The 2023 NFL season opener has officially been revealed by the league, as the Kansas City Chiefs will open up their Super Bowl title defense at home against the Detroit Lions, per Sunday Night Football’s Twitter account.

It’s interesting that the NFL chose to kick off the 2023 schedule with the Lions as the Chiefs opponent.

The likes of the Philadelphia Eagles, who were bested by the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, the Cincinnati Bengals, who Kansas City defeated to get to the big game, and the Buffalo Bills, an AFC powerhouse, were among the options for the opener.

But the NFL schedule makers decided to go with a Lions team that posted its first winning season since 2017 last year.

It’s the third contest on the Chiefs’ schedule that has been revealed on Thursday, as the team also drew a divisional clash against the Las Vegas Raiders on Christmas Day, and a Week 13 date with the Green Bay Packers.

There was a rumor, from none other than Donna Kelce, the mother of Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and Eagles center Jason Kelce, that Kansas City would host Philadelphia in a Week 2 Super Bowl rematch.

As for the Lions, Detroit had been rumored to draw a Germany game, but it was instead the Chiefs and the Dolphins who received that international contest.

If the Chiefs-Lions game plays out anything like the last contest between the two squads back in 2019, the NFL will be thrilled.

Mahomes and the Chiefs just squeaked by Matthew Stafford and the Lions by a score of 34-30.

While Stafford now resides in Los Angeles, the NFL schedule makers would still certainly like a repeat performance of that game from the 2023 versions of these squads.