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The Kansas City Chiefs will open their Super Bowl title defense in the 2023 NFL season against the Detroit Lions in primetime on Thursday Night Football at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC on September 7.
The NFL is set to release the entire 2023 schedule on Thursday night, but they’ve been leaking games here and there, mostly high-profile contests. The fact Kansas City is playing Detroit says a lot about the NFC North come-ups. The Lions could be one of the top teams in the NFC this season.
The Chiefs open the season as 7-point favorites at home against the Lions in the season opener on TNF. Kansas City is also -275 on the moneyline against Detroit. Not to get ahead of ourselves, but the Lions should be vastly improved and could surprise a lot of teams in 2023.
The Chiefs are running it back with mostly the same offense from 2022, when they defeated the Eagles in the Super Bowl. At least on offense. Travis Kelce, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Kadarius Toney will lead the receivers. The backfield will continue to be a split between Isiah Pacheco, Cylde Edwards-Helaire and Jerick McKinnon.
As for the Lions, they have one of the best young offenses in the NFL. Jameson Williams will miss the first six games due to suspension but once he returns, he’ll join Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jahmyr Gibbs. The Alabama back was drafted high in the first round to add to a backfield already featuring former Bears RB David Montgomery. QB Jared Goff is back for another season with the Lions after nearly leading the team to the postseason in 2022.