Chiefs-Cardinals preview: Week 1 NFL guide, analysis, prediction

The first full Sunday of the 2022 NFL season features a matchup between a cross-conference matchup between two playoff teams from last season as the Kansas City Chiefs travel to face the Arizona Cardinals.

FOX Sports’ staff of NFL writers has assembled a guide to every Week 1 contest. Be sure to check back throughout the coming season for weekly matchup analysis and game predictions.

Kansas City Chiefs vs. Arizona Cardinals (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS)

Overview: Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs head to the desert to battle Kyler Murray and the Cardinals. Mahomes will play his first game without speedster Tyreek Hill, building chemistry with new receivers in JuJu Smith Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. The Chiefs lead the all-time series 9-3-1 and have won four of the past five games. However, the Cardinals won the most recent game in Arizona 17-14 on Dec. 7, 2014. The Cardinals will be playing without No. 1 receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who will miss the season’s first six games for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs.

Matchup to watch: Chiefs TE Travis Kelce vs. the Cardinals’ secondary

Since 2014, Kelce ranks third in the league in catches (704), fourth in receiving yards (9,006) and fifth in receiving touchdowns (57). In the last game against the Cardinals in Arizona, Kelce had seven catches for 110 receiving yards. The Cardinals must use a combination of Isaiah Simmons, Jalen Thompson and Budda Baker in coverage to slow down Kelce.

Key stat: The Chiefs have won seven straight season openers, the longest active Week 1 winning streak in the NFL. The Cardinals are 0-5 in their last five home games.

Prediction: This game should be a high-scoring, back-and-forth affair with offenses led by two dynamic quarterbacks. But Kansas City’s defense will find a way to keep the Cardinals out of the end zone at the end of the game. Chiefs 33, Cardinals 27 — Eric D. Williams