Now that we officially know where the Baltimore Ravens will kick off their 2024 regular season, it’s worth wondering for Maryland sports betting how teams that are placed in the league’s marquee Thursday Night opening game slot have fared at year’s end.
This season, Baltimore and the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs will square off at Arrowhead Stadium on Thursday, Sept. 5 at 8:20 p.m. Eastern, pitting two of the AFC’s best teams against one another on opening night. Here is a look at recent history of how teams fare after appearing on the nationally televised, Thursday night season opener.
Also check out our Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl odds for the 2024-25 season.
Season Performance Of NFL Teams In First Game of Year
Situation | Number of Teams | Percentage |
10+ Wins During Regular Season | 13 of 20 | 65.0% |
Made The Playoffs | 14 of 20 | 70.0% |
Advanced Past Wild Card Round | 12 of 20 | 60.0% |
Won Divisional Round | 8 of 20 | 40.0% |
Won Conference Championship | 4 of 20 | 20.0% |
Won Super Bowl | 1 of 20 | 5.0% |
Using the Champs or Chumps website, BetMaryland.com – your source for the best Maryland sportsbook promos – looked at how teams ended up in seasons when they played the Thursday Night Football NFL season opener. The data refers to both teams who played in the game over the past 10 seasons, from 2014 to 2023.
NFL Opening Night Success Rate
Since the 2014-15 season, 14 of the 20 teams that played in the NFL’s Thursday night opener (or 70%) have gone on to make the playoffs, with 13 of those squads winning 10 or more games during the regular season. The Ravens did not play in any of those games; the last time they were in the NFL’s Thursday night opener was in the 2013 season, when they lost to the Denver Broncos on Sept. 5.
And 12 of those teams (60%) advanced past the Wild Card Round, either by winning a first-round game or getting a bye into the Division Round. That gives Maryland sportsbook apps bettors a pretty good idea of the type of success that opening night participants find on the gridirons of the NFL of late.
What’s interesting is that only one of the 20 teams that have played in an opening night game over the last decade (the 2023-24 Chiefs) have gone on to win the Super Bowl. Three others reached the Super Bowl but lost.
This season, Kansas City and Baltimore enter the league year as two of the favorites to win Super Bowl LIX. As of May 15, the Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers – last season’s Super Bowl participants – were the top two teams in the odds, with one or the other atop the odds board depending on the operator. Check out the Baltimore Ravens playoffs odds for the season; they are at or about +900 odds at most sites.
USA Today photo by Geoff Burke
