Heading into the new NFL season, the Kansas City Chiefs were many people’s favorites for the Super Bowl (again), and after a 27-20 win over the Baltimore Ravens in Week 1, that hasn’t changed.

With both the Chiefs and Ravens still not at full-go, given it was the first time both teams played their starters for an entire game, Kansas City once again showed why it is one of the best teams in football.

For CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin, the Chiefs proved that they are once again the standard when it comes to Super Bowl aspirers.

“They’re very much the team to beat,” Benjamin wrote. “Obvious? Maybe. But they look even more formidable, perhaps, than they did on the Super Bowl stage! Patrick Mahomes once again has legit speed at his disposal.”

 
 
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) runs the ball as Baltimore Ravens linebacker Tavius Robinson (95) Denny Medley-Imagn Images

In a game built up as a “revenge” matchup for the Ravens, Mahomes and Co. again showed them a clean set of heels.

While yes, had Lamar Jackson hit a wide-open Zay Flowers in the endzone or Isaiah Likely got both feet inbounds, we could be having a different conversation, but the Chiefs don’t make those kinds of mistakes, and that’s what separates them from the rest.

To beat Mahomes in his building, teams have to be nearly perfect, and the Ravens had two chances to close the gap and missed both as Mahomes stated post-game, it’s a game of inches, and sometimes that is the difference between winning and losing.

Kansas City came into the season as the defending champs and most people’s favorite to claim yet another Super Bowl and yes, it is only one game, but against a fellow AFC heavyweight, the Chiefs showed why they are still the team to beat in the Super Bowl race.