Baltimore Ravens vs. Kansas City Chiefs: Picks, Predictions, Odds and Player Props

The Kansas City Chiefs are looking to become the first team to win three NFL Championships in a row, and they'll look to get out to a winning start in the opening game of the 2024 NFL Season on Thursday against the Baltimore Ravens.

Will Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs get off to a hot start on their quest for a three-peat, or will reigning league MVP Lamar Jackson and the Ravens exact some revenge after coming up short in the AFC Championship last January? 

Kickoff is on the horizon, so let’s take a look at the odds for the game, plus our expert’s betting picks, predictions and player props. 

Baltimore Ravens vs. Kansas City Chiefs betting picks and predictions

Kansas City Chiefs -3.0 (+100)

While this number is very sharp and likely priced correctly, historical precedent suggests that the Chiefs are more likely to win and cover in this game than in normal circumstances.  

Championship winners often start off the following season by winning and covering the spread. In fact, even with Kansas City opening its campaign with a loss against the Lions a season ago, the team that lifted the trophy is now 19-5 straight up and 14-8-2 against the spread when opening the season following a championship win.

That alone should give Chiefs fans comfort heading into this game against a fierce conference rival who undoubtedly has revenge on its mind after how the last meeting between these teams went back in January. 

However, this isn’t the same Baltimore Ravens team that steamrolled the league en route to last year's AFC title game. The team lost several key players to free agency including two key offensive lineman, Pro Bowl linebacker Patrick Queen, team interceptions leader Geno Stone, and the player with the team's second-most sacks, Jadeveon Clowney. 

Mike Macdonald is also off to Seattle after a brilliant season as the defensive coordinator in Baltimore in 2023. His loss will most certainly be felt on a unit that could definitely struggle to adapt to a new scheme and defensive coordinator early in this upcoming season.

Kansas City also lost a couple of pieces from its excellent defense from a season ago. However, this should still be a rock solid unit under the coaching of defensive coordinator Steve Spagnolo.

On the offensive side of the ball, Kansas City brought in Marquise "Hollywood" Brown and drafted Xavier Worthy to bolster a wide receiver group that was a major weakness a season ago and posted a drop rate above seven percent.

Speaking of historical precedent, the Chiefs have typically started well in the Mahomes and Andy Reid era. In fact, Kansas City has wins in eight of its last nine season openers, with the only loss coming to the Detroit Lions a season ago, a game in which the Chiefs were missing both Travis Kelce and Chris Jones.  

After a mediocre regular season in 2023 by this team's standards, the Chiefs ended last season playing their best football and there's no reason to think Reid and his coaching staff won't have the team ready to start off the 2024 campaign on a winning note. 

For all of those reasons, our expert is targeting the Chiefs -3.0 (+100) for our best bet in this game.

Lamar Jackson over 47.5 rushing yards (-110)

Lamar Jackson won his second MVP award last season as he helped the Baltimore Ravens to a 13-4 record and the top seed in the AFC Conference, and a lot may depend on him again, particularly at the start of the season.

Derrick Henry's arrival is an obvious boost but he may take time to settle, while those losses in the offensive line might see Jackson have to demonstrate his dual-threat capabilities in the season opener.

Henry will obviously shoulder a lot of the burden in the ground game but Jackson is the best rushing quarterback in the game, averaging 5.5 yards per carry last season with 821 yards from 148 attempts.

He also rushed for 54 yards from just eight carries against the Chiefs in the AFC Championship game, and he can run for Over 47.5 yards on Thursday night.

Read more betting picks and predictions for the NFL on site.

Baltimore Ravens vs. Kansas City Chiefs odds

Baltimore Ravens	+125 ML
Kansas City Chiefs	-150 ML
Spread	KC Chiefs -3.0
Total Points	O/U 46.0

Baltimore Ravens vs. Kansas City Chiefs player props

Anytime Touchdown Scorer

Derrick Henry (BAL Ravens)	-105
Mark Andrews (BAL Ravens)	+187
Lamar Jackson (BAL Ravens)	+187
Isaiah Pacheco (KC Chiefs)	+110
Travis Kelce (KC Chiefs)	+110
Rashee Rice (KC Chiefs)	+160

Read Baltimore Ravens vs. Kansas City Chiefs: How to watch, TV Channel, streaming, start time, injury report and stats on site.

Read the latest NFL news on site.

This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.