It’s starting to feel like Groundhog Day as the NFL season premieres, with the Kansas City Chiefs once again in the primetime spotlight trying to keep their dynasty going.

The reigning Super Bowl LVII champions were surprisingly defeated by the Detroit Lions in the first week of last year.

In February it no longer made a difference.

As the Chiefs’ legacy lasts a little longer, the targets on the backs of Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes get a little bigger – of course, of course.

Leading the pack of 31 shooters aiming for the center of the target are the Baltimore Ravens, who will have a chance to avenge their 17-10 loss in the AFC Championship Game right from the start.

Kansas City was the favorite at the time with 4.5 points.

With a new defensive coordinator and the league’s best runner of the last eight seasons, the Ravens enter Thursday’s game as a one-field goal underdog.

There’s just too much up in the air, so I’m going to skip this line and instead look at two player props I could bet on.

Derrick Henry Over 16.5 rushing attempts (-120, FanDuel)

In the Lamar Jackson era, the Ravens never really had a real top performer.

Some of John Harbaugh’s best players were injured. Otherwise, it was a platoon.

The offense was based on Jackson’s agile intuition, making him the most dangerous quarterback rushing talent since Michael Vick.

With Henry now in the backfield, the offense transforms into a two-rushing threat while reducing the constant reliance on Jackson’s legs.

Henry is not getting any younger as he begins his ninth season on Thursday.

The 30-year-old slugger saw a big drop in his pitching percentage in his final year in Tennessee, going from 21.8 pitching appearances in 2022 to 16.5.

That’s one attempt more than the limit set for his rush attempts in his first game in purple and black.

We can expect a fair dose of running on first downs after the Ravens questionably abandoned their leading running offense in favor of the passing game in the AFC Championship.

The Chiefs ranked 24th overall in yards per rushing attempt. Enter Derrick Henry.

Isiah Pacheco anytime touchdown (+100, BetMGM)

If you bet on the Chiefs at all last season, you probably knew you were betting on Pacheco hitting the jackpot down the stretch.

The up-and-coming running back, with his inimitable stride, scored a total of five touchdowns in the final four weeks of the regular season and one in each playoff game prior to the Super Bowl.

Pacheco finished his sophomore season with a notable presence in the red zone, recording the seventh-most touches and sixth-most targets of all running backs inside the 20-yard line.

In his AFC Championship appearance against the Ravens, Pacheco set a career-high 24 attempts.

Betting on the NFL?

It remains to be seen whether 32-year-old former linebackers coach Zach Orr will step in as the new defensive coordinator after the Ravens hired the No. 1 defensive DVOA player.

For one thing, he took over a secondary that allowed the second fewest passing touchdowns and did not allow a quarterback to throw passes for over 300 yards in a game.

Mahomes will need the number 10 out of the backfield once the Chiefs get within scoring range.

BetMGM has Pacheco’s “Score a Touchdown at Any Time” option listed at the same odds.

That offers decent value for one of the safer bets in this Thursday night market.