Chiefs vs. Ravens: TV Schedule, Game Time, Position Battles and More

The Chiefs and Ravens continue their preseason schedule on Friday evening at 7:30 p.m. EDT.

A season ago, the Chiefs went 10-6 on their way to the first division title since 2003.

The Ravens went 12-4 and won a Wild Card spot in the AFC. After defeating the Chiefs, they squandered a 21-7 halftime lead to the Steelers.

The Steelers outscored the Ravens 24-3 in the second half to beat Baltimore, 31-24, ending their season.

This will be a rematch of last season's Wild Card playoff round, where the Ravens handily defeated the host Chiefs by a 30-7 score.

Where: M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland

When: Friday, 7:30 p.m. EST

Watch: KCTV5 in Kansas City, WBAL-TV, CSN, WJLA-TV, WHTM-TV in Baltimore; online at NFL.com (must pay $19.99 for league-wide package), live look-ins on NFL Network; game replay: 8 p.m. EST Friday, NFL Network

Listen: KCFX-FM 101.1, Sirius 138 in Kansas City, 98 Rock, WBAL-1090 AM in Baltimore

Chiefs' Key Addition

Jared Gaither missed all of 2010 after an injury. Prior to that, he started all 11 games that he played in during 2009 and 15 of 16 games in 2008.

Defensive tackle Kelly Gregg joins the Chiefs after starting 16 games for Baltimore in 2010. He has 19.5 sacks in his career.

Receiver and return man Steve Breaston has had 700 or more receiving yards over each of the last three seasons. He had seven career receiving touchdowns in 26 career starts for Arizona.

Ravens' Key Addition

The biggest acquisition for Baltimore is likely wide receiver Lee Evans. Evans caught 37 passes for 578 yards in 13 games a season ago.

While the Ravens have never been characterized as an offensive team, Evans will need to be productive for the Ravens. If he can't at least repeat his 2010 performance, the Ravens will have a hard time scoring points.

While Ray Rice's status as the starting running back is undeniable, Ricky Williams will also be important to the Ravens. They lost second leading rusher Willis McGahee, as well as Le'Ron McClain and will need Williams to help spell Rice.

Chiefs' Biggest Loss

The defending AFC West champions remain largely intact. They had a large group of free agents, but have returned most key players from the 2010 season.

One exception to that is linebacker Mike Vrabel, who retired after starting 30 games in two seasons for Kansas City, including all 16 games in 2010.

Off of the field, Kansas City lost offensive coordinator Charlie Weis to the University of Florida.

Ravens' Biggest Loss

The departures Derrick Mason (Jets) and Todd Heap (Cardinals) will test Flacco.

Mason had 802 yards and seven touchdowns for the Ravens last season. Prior to that, he had three consecutive 1,000 yard seasons.

Heap had 599 receiving yards and five touchdowns for the Ravens in 2010.

What They're Saying

The Kansas City Star's Kent Baab wrote that Gaither, Gregg and McClain are bringing the winning attitudes that they developed in Baltimore with them to Kansas City.

The Chiefs will need that influence if they are to repeat as division champions in 2011.

The Ravens are optimistic about the acquisition of Evans. In each of their last three playoff losses, they have had a hard time getting big plays from their receivers. Coach John Harbaugh expects Evans and his 16 yards-per-catch career average to change that.

Chiefs' Player To Watch

Tamba Hali chose to return to the Chiefs this season. 2010 was a tremendous year for Hali, whose 14 sacks were good enough to lead the AFC and for second in the NFL.

It will also be interesting to see how Matt Cassel, Dwayne Bowe, Jamaal Charles, and the rest of the offense respond to losing their offensive coordinator.

Bowe may be the most important player on the Chiefs. He had a career high 1,162 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns a season ago. Having the benefit of Steve Breaston lining up with him should take defensive pressure off of Bowe.

Ravens' Player To Watch

The replacements. Ed Dickson is currently the top tight end on the Baltimore depth chart, while Lee Evans replaces Mason.

Dickson's importance will come mostly in the form of blocking, as well as red zone receiving. Evans must stay healthy and threaten opposing defenses enough to relieve pressure from Anquan Boldin.

Matchup To Watch

The Ravens tackles (see below) vs. Hali and the Chiefs pass rush. Hali will give a relatively unproven group of tackles a serious test.

Chiefs' Position Battle

Plain and simple, Kansas City will need to find another outside linebacker to replace Vrabel. If they can't, then Hali will not have anywhere near the production this year that he had in 2010.

Andy Studebaker and Justin Houston look to be the two players vying for the job.

Studebaker has the inside track to the job, as he recorded 2.5 sacks in 2010 while coming off of the bench. Houston recorded 10 sacks for the Georgia Bulldogs in 2010.

Ravens' Position Battle

Offensive tackle is a question mark for Baltimore. The loss of Gaither opens up a battle between Oniel Cousins, Michael Oher, and Jah Reid.

None were terribly impressive in their preseason opener against Philadelphia. A strong showing could give anyone a heads up heading into the ever important third preseason game.

Key Storyline

Will the loss of the franchise's top two receivers (Mason and Heap) come back and hurt the Ravens?

That's the main thing to watch for in this battle. The Chiefs offense without Weis and the aging Ravens defense are also worth looking at, but those units aren't nearly as much of a question mark.

If the Ravens new group of receivers (notably Evans) perform, they are a Super Bowl threat. If not, they will have a hard time making the playoffs in a tough AFC.

Prediction

Baltimore seems to have more position battles going on. Look for that to make a difference late in the game.

26-17 Ravens.