Ravens-Chiefs preview, NFL award picks, overrated teams; Cubs throw no-no

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🏈 Good morning to everyone, but especially to …

THE KANSAS CITY CHIEFS, THE BALTIMORE RAVENS AND NFL FANS EVERYWHERE

IT’S BAAAAAACK! The NFL season kicks off tonight in grand fashion with the two-time reigning Super Bowl champion Chiefs hosting the Ravens. It’s just the second season opener that features a quarterback battle between the reigning Super Bowl MVP (Patrick Mahomes) and the reigning NFL MVP (Lamar Jackson). The other? Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning in 2004. Not bad company!

It’s a great opportunity for both teams to make an early statement. The Ravens can get a small measure of revenge for last year’s AFC Championship Game loss. The Chiefs can continue to assert their dominance. To me, these three questions stand out for Baltimore:

• Can Jackson be even better in his second year in Todd Monken‘s offense and in his first year with Derrick Henry as his running back?
• Or does an offensive line full of question marks cause trouble for Jackson, who can struggle when he’s pressured?
• How does the defense look under new coordinator Zachary Orr?

On the Kansas City side …

• What fun plans do Mahomes and Andy Reid have for speedy rookie Xavier Worthy and emerging standout Rashee Rice?
• Is rookie Kingsley Suamataia ready to protect Mahomes’ blindside?
• Other than Trent McDuffie, who steps up at cornerback with L’Jarius Sneed gone?

Give me Chiefs 23, Ravens 20.

Football season is here, and we know you’ve got plenty on the line this season. So we’re here to help: CBSSports.com has full breakdowns, grades and rankings of every sports book and a look at all the best offers for new signups.

👍 Honorable mentions

• Stephen Curry wants to own an NBA team after retiring.
• Caitlin Clark became the first rookie to win WNBA Player of the Month and celebrated with the second triple-double by a rookie in WNBA history. (She has the other one, too.)
• Jessica Pegula is into the US Open semifinals after upsetting world No. 1 Iga Swiatek, 6-2, 6-4. It’s her first major semifinal, and it gives the United States four semifinalists (Pegula, Emma Navarro, Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe) across men’s and women’s singles.
• Welcome to “InstaFace” (Instagram), Bill Belichick!
• Giants’ All-Star third baseman Matt Chapman is getting a six-year, $151 million extension.
• Kyle Schwarber tied Alfonso Soriano‘s record with his 13th leadoff home run this season.
• Shohei Ohtani felt “very supported” in his return to Angel Stadium.
• Ben Joyce hit 105.5 mph on this strikeout.
• Cole Caufield changed his number to 13 to honor Johnny Gaudreau.
• Joey Chestnut‘s next challenge? A bratwurst eating contest at halftime of an NFL game this weekend.
• UCF will wear helmet decals designed by pediatric cancer patients.
• Elvis Andrus is retiring.

👎 Not so honorable mentions

• Aaron Judge‘s commemorative home run plaque in Texas will not be replaced after multiple thefts.
• The Yankees will explore different closer options given Clay Holmes‘ struggles.
• Whit Merrifield was not happy about getting hit in the head by a pitch.
• Corey Seager (hip) is on the IL.
• No, Mike the Tiger is not coming back to LSU games … for now.
• Neither is John Emery Jr., whose season is over due to a torn ACL.
• Washington tight end Quentin Moore was injured by an ineligible player.
• A teenager was charged with attempted murder in the Ricky Pearsall shooting.
• Penny Hardaway‘s staff at Memphis is in flux two months before the season.
• Spirit and USWNT rising star Croix Bethune tore her ACL.

🏈 NFL season preview: Individual award picks; AFC, NFC projections

We talked Super Bowl picks — and lots of other stuff — in yesterday’s newsletter. Today, we’re focusing on the individual awards. Our NFL staff made its best bets for individual accolades, and I like this long-shot MVP call from Garrett Podell.

• Podell: “Jordan Love (+1400) — Love threw the second-most touchdown passes in football in 2023 (32) despite really only finding his groove in the second half of the season. That’s when he locked in for an NFL-best touchdown-to-interception ratio of 18-1 from Weeks 11-18 en route to leading the Packers back to the postseason. His growth along with the NFL’s youngest group of pass-catchers and the addition of 26-year-old, 2022 NFL rushing champion Josh Jacobs lifts Love’s play to greater heights.”

There are sure to be tight races up and down the ballot, and I’m intrigued by Defensive Rookie of the Year after offense dominated the top of the draft. My pick? Let’s go for Nate Wiggins (+3500) in Baltimore as a sleeper. You can see all of our picks here.

