On Thursday night, the Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs kick off the National Football League’s 104th campaign. All 32 teams are hoping to end their season in Super Bowl LVIII at Las Vegas.
Here are some interesting statistics that should make the opening week of the 2023 season a lot more interesting.
38-17-1
On Thursday night at Kansas City, the Chiefs will embark on their quest to repeat as NFL champions. That hasn’t happened since the Patriots turned the trick in 2003 and ’04. Andy Reid’s club hosts a Lions’ team that averaged the fifth-most points in the NFL in 2022. Detroit has its work cut out for itself as defending Super Bowl champs own a .688 winning percentage in their first game the following season.
554
Think the MLB’s New York Yankees are having a rough 2023? One of the league’s longest-standing records came at the expense of an NFL franchise by the same name. Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Norm Van Brocklin threw for an astounding 554 yards in the Los Angeles Rams’ 54-14 win over the Yankees a mere 72 years ago (September 28, 1951). That total is also a record for a season-opening performance.
8
The Kansas City Chiefs own the league’s current longest playoff streak at eight years and counting. In fact, Andy Reid is 9-1 in season openers with the franchise and all of those Week 1 victories would eventually lead to postseason appearances. When the defending Super Bowl champions take the field on Thursday night, they will look to extend their eight-game overall winning streak that dates back to Week 14 of 2022.
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7
For the seventh time in as many seasons under general manager Chris Ballard, the Colts will have a different starting quarterback. The list from 2017-22 reads Scott Tolzien, Andrew Luck, Jacoby Brissett, Carson Wentz, Philip Rivers, and Matt Ryan, respectively. Rookie Anthony Richardson gets the nod on Sunday vs. the Jaguars. By the way, new head coach Shane Steichen inherits a seven-game losing streak.
5
To the victors go the spoils. To the teams looking to rebound from horrendous finishes a year ago, it’s hopefully time to turn things around. A total of five teams, the Chicago Bears (10), Arizona Cardinals (7), Indianapolis Colts (7), Tennessee Titans (7) and New York Jets (6) each bring a season-ending losing streak of six or more games over from ‘22. The Bears, Colts and Jets will have a chance to end the skids at home.