltimore's victories came in consecutive meetings between 2006 and 2012, with the Chiefs having won five of the last six with their 27-24 win in 2018 coming after overtime - Mahomes' first game against the Ravens.
The Chiefs superstar has won four of his five games against Baltimore with his sole defeat coming in a thriller in 2021 when the Ravens scored 12 unanswered fourth-quarter points to win 36-35.
Eight of the 13 previous meetings have taken place in Baltimore, although three of the Ravens' five wins have been earned at Arrowhead.
The Ravens finished last season with a 13-4 record, having gone 3-2 in the first five games but losing just two of their last 12 in the regular season as they won the AFC North and earned number one seeding for the play-offs.
The Chiefs lost their home opener to the Detroit Lions last season before winning six games on the bounce. However, they lost five games between weeks 8-16 to finish with a 11-6 record, winning the AFC West to rank second in the play-offs.
Baltimore Ravens wins | 5 |
Kansas City Chiefs wins | 8 |
* H2H stats refer to all competitions
Read the latest tips, predictions and odds for Baltimore Ravens @ Kansas City Chiefs.
Running back Rasheen Ali is rated as questionable by the Baltimore Ravens having been limited in practice this week with a neck problem, while linebacker Adisa Isaac is also questionable due to a hamstring injury.
The Kansas City Chiefs have a largely healthy squad going into the season opener, although wide receiver Marquise Brown is definitely out as he recovers from a dislocated shoulder suffered on the first offensive play of preseason.
That is likely to mean JuJu Smith-Schuster will be active for the opening week on his return to the Chiefs, although running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire will not be on the active roster for at least four games.