We can all breathe and relax: football season is finally here.

Like last season, the Chiefs Wire staff will offer its weekly predictions for each Chiefs game. Here are our picks for Kansas City’s Week 1 matchup against the New England Patriots.

Wesley Roesch’s pick: Patriots win 27-23

Twitter: @WesleyRoesch

If I would have written this prediction a few weeks ago I may have picked the Chiefs. I still think they’re just as capable as any other team of beating the Patriots, but I can’t seem to put my money on Kansas City.

Running back Spencer Ware’s injury worries me, not because of my lack of faith in Kareem Hunt, but rather my lack of faith that the Chiefs offense will be in full swing this week. It looked dull in the preseason Week 3 game against the Seahawks. This is an offense that takes a while to get in a groove. In order to beat the Patriots, you need to be at your best.

What worries me even more is cornerback Steven Nelson’s absence on defense. If the Chiefs end up playing Phillip Gaines at right cornerback, they’re toast. Quarterback Tom Brady will eat him alive. It’d be better if Gaines works the slot, but may be best if he doesn’t work at all.

Overall, I expect this to be a close game that could swing in the Chiefs’ favor if they limit mistakes and make plays on special teams. But for now I’ll stick with New England at home.

Nicolas Roesch’s pick: Patriots win 27-17

Twitter: @Nicolas_Roesch

The Patriots will raise yet another Super Bowl banner Thursday night. The crowd and the atmosphere will be electric.

The Patriots lost receiver Julian Edelman for the season but won’t miss a beat without him. That’s no slight against him, but the Pats are a borderline Golden State Warriors superteam.

The key to this game is the Chiefs front seven against the Pats offensive line. KC must get to Brady early and often and make him uncomfortable.

Offensively the Chiefs must establish a successful running game and control the clock. And when they get in the red zone, touchdowns are a must.

The Chiefs will need to score at least 20 points to win this game, and that’s with the defense being on its “A” game. The Chiefs were unable to get to 20 at home against the Steelers in the playoffs, so I have my doubts they’ll do it on the road against a better defense.

Charles Goldman’s pick: Chiefs win 28-20

Twitter: @funderpunt

It’s no secret that the Patriots’ success on the defensive side of the ball revolves around taking away what the opposing offense best does. It’s so early in the season that I am not sure the Patriots will be able to decipher where the offensive strength of the Chiefs is during the 2017 season.

However, they may try to erase players that have seen success against them in the past. During the 2015 playoffs the Patriots always put two defenders on tight end Travis Kelce, one tasked with covering inside routes and the other tasked with outside routes. This held Kelce to a whopping 23 yards.

What the Chiefs didn’t have in 2015 was the playmaking deep threat: wide receiver Tyreek Hill. So now the Patriots will have to choose which offensive playmaker they are going to take away.

The Patriots could also choose to take advantage of Hunt. They could attempt to stack the box and leave an extra defender in against the rookie and make his life harder while hoping to force a fumble. This would also test quarterback Alex Smith and force him to throw the ball and not have the safety valve of a running game.

Ultimately I think whichever method the Patriots decide to use to slow down the Chiefs offense, the offense will be able to neutralize it. If they choose to bracket Kelce, the passing game will go to other targets like tight end Demetrius Harris and Hill.

If they choose to bracket Hill, the Chiefs will try to get the ground game going to free up targets other on play action. If they stack the box, I think Smith will show the league why he’s in for his best year yet.

The defense will actually have a lot more on its shoulders than the offense when it comes to defeating the Patriots.

Chiefs defense vs. Brady in the 2015 playoff loss: zero sacks, one QB hit, two tackles for loss, one pass defended, zero interceptions.

Chiefs defense vs. Brady in the 2014 prime-time victory: three sacks, four QB hits, two TFL, seven passes defended, two interceptions.

The defense needs to get pressure on Brady if it’s going to have any chance of stopping an explosive New England offense.

I have a feeling that with a healthy front seven the Chiefs will be able to get at least more pressure than they did in the 2015 playoffs, which will disrupt Brady just enough to come away with the win. The Patriots will try different things to slow down the Chiefs offense, but ultimately the Chiefs will find different ways to win the matchup battle there.

