ExtremeRavens Posted September 4 Posted September 4 Seven months ago, Derrick Henry was contemplating what might have been. He was three months removed from nearly being traded to the Ravens and thus powerless, a rare feeling for the bruising four-time Pro Bowl running back. But all he could do was watch from afar in January as Baltimore inexplicably handed the ball to its backs just six times against the Chiefs in last season’s AFC championship game at M&T Bank Stadium. Kansas City went on to win that matchup, 17-10, and its third Super Bowl title in five years, while the Ravens were left to ponder what went wrong. “Hell yes, I was wishing I could suit up that day watching that game,” Henry said this week. “But yes, now it’s my turn, so [I have] to take advantage of it. It’s going to be a hell of a game.” And a historic one, too, no matter the outcome. Thursday night’s rematch between the Chiefs and the Ravens will mark the first time that two quarterbacks who have won multiple NFL Most Valuable Player Awards will meet to kick off a season. Lamar Jackson, 27, won the honor in 2019 and again last season after leading Baltimore to the league’s best regular-season record while also posting career highs in passing yards and completion percentage. Patrick Mahomes, 28, was the league’s MVP in 2018 and 2022 and for good measure has been the Super Bowl MVP in each of the Chiefs’ victories. It’s little wonder that the two will meet to open the 2024 slate. “Obviously other teams were considered and lots of permutations of schedules worked their way through the computers, but to land on a K.C.-Baltimore matchup with those MVPs and the opportunity to have that type of elite teams, elite quarterbacks on the field is a great tone-setter to get into the season,” NFL executive vice president of club business, international and league events Peter O’Reilly said. Indeed. A Ravens victory would undoubtedly thrust images of a February Super Bowl celebration in New Orleans (the site of the organization’s last title) into the minds of the fan base. Another defeat would be a crushing nail in the argument that Jackson is not great enough — at least when it comes to beating Mahomes. Neither is true, of course, but it’s been a long seven months for Baltimore in particular. The Ravens have moved on, but they haven’t forgotten. “There’s always carryover, absolutely,” coach John Harbaugh said Tuesday. “There’s carryover for both teams; there’s carryover strategically; there’s carryover for the individual battles that guys are going to have that are still on the team. “I’m not going to try to downplay it, but I don’t want you to think it’s different either. It’s always this way. It’s not anxiety; the word we use is tension. There’s always tension because you want to go out and do well.” And there will be plenty more if the Ravens come out on the losing end again. From left, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, wide receiver Zay Flowers and tight end Isaiah Likely watch a preseason game against the Falcons. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) History, at least, is not on their side. Jackson has a career record of just 1-4 against Mahomes. That includes last season’s conference championship game, in which Jackson completed just 20 of 37 passes for 272 yards with one touchdown, a costly fourth-quarter interception and another turnover on a strip-sack. Mahomes, meanwhile, was mostly surgical, completing 30 of 39 passes for 241 yards and a touchdown with zero turnovers. The two quarterbacks will understandably be at the nexus of the rematch, though interestingly Jackson doesn’t have a relationship with or draw much from his counterpart, though there is mutual respect between the two. “I don’t think I have a relationship with any quarterback in the league,” Jackson said. “I don’t take anything from him, I just play my game. But he’s a great quarterback. I’m going to say that. He’s a great quarterback. He has the accolades to prove it.” Mahomes, meanwhile, understands Jackson’s desire to win. “More than athletic ability and the ability to throw is the way he competes,” Mahomes told reporters Sunday. “He’s a guy that competes every single week. You can tell he cares. You can tell he wants to go out there and win and he wants to put it on his shoulders to take his team to where they can win as many games as possible. “That’s truly what it takes to be a great quarterback in this league. It’s not always about talent.” On that front, the Ravens have their share. In addition to Jackson and Henry, there is second-year wide receiver Zay Flowers and the chemistry he has built with Jackson, the talented but enigmatic Rashod Bateman, a healthy Mark Andrews and burgeoning Isaiah Likely at tight end and, of course, a strong defense. Led by All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton, All-Pro inside linebacker Roquan Smith and Pro Bowl defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike, Baltimore was historically dominant last season, becoming the first team to lead the league in sacks, takeaways and points allowed per game. Yet, there has been plenty of turnover, on the roster and amid the coaching staff, with several departures that included, among others, Pro Bowl inside linebacker Patrick Queen, outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney and former defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, now the coach of the Seattle Seahawks. The cupboard isn’t bare, but questions abound. On offense, there are three new starters on the line and uncertainty about the depth at wide receiver. On defense, inside linebacker Trenton Simpson and first-year defensive coordinator Zach Orr are among those who are untested. The Chiefs figure to provide some of the answers as the Ravens’ most difficult test on a schedule full of championship contenders. One of the biggest concerns for Baltimore figures to be managing Kansas City’s blitz, which disrupted Jackson’s rhythm consistently the last time the teams played. “He’s unique in what he does,” Harbaugh said of Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. “[There are a] lot of things that he does, we do, [and] we do that he does, other teams do. And other things that are unique. It’s kind of the way it’s all put together, probably for any coach, when certain blitzes show up, or when coverages show up. He’ll keep it moving on you. He’ll keep you guessing for sure, and that’s one of the great strengths of what Steve does as a defensive play-caller.” But as Jackson said, there were “all types of things we could’ve done better in that game.” The first chance to atone for those myriad mistakes comes Thursday night in Arrowhead Stadium, where the Chiefs will also celebrate their latest Super Bowl victory. Though the Ravens hope to treat it like any other game and as the first in a series of important ones over the next few months, it will also be revealing — to them and the tens of millions of television viewers at home. “We’ve been talking about it all offseason that last year didn’t end how we want it to, but it gives us perspective on what we need to do to get back to what we did last year and win that game,” Hamilton said. “You can’t ignore the situation [of] who you’re playing against, and you have to respect them at the same time, but I feel like what keeps me playing at my best is going into it like it’s just another game — not getting too high, not getting too low, staying even-keeled and just going out there and playing my game. “Having such a big game like this — everybody is going to be watching — and us having the poise to go out there and hopefully get a win I think will propel us during the year, give us a sense of what we need to do to win a game, what our preparation looks like, what we did right, what we did wrong and from then on, just kind of hit the ground rolling.” View the full article Quote
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