Preview: Will Chiefs' Mahomes Remain Unbeaten vs. Jags' Lawrence?

Football season is finally here. On Saturday, the Kansas City Chiefs will take the field for the first time since winning back-to-back Super Bowls when they take on the Jacksonville Jaguars .

Regular season or not, there will be football nonetheless on Saturday, as the Chiefs will look to kick off their quest for a Super Bowl three-peat with a win over the Jaguars. Sure, there is nothing at stake this game for either team other than the players fighting for a spot on the 53-man roster.

However, that isn't stopping Chiefs coach Andy Reid from playing his starters in their preseason opener.

“As far as the play time for this game, we’ll go the ones for a quarter, twos for the second quarter, threes the third quarter and fours for the fourth quarter, and we’ll just keep it at that," Reid said.

This means the Chiefs Kingdom can expect to see reigning Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes take the field versus the Jaguars. This isn't anything new for the Chiefs' franchise signal-caller, as he has played in three of the four past preseasons.

The Jaguars are also expected to play their starters, giving both sides an early test for the upcoming season. That is for at least one quarter, as Jaguars coach Doug Pederson will seemingly match his starters' playing time with the Chiefs.

"That's just how I've treated that. I know that's how coach [Andy Reid] has treated it," Pederson said."I think it's important for guys to play, especially early. It doesn't have to be a lot or a long time. It's not long, but it's good for those guys to go out there and do that."

Like his former boss, Pederson will be playing his starters with the intent of wanting to see them "knock the rust off."

This should provide fans on both sides with a good matchup. The Chiefs and Jaguars will play a playoff rematch from the 2023 AFC Divisional Round game, in which Mahomes led Kansas City to a 27-20 win over Trevor Lawrence and co.

So far in their careers, Mahomes and Lawrence have faced off three times, twice in the regular season and the other in the postseason. However, Mahomes and the Chiefs have won all three games versus the Jaguars, which may provide an extra edge for the Jaguars.

Related: Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes Could Play Saturday vs. Jaguars

Sure, nothing is at stake for the regular season, but just like everyone else knows in the AFC, if the Jaguars hope to make it to the Super Bowl, they will likely have to get past the Chiefs at some point.

Kickoff inside Everbank Stadium is scheduled for 6 p.m. (CT) as the Chiefs and Jaguars give fans a potential playoff preview.