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The Kansas City Chiefs will kick off the NFL season in the opening game for the second consecutive year after back-to-back Super Bowl titles. Still, we won't officially know their opponent until Wednesday, May 15.
There seem to be three potential opponents getting a lot of play in the media right now. The Houston Texans are the most popular because they follow the trend of having an up-and-coming team face off against the Super Bowl champion. The Baltimore Ravens are another popular opponent because of the AFC Championship Game rematch. The Cincinnati Bengals would come in third because of their heated rivalry with the Chiefs.
All are great options, but perhaps the best potential opponent for Kansas City isn't even an AFC foe.
Why the Buccaneers are the perfect Week 1 opponent for the Chiefs
The Buccaneers as a Week 1 opponent have a certain luster that other potential opponents simply don't have.
The league can hang its hat on a storyline surrounding a Super Bowl LV rematch, but the rivalry between the two quarterbacks involved is deeper and more interesting than that. Patrick Mahomes and Baker Mayfield have known each other since high school and before they landed in the NFL, they contributed to one of the wildest college football games in Big 12 history.
On a chilly night in Lubbock, Texas in October of 2016, Mayfield's Oklahoma Sooners took on Mahomes' Texas Tech Red Raiders in what became an instant classic. The record-breaking shootout resulted in 1,708 yards of total offense and 125 total points scored.
The two quarterbacks, Mahomes and Mayfield, combined for over 1,200 yards and 12 touchdowns. Mahomes with 734 yards and five total touchdowns, while Mayfield recorded 545 yards passing and seven touchdowns.
"We had to score a touchdown on every single drive of the second half just to win," Mayfield said on CBS Sports HQ in February of 2024. "Obviously, Patrick (Mahomes) was on fire. . . it was like playing a video game."
Baker Mayfield vs Patrick Mahomes next week
— PFF College (@PFF_College) January 11, 2021
Their 2016 game was legendary
125 points
1708 yards
pic.twitter.com/hyrV24j9TZ
The history doesn't just extend to his one game, though. Flashback to the 2020 playoffs, Baker Mayfield was the quarterback for the Cleveland Browns facing the Chiefs in the divisional round. We were deprived of what could have been a photo finish in that game. Mahomes got knocked out of it and it took some heroics from Chad Henne to pull off the 22-17 win over the Browns. However, what Mahomes said ahead of that game certainly resonates.
“I’ve known him for a long time, since I was a senior in high school," Mahomes said. "And to be able to play on this stage is going to be special. He went to Oklahoma, I went to Texas Tech. He got the better of me in college, so I’ll try to do my best to win in the NFL.”
So far, Mahomes has one-upped Mayfield in the NFL, but this is a chance for a leveled playing field. The Bucs are responsible for one of the games that will haunt Mahomes forever, a game that has influenced the trajectory of Tampa Bay and Kansas City alike. It just feels right to pit these two teams and quarterbacks against each other on a national stage. Their story is unfinished in the NFL and the league can kick off the 2024 NFL season with a bang by making this their season-opening matchup.
More must-reads:
- 10 hidden gems from the upcoming NFL schedule
- Saints, star CB 'moving forward' following trade chatter
- The 'Super Bowl starting QBs' quiz
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