Three storylines to follow in Ravens-Chiefs opener, including 'battle' of the podcasts

The long offseason is finally over.

The 2024 NFL season begins Thursday with a bang, a rematch of the 2023 AFC Championship Game between the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC and Peacock).

Here are three things to know before the opening kick:

Early battle for AFC supremacy | The Chiefs (+325) and Ravens (+500) rank first and second in preseason odds to win the AFC ( h/t ESPN Bet ), making this an early battle for bragging rights in the conference.

Lamar Jackson vs. Patrick Mahomes | The winners of four of the past six MVP awards, Jackson and Mahomes are arguably the two best quarterbacks in the NFL. However, you wouldn't know that based on their head-to-head matchups .

Mahomes and the Chiefs have a 4-1 advantage (including postseason), and the two-time Super Bowl MVP is 147-of-202 (72.3 percent) for 1,720 yards, 13 touchdowns, and two interceptions against Baltimore.

Against the Chiefs, Jackson has struggled, going 88-of-158 (55.7 percent) for 1,022 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions.

'Battle' of the podcasts | The Kelce brothers (Travis and Jason) mammoth $100M Amazon deal has provided Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey with more motivation ahead of the Thursday night opener.

Retired former Eagles offensive lineman Jason Kelce and Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce recently signed a lucrative three-year distribution deal with Amazon's Wondery podcast network for their "New Heights" podcast, and Humphrey took notice. ( h/t New York Post )

During the most recent episode of his "Punch Line" podcast , the 2019 first-team All-Pro defensive back joked about the duo monopolizing the NFL athletes' podcasting space.

"He has got to pay for what he has done... How he has tried to eliminate us," Humphrey said.

"[Thursday] it'll be pod versus pod, and we will see what heights are higher," the four-time Pro Bowler added.

Kelce has 38 receptions, 478 yards receiving and three touchdowns in the five previous meetings against Baltimore, including the playoffs. According to Pro Football Focus data , he has never drawn Humphrey in coverage when targeted.

Forget the potential future playoff-seeding implications or quarterback battle. Humphrey versus Kelce is the matchup we want to see.