We’re getting an AFC Championship Game rematch in the season’s first game of the season, as the Baltimore Ravens will travel to Arrowhead Stadium and take on the reigning Super Bowl-champion Kansas City Chiefs in the first game of the 2024 regular season on Thursday, Sept. 5. Adam Schefter reported the news on Twitter.
From a Steelers perspective, it’ll be an early look at two of their opponents in 2024. Obviously, the Steelers and Ravens will meet twice this season in a rivalry where there’s no love lost. The team will also play host to the Chiefs at Acrisure Stadium at some point in 2024.
Kansas City repeated as Super Bowl champs in 2023, and it bulked up its receiving corps in the offseason with the additions of Marquise “Hollywood” Brown in free agency and the speedy Xavier Worthy out of Texas in the draft. Baltimore improved its run game by signing Derrick Henry, although the team did lose All-Pro LB Patrick Queen in free agency, as he signed with the Steelers.
In last season’s AFC Championship game rematch, Kansas City won, 17-10, bottling up league MVP Lamar Jackson as the Ravens essentially abandoned the run game. Kansas City would go on to beat the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl. The Chiefs are looking to become the first team to three-peat in the Super Bowl era, and they’ll have some hype to do so with their new weapons for Patrick Mahomes and after re-signing DT Chris Jones.
The full NFL schedule will be released on Wednesday, and that’s when we’ll find out Pittsburgh’s 2024 schedule. Per NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, “select matchups” will be revealed ahead of the full release on Wednesday night. Maybe a Steelers game will be among the select matchups revealed before the madness on Wednesday.
My wish to the schedule gods is no Saturday afternoon games this year for the Steelers. Tall order, I know.