John Dillon’s pick: Patriots win 27-23

Twitter: @TheJohnDillon

In their first game, the Chiefs find themselves facing their toughest opponent of the season. With a running game that will be stymied by the injury to Ware, coach Andy Reid will need to come up with a game plan that centers on tight ends and receivers to keep his play calling unpredictable and open up holes for Hunt.

This game is a litmus test for a Chiefs team that nobody seems to be able to figure out. With all the hot takes and predictions flying around before Week 1, Kansas City will turn a ton of heads if they march into Foxborough and get a win to kick off the season.

I’m predicting a Chiefs loss to the Patriots, but wouldn’t be surprised to see the final score even closer.

Connor Casey’s pick: Patriots win 34-24

Twitter: @ConnorCasey_MNJ

I came to terms with the Chiefs starting out 0-1 when the schedule was announced roughly six months ago. And there are plenty of reasons why.

Defending Super Bowl champs are 11-2 in this game. It’s in Foxborough. The Patriots still have Brady. Edelman may be hurt, but tight end Rob Gronkowski isn’t. The Pats love to exploit the bad matchups, and the Chiefs now have a hole in the secondary with Nelson out with a sports hernia.

Starting the season 0-1 doesn’t derail anything, but it feels like an inevitability. As long as the game isn’t a blowout, there’s no need to panic.

Jonathan Greig’s pick: Patriots win 31-20

The Chiefs have a lot going for them heading into the season, both short-term and long. Multiple defensive starters are back healthy, including linebacker Justin Houston, who in his own words, is ready to hit Tom Brady.

Taking on blocks alongside him will be Allen Bailey and Derrick Johnson, pieces that can improve upon last season’s porous 26th-ranked run defense, which seems to have been the team’s priority all offseason.

Bottom line — you can’t have a team with Kareem Hunt, Akeem Hunt and Clark “The Dream” Hunt and not be excited.

Unfortunately, the Patriots have a lot going for them too. First and foremost, they’re probably going to win. Until Brady starts to show signs otherwise, he is the mountaintop, crashing down avalanches of ice, debris and third-down efficiency upon those below.

They lost Edelman for the season, but now also have Brandin Cooks to help replace that production, along with Gronkowski and receiver Chris Hogan, who will take Edelman’s role in the slot.

These teams were the top two seeds in the AFC last year and will almost certainly be in strong contention for them again. The matchup that could prove the difference is KC’s linebackers versus its stable of running backs. Ramik Wilson looks improved, and guys like Kevin Pierre-Louis and Ukeme Eligwe have been showing their skills all preseason, but now the team will find out if it can cover and contain running backs like Dion Lewis and James White.

If Johnson is a half-step slow, if the coaches are forced to play Frank Zombo a lot with Tamba Hali out, if Nelson’s slot corner replacement Phillip Gaines doesn’t play better coverage than he did last year coming back from his ACL tear, then the Chiefs are cooked, so to speak.

The Chiefs’ best shot at winning in Foxborough is a strong, time-consuming running game and a couple of game-breaking plays to Hill or on special teams.

This is a tough task to start the season. Ultimately, I think last year’s Super Bowl champs roll at home in Week 1.

Blake Wyatt’s pick: Chiefs win 27-24

Twitter: @nfldraft_kc

The NFL regular season is finally here. There couldn’t be a better way to start it off for the Chiefs than a prime-time game against the reigning Super Bowl champions.

Two of the winningest head coaches in NFL history will face off Thursday night. I wouldn’t expect too many tricks up their sleeves as they will try to implement their game plans and knock off any remaining rust from the offseason.

The Chiefs will be tested early and often as Brady will look to get things rolling to prove he still has it at age 40.

Can the Chiefs steal a win as they go into Foxborough with Smith still at the helm? Can Hill and Kelce be superstars? Which defense will make the most plays?

I’ll take the Chiefs stealing a win over the Patriots by three. It’s going to be a hard-fought game and will come down to the last few minutes.