Who will the Chiefs play in NFL Kickoff Game? Here are the best potential matchups

Most NFL power rankings that were released after the draft include the same four at the top: Chiefs, Eagles, Bills and Bengals.

Those four all will play at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in the 2023 season.

Philadelphia, Buffalo and Cincinnati are among the teams the Chiefs will face at home this fall. The others are Miami, Chicago, Detroit and the AFC West foes. It’s looking like the Chiefs-Bears game will be in Germany in November, so there are eight teams the Chiefs could face in the NFL’s Kickoff Game on Sept. 7.

Since 2010, the defending Super Bowl champion has played the first game of a season, with the exception of 2019 when the Packers-Bears matchup started the league’s 100th season.

The Kickoff Game is usually on a Thursday and has featured a divisional matchup just twice (Giants-Cowboys in 2012 was the other instance).

So who might the Chiefs face in the NFL Kickoff Game? The NFL schedule will be released later this month and, given the Chiefs’ slate of home games, there are a number of great potential matchups.

NBC Sports’ Peter King wrote in February that some of those Chiefs’ home games could be used as a centerpiece of NFL schedules on three different networks.

“Traditionally, the NFL doesn’t put the best game on the defending champs’ schedule in the week one slot,” King wrote. “It would be surprising to see a Super Bowl rematch (Philly-KC) as the opener. Also: I think it’s more likely than not that the league keeps strong contenders Cincinnati and Buffalo off the opening-night slate so they can be gem prime-time games later in the season. ...

“One logical theory I heard last week: The NFL has a lot of network mouths to feed, and could use KC games versus the Eagles, Bills and Bengals as tentpole events for the NBC, CBS and ESPN schedules. Maybe Eagles-KC on an October Sunday night on NBC, Bengals-KC on a CBS doubleheader game in a November Sunday late-afternoon window, and Bills-KC as the highlight of the ESPN slate.”

If you scratched Eagles, Bengals, Bills and Bears off the list of potential foes for the opener, it would leave the Lions, Dolphins, Broncos, Chargers and Raiders.

Here’s a quick look at each potential Kickoff Game foe in reverse order of which I’d think would be the best matchup.

Bears

This game will most likely be played in Germany shortly before Thanksgiving.

Lions

Detroit was a nice story a year ago, but there would be little buzz leading up to the game.

Raiders

Jimmy Garoppolo making his Raiders debut might move the needle a bit, but there are better options for the NFL.

Chargers

The last four meetings between the teams have been one-score games, and Justin Herbert vs. Patrick Mahomes would certainly whet the appetite of NFL fans.

Broncos

This matchup would have many great storylines: Broncos coach Sean Payton’s return to the NFL, the Chiefs’ 15-game winning streak over Denver, and the first look at whether Russell Wilson can rebound from a terrible 2022 season. The NFL Network’s Steve Smith wrote of this possibility: “A division game might not be the most popular pick, especially against the team that was the AFC West’s worst in 2022, but the addition of head coach Sean Payton gives the Broncos the edge they were missing a year ago.”

Dolphins

This would be a meeting between teams that made the playoffs last season, and the Dolphins are seen as one of the NFL’s top 10 teams. Lots of offensive weapons on both sidelines, and former Chiefs receiver Tyreek Hill has already started the trash-talking about his return to Arrowhead Stadium.

Bills

If the Bills-Chiefs game doesn’t end up as a “Monday Night Football” game, as King wrote, this would be another enticing option. The teams have played five times in the last three seasons, including a pair of postseason games (13 seconds!). The NFL Network’s LaDainian Tomlinson wrote of this potential meeting in the opener: “The Chiefs have what the Bills want: the Lombardi Trophy. Buffalo can once again set the tone for a Super Bowl-or-bust 2023 campaign by taking down the NFL champs — or the Chiefs can remind us why they are still the cream of the crop. It’s a win-win scenario for football fans.”

Bengals

The last two AFC Championship Games have featured the Chiefs and Bengals. That alone would make this a great NFL Kickoff matchup. It’s also why CBS would want the game during the regular season, as King noted. Maurice Jones-Drew of the NFL Network wrote: “As much as I hate to admit it sometimes, quarterbacks are king in this league, and Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow are setting the standard at the position right now. ... Could this year’s Kickoff Game give us a preview of a third straight AFC title game matchup? It’s definitely possible.”

Eagles

The 2016 NFL Kickoff Game is the only one to feature a rematch of the previous Super Bowl (Broncos-Panthers). The buzz for a Chiefs-Eagles meeting in the NFL Kickoff Game would be off the charts, but it’s also why NBC would love for it to be a “Sunday Night Football” game. Still, the NFL Network’s David Carr, Marc Ross and Steve Mariucci hope it’s Eagles-Chiefs to start the 2023 season. Mariucci wrote: “The Eagles have made it clear this offseason that they’re coming for the crown, retaining a number of veteran playmakers, signing star quarterback Jalen Hurts to a massive extension and nailing the draft. A clash of two titans early in September would set the stage for the rest of the season.”