With the Kansas City Chiefs winning the Super Bowl earlier this year, fans knew they were going to play the NFL’s first game of the 2023 season. But the question was who was going to be the Chiefs’ opponent? On Thursday, just hours before the NFL schedule release, it was revealed the Chiefs will host the Detroit Lions on Sept. 7. This is a surprising decision considering the Lions missed the playoffs last year and the Chiefs’ home opponents include playoff teams such as the Los Angeles Chargers, Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles, the team the Chiefs beat in the Super Bowl in February.
The Lions just missed the postseason last year, finishing with a 9-8 record, their first winning season since 2017. The team won eight of their final 10 games, and quarterback Jared Goff had a productive season, throwing for 4,438 yards and 29 touchdowns with a 99.3 rating. The Lions also received great production from wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown who caught 106 passes for 1,161 yards and six touchdowns. But despite the Lions’ strong end to the 2022 season, fans are still wondering why they were chosen to kick off the season against the defending Super Bowl champions.
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Over in Week 1
One fan joked: “The Lions will finally get see a Super Bowl banner.”
Nobody Cares
Another fan said: “This should have been the Super Bowl rematch.Have the Lions ever been on SNF before?”
LOL
One Twitter user said: “We could have had AFC Championship rematch, Super Bowl rematch, PM vs Allen, Tyreek return to KC.Lots of great options. But they pick the Lions??”
After Suspension
A fan wrote: “The only reason the Lions are opening an NFL season is because the NFL is in love with high scoring games.Give me the Chiefs.”
Simple Question
Another Twitter user said: “The NFL could have made the opening game against the Bengals, Eagles, or Bills. They instead chose the Lions Lmfao.”
Better Options
One person predicts: “Would’ve loved this game to have been in the dome… Even better if the Lions had full compliment of offensive weapons. Chiefs by a mile…”
Don’t Hold Back
And this fan said: “Can only assume they talked the Eagles management n the Eagles opted out, because there’s no way a super bowl rematch isn’t a better game Week 1.”
