The 2023/24 National Football League (NFL) season kicked off last night with the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs tackling the Detroit Lions in the raucous atmosphere of Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs enter the season as JustBet favourites to recapture the trophy February next year in Las Vegas, but the handicap of having the holdout of All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones and a knee injury suffered by tight end Travis Kelce on Tuesday, cast a gloomy shadow over the unfurling of their Super Bowl LVII championship banner last night.

The reigning titleholders have a chance at history as only seven teams have repeated as champions since the inaugural Super Bowl in 1967 — The Green Bay Packers, Miami Dolphins, Pittsburgh Steelers (twice), San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, and New England Patriots being the only teams to achieve back-to-back championships. Incidentally, there have been four champions who returned to the “Big Dance” one year later, including the 2019/20 Chiefs, only to fall short of glory.

Over the past five years, Kansas City has had a dynasty-defining run. They have won the American Football Conference (AFC) West each of those years and hosted an NFL record five-consecutive AFC championship games, winning three. The Chiefs have also won two Super Bowls in that span, both times beating the top seed in the National Football Conference (NFC), 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles. For reference, the Tom Brady-led 2014–2018 New England Patriots are the only team in history that can match five division titles, five conference title game appearances, three Super Bowl appearances and two championships in a five-year span.

While on the subject, the Patriots beat the Chiefs in the AFC championship the final year of that five-year stretch, just before the start of the Chiefs’ current run. The Patriots reached four Super Bowls in five years, including three in a row (2017–2019), and hoisted the Lombardi Trophy in three of those appearances — a dominance never before seen. However, the Patriots didn’t repeat during that stretch, though they and quarterback Brady did so in 2003 and 2004, but if the Chiefs can achieve that distinction this year, they would solidify their status as an unquestionable dynasty.

Kansas City’s quarterback Patrick Mahomes is an undeniable star and is slowly checking off the boxes that separate the greats from the also-rans. The 27-year-old has already played in three Super Bowls, winning two, and adding repeat champion to his resume would place him in dizzying heights and edge him closer to ‘Brady-dom’. Unfortunately, the subplot of Jones holding out for a big payday, compounded by the injury to Kelce, may throw a damper on the repeat ambitions.

Outside of Mahomes, Kelce is the most critical component in the Chiefs’ offensive roster. He is not only Mahomes’ first-choice target in the passing game, he is also a safety blanket when things break down and plays need to be improvised on the fly. Last year, in his first season since the trade of star wide receiver Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins, Kelce amassed a career-high 110 receptions for 1,338 yards and a career-best 12 touchdowns. He added 27 catches for 257 receiving yards and four touchdowns in the play-offs, including six receptions for 81 yards and one touchdown in the team’s Super Bowl victory over the Eagles.

Kelce missing playtime or not being 100 per cent is going to result in a major dent for Kansas City’s offensive output. Mahomes has proven himself a wizard, but the spells he cast are made possible by the ingredients provided by his tight end, and without this, his sorcery may prove less than effective.

As far as Jones is concerned, he equalled his career high with 15.5 sacks last season and is critical to a defence that relies on a relentless inside pass rush. He has developed into one of the best defensive players in the NFL and certainly the best on Kansas City’s defensive roster. The 29-year-old, four-time Pro Bowl selectee currently holds the NFL record for the most consecutive games with a sack (11) and has one season left on the four-year deal he signed in 2020 but is yet to report to the Kansas City training camp, as he seeks an improved contract. Jones’ contract values US$80 million over the four years, and the $20 million this season would make him the ninth-highest paid defensive tackle in the NFL.

While that is hardly chump change, Jones barely ranks among the top 10 defensive tackles for average pay. Los Angeles Rams standout Aaron Donald sits atop the defensive tackle chart at US$31.67 million per year and Jones is reportedly seeking a deal that would make him the second-highest paid defensive tackle. The Chiefs will definitely need his presence if a repeat is going to be a possibility.

And heading into the opening week of the season, Jones isn’t the only star defensive player with question marks looming. The reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Nick Bosa, who led the league with 18.5 sacks last season, is also holding out from the San Francisco 49ers as their opener nears on Sunday against the Steelers. Bosa is under contract, with the fifth-year option on his rookie agreement, and is due to earn US$18 million for this season. He too is defensively worth his weight in gold, but similar to the headlines involving players like Lamar Jackson, Saquon Barkley and Jonathan Taylor in this off-season, the business in the NFL is never truly cut and dry.

A complete look is available on all teams as an entire 14-game slate will be played on Sunday, with the last Week 1 game on Monday. The No 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Bryce Young, will start his first regular-season game as the Carolina Panthers quarterback on Sunday, while veteran Aaron Rodgers, now a New York Jet quarterback, will host the defending AFC East champion Buffalo Bills in East Rutherford on Monday — with everything else in between, there’s something this weekend for everyone.

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Super Bowl LVIII Champion

TeamOdds

Kansas City Chiefs6.80

Philadelphia Eagles8.20

Buffalo Bills9.60

San Francisco 49ers10.00

Cincinnati Bengals11.00

Dallas Cowboys14.00

New York Jets17.00

Baltimore Ravens18.00

Detroit Lions22.00

Miami Dolphins23.00

*Only Top 10 odds shown (see website for full list)

Note: Odds are subject to change