Chiefs looking forward to opening season with challenge vs. Ravens

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The smell of football is in the air. It’s less than a week until the Kansas City Chiefs open the NFL season against the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night.

And while there are no guaranteed wins on an NFL schedule, the Ravens are a strong candidate for the Chiefs toughest test of the season with their physicality and the addition of Derrick Henry.

The Chiefs, who are looking to duplicate the result from last season’s AFC Championship, are fully up for the challenge.

“You love playing great teams. You want to play the best. Certainly they were one of the best teams in the AFC last year,” Chiefs linebacker Drue Tranquill said after practice on Sunday. “We had a good bout with them in the AFC Championship game and I’m sure they’ve had this game circled for the entire offseason.”

“Classic Baltimore, man. They play tough, they play hard. They’re fast, physical, great defenders, a lot of good pieces across the board. Have a lot of respect for a lot the players on that side of the ball. When you play a game against them, you know it’s going to be physical,” Chiefs right guard Trey Smith said.

The Chiefs have made it a point of emphasis to match Baltimore’s physicality, something they executed to perfection back in January, but it’s a new season with changes to both teams.

“Whenever you play teams like this, you want to make sure match their physicality. We’re fast and we got guys that run around but we pride ourselves on being physical as well. It’s going to be a great challenge.” Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes said.

It wouldn’t be surprising if these two teams met in January again as they’re both expected to be Super Bowl contenders.

“High-powered team, and we’re a high-powered team as well and it’s gonna be exactly what the NFL wanted pitting us against each other Week 1,” Chiefs safety Justin Reid said.

The Chiefs will look to tackle the challenge when they kickoff against the Ravens on Thursday at 7:20 p.m.

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