Take a deep breath, pull up a chair, and come close to hear this important message: "There is a meaningful NFL game tonight."
After seven long months of the offseason, the 2017 NFL schedule kicks off Thursday night in Foxboro as the defending Super Bowl Champions New England Patriots host the Kansas City Chiefs.
Along with the return of football is the return of football betting, so let's take a closer look at the opening matchup of the campaign.
Kansas City Chiefs (+9) at New England Patriots
Before we get all crazy here and call a Chiefs outright win, let's take a quick look at one of the most ridiculous stats in sports.
In Tom Brady's last 51 home games against AFC opponents he's 50-1. Lone loss was Week 17 in 2014 vs. Bills and he sat out the second half.
— Ryan Hannable (@RyanHannable) December 23, 2016
Okay, now that we've let Tom Brady's brilliance in the regular season soak in, it's time to examine why the Chiefs will be able to keep this contest within the nine-point spread.
These two teams met in the 2015 playoffs with the Patriots winning 27-20, and not much has changed since.
Despite highly touted rookie Patrick Mahomes waiting in the wings, it will be Alex Smith leading Kansas City's offense once again, which means a conservative approach. Look for Andy Reid's unit - featuring tight end Travis Kelce - to keep the chains moving, holding the prolific offense of the Patriots off the field.
Kansas City feasts on turnovers - leading the league last year with 33 takeaways - and will need to generate a couple to have any chance of winning.
While the Patriots are a dominant team seemingly every year, they haven't crushed their opponents in recent openers like some might think. The AFC East outfit hasn't won by more than a touchdown in an opener since 2012, registering three victories by less than seven along with one loss.
The Chiefs' opportunistic defense will do enough to keep this one close and cover the spread, but Brady's excellence will lead to a home win to start the season for New England. Patriots 28, Chiefs 24
(Odds courtesy: Pinnacle)
