Patrick Mahomes and Desahaun Watson star in the return of the NFL

The pandemic continues, but the

returns to some places with fans and others without.

After 221 days of being crowned in Super Bowl LIV against the San Francisco 49ers,

and the

return to

to face

and the

in the opening game of the campaign on Thursday, September 10.

Last season, the best in at least 50 years - the time it took them to get their second Vince Lombardi - the

established themselves as a new front to fight for the title in the next few years.

Something that they will try to achieve immediately.

On the other hand, the

retained their second division title, like the Chiefs, and managed to win a playoff game, the first since the 2016 season. The rival that stopped them in the Divisional Round were the Chiefs.

In the second meeting between the two quarterbacks,

made his first comeback of three in the 2019 playoffs. He

.

He finished with 23 completed passes, 321 yards and five touchdowns.

Watson made 31 completions for 388 yards and three total touchdowns.

However, since they met, the changes for each team in this free agency have not been similar.

The Chiefs will return to the field without running back

(opted out), guards

(opted out) and

(Steelers), as well as linebacker

(Lions).

DeAndre Hopkins

, a three-year All-Pro first-team nominated wide receiver, was the most important piece of the puzzle Bill O'Brien lost for the 2020 season, in addition to defensive tackle

(Bengals), cornerback

( Titans) and running back

(Seahawks).

New weapons for Deshaun Watson are

and

at the ends, and David Johnson at the back of the bag.

For

the receiver group returns intact and they added running back

LSU graduate selected in the first round (32).

How do Chiefs and Texans get to the Kickoff?

In the 12 times the teams have met, the Chiefs lead the rivalry at 7-5.

But since both quarterbacks have been at their respective clubs, they have only met twice.

With one game to the account of each of the star quarterbacks of the 2017 Draft, the third game in Thursday night's game expects another electrifying duel, considering that 137 points have been scored in both games.

Attack in 2019

Andy Reid's team finished as the sixth offense with the most combined yards, with 379.2, while O'Brien's squad was 13th with, with 362 units.

Defense in 2019

On the other side of the ball, the Texans finished as the 28th defense (388.3), and the Chiefs as the 17th defense (349.6).

Quarterbacks

A knee injury

away

for two days from the grid.

In 14 starts (11-3), the Texas Tech graduate completed 65.9% of his passes for 4,031, with 26 touchdowns and five interceptions.

To arrive at the Wild Card rested,

sat down in the last game against the Titans.

In 15 games as a starter (10-5), the Clemson alumnus completed 67.2% of his passes for 3,852 yards, 26 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

Trainers

Andy Reid

, a mentor to more than half a dozen current NFL head coaches, comes with

and seven at the helm of the Chiefs (77-35).

In more than two decades, Reid has had 18 seasons with a .500 or better record and 14 with more than 10 wins.

Bill O'Brien

, entering times of pandemic with double duty when taking the general management of his club, presents

in which he has won the division pennant four times, adding five seasons with winning mark, and two schedules of more than 10 victories, the last two.