The Kansas City Chiefs will play their first game of the upcoming NFL season on ‘Monday Night Football’ against the Denver Broncos on September 14.
It will be the first Chiefs game for Travis Kelce as Taylor Swift’s husband, while star quarterback Patrick Mahomes is facing a desperate race to be healthy after suffering a major knee injury last season.
ESPN’s lead play-by-play commentator Joe Buck, who will call the game alongside Troy Aikman, made the announcement during an appearance on ‘Good Morning America’ on Tuesday.
The game will be a huge test of the Chiefs’ Super Bowl credentials, given they lost their stranglehold on the AFC West to Sean Payton’s Broncos last season and missed the playoffs entirely.
It remains to be seen whether the game will be played at Arrowhead Stadium or Empower Field at Mile High but a location is expected to be confirmed when the full schedule drops later this week.
Swift and Kelce are expected to tie the knot in New York City on July 3. The exact location of the wedding is not known, but it is said to be an arena or museum-like space.
Travis Kelce will play his first Chiefs game Taylor Swift’s husband against the Broncos on MNF
It promises to be a huge game after the Broncos dethroned the Chiefs in the AFC West
Last August, Kelce popped the question and Swift shared photos from the intimate engagement in his Kansas City garden on Instagram with the caption: ‘Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married.’
It was previously speculated that the couple, who have been at the front and center of the NFL since they started dating in late 2023, would say ‘I do’ at her lavish Rhode Island estate.
Guests who received an invitation have also been required to RSVP with a signed NDA to help keep details of the nuptials private, per a source.
It remains to be seen if Week 1 will come too soon for Mahomes, who tore the ACL and LCL in his left knee on December 14 in the final minutes of a loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, which effectively eliminated the Chiefs from playoff contention.
Mahomes quickly underwent surgery in Dallas with noted orthopedist Dr. Dan Cooper, and the rehabilitation began almost immediately back in Kansas City, where he has been working all offseason.
The three-time Super Bowl winner has made it clear he plans to be back on the field for Week 1. He’s attending the voluntary offseason program in Kansas City, where he’s been doing rehab work with the Chiefs’ training staff.
If he can’t play against the Broncos, then Justin Fields will likely be the starter for Andy Reid after the Chiefs traded for him from the New York Jets earlier this offseason.
Broncos quarterback Bo Nix is also dealing with health issues after breaking his ankle in the playoffs. He appears to be on track to return in time for the new season though, Payton recently revealed.
Patrick Mahomes is facing a race against time to be healthy for Week 1 after a bad knee injury
Broncos QB Bo Nix is also dealing with health issues after breaking his ankle in the playoffs
It comes after three NFL games for the new season were announced on Monday, including two involving the Dallas Cowboys.
The Buffalo Bills’ first regular-season game in their new stadium will be against the Detroit Lions on September 17 and will kick off Amazon Prime’s ‘Thursday Night Football’ schedule.
The Bills are one of 10 teams to have new coaches this season with Joe Brady taking over after Sean McDermott was fired after nine seasons.
The game will feature two of the top quarterbacks in the league with Josh Allen and the Bills hosting Jared Goff and the Lions. Detroit is looking to bounce back after missing the playoffs last season.
The NFL has traditionally used Week 2 to showcase new stadiums in a primetime game.
The Dallas Cowboys were part of the other two unveilings. They will visit the New York Giants in the first NBC ‘Sunday Night Football’ of the season on September 13 and they will host the Philadelphia Eagles on Fox on Thanksgiving Day November 26.
This is the eighth time in the past 15 years the Cowboys and Giants are opening the season against each other.
It also marks the 15th time the NFC East rivals are meeting on ‘Sunday Night Football’, the second-most played matchup since NBC started the package in 2016.
The Cowboys will travel to New York to take on the Giants in the first ‘Sunday Night Football’
Josh Allen and the Bills will play their first game in their new stadium Week 2 against the Lions
Dallas is always a national television draw as ‘America’s Team’ and New York could get more primetime exposure with Super Bowl winner John Harbaugh in his first year coaching the Giants and Jaxson Dart established as the franchise quarterback coming off his eventful rookie year.
This also could be the NFL debuts for a pair of former Ohio State teammates: Giants linebacker Arvell Reese, taken with the fifth pick, and Cowboys safety Caleb Downs, drafted not long after at No. 11.
This will only be the third time, and first since 2014, that the Eagles will be the Cowboys’ Thanksgiving opponent. Dallas has won its past four Thanksgiving games, including a 31-28 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs last year.
The late afternoon Thanksgiving game is traditionally the most viewed of the regular season. Last year’s game averaged 57.23 million viewers on CBS, making it the most-watched regular-season game in league history.
This will be the second straight season Philadelphia will have the spotlight on Thanksgiving week. Jalen Hurts and the Eagles hosted last year’s Black Friday game and lost to the Chicago Bears 24-15.
Monday’s announcements mean the Cowboys know the dates for three of their 17 games.
It was announced a couple of weeks ago their game in Rio de Janeiro against the Baltimore Ravens will take place in Week 3 on September 27 and air on CBS.
Dallas at New York in Week 1 also means neither of those teams will be the visitor at Seattle on September 9, when the defending champion Seahawks unveil their Super Bowl banner and kick off the season.
Chicago, Arizona and the Chargers or a title-game rematch against New England are the remaining possibilities.
