KC Chiefs are 6.5 point favorites over Detroit Lions in Week 1

The Kansas City Chiefs are only a few weeks from the start of training camp and a couple of months from the start of their regular season campaign. But if you think we're just a bit early when trying to talk about the start of the season, it should only take a bit of trash talk from Detroit Lions safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson to get you hyped for what's ahead.

The Chiefs are set to open the '23 regular season slate (and the entire NFL calendar) by hosting the Lions in Week 1 on a special Thursday night primetime affair on September 7.

The matchup was not what most NFL analysts predicted for the season-opening contest, given the number of proven contenders already on the Chiefs slate of opponents. That list includes the Cincinnati Bengals, Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills, and plenty more, but the Lions offered up an intriguing matchup all the same as an up-and-coming team who looked on the verge of playoff contention at the end of last season.

KC Chiefs are 6.5 point favorites over Detroit Lions in Week 1

After starting the season with a miserable 1-6 record through Week 7, Dan Campbell and his coaching staff were able to turn things around with a very strong second half. The Lions finished the season with a winning record at 9-8—and one of those final two defeats was a close three-point loss to the Bills.

As for Gardner-Johnson, the veteran safety is fresh off of a Super Bowl LVII loss to the Chiefs with the Eagles and is now part of the Lions. Earlier this week, he stated his belief that a slippery field added to the the Chiefs' advantage and that better field conditions would have led to an Eagles victory. Given his ne wrole in the Lions' secondary, the Chiefs will have those words fresh on their minds as they take the field for the first time in '23.