Thursday Night Football to begin the NFL season just feels right.
It's the perfect appetizer for what's to come on Sunday, when fans are fully immersed in a sea of games from the early afternoon through the night.
But the NFL didn't always start off with a weeknight game to start the new campaign. When did the NFL Kickoff Game begin? And which teams have the most appearances and victories?
Here is everything you need to know about the history of the NFL Kickoff Game:
Typically, the Kickoff Game is a home contest for the defending Super Bowl champion. But that's not always the case.
The first two years of the event did not feature the reigning champs, with the Giants hosting in 2002 and Washington hosting in 2003.
From 2004 through 2022, the reigning champion hosted the Kickoff Game - with two exceptions.
In 2013, the Broncos hosted the defending-champion Ravens due to a scheduled conflict at Baltimore's home stadium.
In 2019, the Chicago Bears hosted the Green Bay Packers to celebrate the NFL's 100th anniversary with two historic franchises. The defending-champion New England Patriots instead played on NBC's Sunday Night Football to begin their title defense that year.
The Kickoff Game has been on Thursday in every year since 2002, except for 2012.
The defending-champion Giants hosted the Cowboys on Wednesday, Sept. 5, to begin the 2012 season, with the game moved up one day to avoid a conflict with the last day of the Democratic National Convention.
The beginning of the Kickoff Game coincided with the beginning of the Patriots' dynasty, so it's no surprise that New England is tied for the most appearances with four. The Patriots are 3-1 in their appearances, winning in 2004, 2005 and 2015 before losing in 2017. All four games were held at Gillette Stadium.
The Chiefs' active dynasty has brought them to the Kickoff Game three times under Patrick Mahomes, and once earlier in Andy Reid's tenure as head coach (when they beat the Patriots on the road in 2017). Kansas City is 3-1 all-time in Kickoff Games, winning in 2017, 2020 and 2024 but losing in 2023.
Four other teams have three Kickoff Game appearances: the Packers (2-1), Pittsburgh Steelers (2-1), New Orleans Saints (1-2) and Giants (1-2). The Cowboys will make their third appearance in 2025 after winning in 2012 and losing in 2021.
Seven teams have a perfect record in Kickoff Games: the Denver Broncos (2-0), Kansas City Chiefs (2-0), Philadelphia Eagles (1-0), San Francisco 49ers (1-0), Seattle Seahawks (1-0), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-0) and Buffalo Bills (1-0).