NFL season kicks off with Super Bowl champion Chiefs hosting Lions, Jets' Rodgers on MNF

NEW YORK — Patrick Mahomes and the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs will kick off the NFL season against the upstart Detroit Lions in a matchup of high-powered offenses and will host Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles in a Super Bowl rematch on “Monday Night Football” in Week 11.

Aaron Rodgers will make his New York Jets debut in the first Monday night game of the season against the Buffalo Bills and later faces the Miami Dolphins in the NFL's first Black Friday game on Nov. 24.

Thanks to Rodgers' arrival in the Big Apple, the Jets will have six nationally televised games, including their first Sunday night game since 2011 when they take on the Chiefs on Oct. 1.

“It’s not going to be monotonous with all the 1 o’clock games we’re used to,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said on NFL Network.

Coming off their second championship in four seasons, the Chiefs will host the Lions on Sept. 7 on “Thursday Night Football.” The Lions finished 9-8 last season after a 1-6 start and knocked Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers out of the playoffs with a 20-16 victory at Lambeau Field in the final regular-season game.

Mahomes, the two-time NFL MVP, led the Chiefs to a 38-35 comeback win over the Eagles in the Super Bowl. The teams will battle at Arrowhead Stadium on Nov. 20.

Fans will get their first look at Rodgers in his new green-and-white No. 8 Jets jersey when New York hosts Josh Allen and the Bills in an AFC East matchup on Sept. 11.

The NFL released the full schedule Thursday night after revealing five international games and several others earlier in the day and Wednesday.

Other highlights include a rematch of the NFC championship game in Week 13. Hurts and the Eagles will host the San Francisco 49ers on Dec. 3. The Eagles knocked quarterback Brock Purdy out of the conference title game on their way to a dominant 31-7 win. Purdy had elbow surgery in the offseason, but should be ready by the time the teams meet again.

Mahomes and the Chiefs will host AFC West rival Las Vegas in the early game on Christmas Day and the Dallas Cowboys will visit San Francisco on “Sunday Night Football” in Week 5.

The New England Patriots also announced seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady will be honored at the team's home opener against the Eagles on Sept. 10. Brady, who led the Patriots to six Super Bowl titles, retired in February after spending the last three seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

On Wednesday, the NFL announced that Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars will become the first NFL team to play two international games in the same season when they spend back-to-back weeks in London.

The Jaguars will host the Atlanta Falcons at Wembley Stadium on Oct. 1 and visit the Bills at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Oct. 8. The Jaguars were set to play two designated home games in London in 2020 but the pandemic canceled those plans.

The Tennessee Titans will host the Baltimore Ravens at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Oct. 15. The Chiefs will host the Dolphins in Germany at Eintracht Frankfurt Stadium on Nov. 5. The Patriots will host the Indianapolis Colts on Nov. 12, also in Frankfurt.

The Eagles will host the New York Giants on Christmas Day and the Chiefs will host Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals in a rematch of the AFC championship game in Week 17.