The NFL will kick off its 104th season at 7:20 p.m. CDT Sept. 7 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. The Thursday night game will feature the Chiefs taking on the Detroit Lions.

Kansas City is hosting the game as the NFL’s defending champion. The last time the NFL was on the field, the Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35 in Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12.

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The NFL could have made the 2023 opener a Super Bowl LVII rematch. The Eagles are among the teams that will visit Arrowhead Stadium this season. The Chiefs’ first-game opponent also could have been the Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos or Los Angeles Chargers.

Kansas City has had 10 consecutive winning seasons and eight in a row with at least 10 victories. In the previous four seasons, the Chiefs have won the Super Bowl twice and lost in the NFL title game once. Kansas City has played in the AFC Championship Game for five consecutive seasons.

On the other hand, Detroit hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2016 and has made three playoff appearances in this century. The Lions have never played in the Super Bowl and most recently won the NFL championship in 1957.

But Detroit went 9-8 last season as it won eight of its final 10 games of 2022.

The NFL has opened its season with a Thursday night game annually since 2002.

The first of the NFL’s 272 regular-season games will be televised by NBC.

The NFL also announced on Thursday that the Chiefs would host the Las Vegas Raiders at noon on Christmas Day in the opener of a holiday tripleheader.

The NFL will reveal its entire schedule for the 2023 season at 7 p.m. Thursday on NFL Network.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.