You can’t talk individuals without talking quarterbacks. They make the world go ’round. As such, here’s the top five in Cody Benjamin’s season-opening QB Power Rankings.

1. Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs
2. Josh Allen, Bills
3. Lamar Jackson, Ravens
4. Joe Burrow, Bengals
5. C.J. Stroud, Texans

Yes, it’s all AFC quarterbacks at the top. And in our AFC expert picks, our views of Allen’s Bills are much like Allen himself: can be awesome, can be … not awesome. Buffalo got votes for the AFC’s most overrated and most underrated team.

• Jordan Dajani: “Buffalo lost several starters on the defensive side of the ball this offseason, and star linebacker Matt Milano is expected to miss significant time due to injury. The Bills also moved on from their top two wideouts, replacing them with question marks such as Curtis Samuel and rookie Keon Coleman.”
• Jared Dubin: “Why exactly am I supposed to believe the Bills are going to fall off when they’ve won 11-plus games every year since Josh Allen’s breakout? They’re still either second or third in the AFC pecking order, to me.”

Here’s the NFC side of things, and here’s more news:

• Ja’Marr Chase returned to practice, albeit in limited fashion. Still, it’s a big win for the Bengals.
• Kyle Pitts is already dealing with an injury, though it’s minor. Here’s the league-wide Week 1 injury report.
• Damar Hamlin will get his first start since his cardiac arrest.
• Taylor Swift is in her offensive coordinator era, according to Travis Kelce.
• Bo Nix got voted a Broncos team captain.
• Denver also made Patrick Surtain II the highest-paid defensive back in NFL history with a four-year, $96 million extension.
• The Commanders‘ Sam Cosmi also got paid.

⚾ Cubs throw combined no-hitter behind Shota Imanaga’s dominant start

The Cubs have done it again. Behind seven wonderful innings from Shota Imanaga and an inning each from relievers Nate Pearson and Porter Hodge, the Cubs threw the 18th no-hitter in franchise history in a 12-0 win over the Pirates.

• Only the Dodgers (26) and White Sox (20) have more no-hitters in MLB history. Only the Astros (six) have more than the Cubs’ five no-nos over the past 10 years. Somehow, though, it’s the Cubs’ first no-hitter at Wrigley Field since 1972.
• Imanaga was superb, striking out seven and walking two on 95 pitches. It’s worth wondering if he could have gone all the way without three Isaac Paredes errors, including two in the sixth inning.
• It’s the 21st combined no-hitter in MLB history and the second by the Cubs. Their most recent was a combined one in 2021.
• It’s the fourth no-hitter across MLB this season, joining the Astros’ Ronel Blanco, the Padres‘ Dylan Cease and the Giants‘ Blake Snell.

🏈 New CBS Sports 134, QB Power Rankings

Now that everyone has played, we have a new CBS Sports 134 — where we rank every single FBS team — and while Georgia remains No. 1, it’s now unanimous. Here’s the top five.

1. Georgia (previous: 1)
2. Ohio State (2)
3. Texas (4)
4. Alabama (5)
5. Notre Dame (8)

As for the biggest riser, how ’bout them Commodores?!

• Chip Patterson: “No. 45 Vanderbilt (+46): The CBS Sports 134 voters were way too low on Vanderbilt and have been quick to act in the wake of the Commodores’ overtime win against Virginia Tech. The Diego Pavia era is off a running for a team that simply had more juice out of the gate before holding off the Hokies when they made their eventual charge. Now inside the top 50, Vanderbilt eyes the possibilities of a new ceiling in what could be a big step forward for Clark Lea and his staff.”

Clemson and Florida State, predictably, are moving in the wrong direction, and they’re even in our Bottom 25.

We also have updated QB Power Rankings, where, just like teams, Georgia (Carson Beck) is No. 1. There was a huge jump right behind him, though: Miami‘s Cam Ward is all the way up to No. 2 after entering the season unranked.

Here’s more …

• As for another quarterback in the Sunshine State, prized freshman DJ Lagway will start for the injured Graham Mertz for Florida.
• Here’s what NFL scouts are saying about Travis Hunter.
• Can Florida State turn it around? The Seminoles’ athletic director thinks so.

📺 What we’re watching Thursday

🎾 We’re watching the US Open. Here’s how.
🏀 Storm at Liberty, 7 p.m. on Prime Video
🏀 Mystics at Mercury, 7 p.m. on Prime Video
🏈 Ravens at Chiefs, 8:20 p.m. on NBC