ExtremeRavens Posted September 6 Posted September 6 KANSAS CITY, Mo. — New season, more drama, same outcome. The Chiefs began Thursday night by unfurling another Super Bowl championship banner — their third in five years — in front of a raucous crowd at Arrowhead Stadium and ended it with a 27-20 victory over the Ravens in a rematch of last season’s AFC championship game. And just like when the teams last met at M&T Bank Stadium in January, Baltimore hung around until the end, with another call in the end zone that didn’t go their way and more silly and self-inflicted wounds that proved too much to overcome against the two-time defending champions. Still, the Ravens had their chances — until they ran out of them. In the first showdown of players who have each won at least two NFL Most Valuable Player Awards to kick off a season, quarterback Lamar Jackson, incredibly, kept Baltimore within reach until the game’s final play. With the clock expiring and the Ravens needing a touchdown from 10 yards out, he found Isaiah Likely in the back of the end zone for leaping grab between two defenders. Although it was initially ruled a catch, the celebration was short-lived after the call was overturned by replay, which showed the tight end’s toe ever so slightly out of bounds. “I thought it was a touchdown,” Jackson said. “Still think it was a touchdown. … I stand on that.” Instead, it was the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes who were the ones who standing victorious again. For the fifth time in six meetings between the two quarterbacks, Kansas City came out on top. And it felt like deja vu, with the Ravens’ own mistakes putting them in a hole from which they could not escape. Baltimore committed seven penalties, four of which were on a revamped and inexperienced offensive line for illegal formation for lining up in the backfield, a point of emphasis for officials this season after Chiefs tackle Jawaan Taylor was often criticized for doing so last season but not flagged for it. Three of Thursday night’s calls were against Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley, who was critical of the officiating afterward. “I really feel like they were just trying to make an example and they chose me to be the one to do that,” he said. “As far as I saw, they weren’t doing it on both sides of the ball and I know that I was lined up in good position the majority of those calls they made.” Jackson said the penalties were “very frustrating,” while Ravens coach John Harbaugh was likewise unhappy with how the illegal formation penalties were officiated. “They put a thing out that they said they were going to call that differently,” he said. “ [Not] understanding how differently, we were the first offensive series of the season with that, and I think they saw probably everybody watching it. It’ll be interesting to see if they call it the same way the whole season.” Stanley, a nine-year veteran, added there was “plenty of dialogue” with officials during the game. “They just kept saying, ‘You need to move up.’ And I’m like, ‘How much more do I need to move up?’” he said. “It’s not my first year playing in this league. I know where to line up and I was lining up a lot ahead of of where I usually do. I know my helmet was breaking the center’s butt. … It’s their call to make, but like I said, I think they were trying to make an example out of me. “It definitely hindered us as an offense. There’s a lot of big plays that were made that we had to come back and we were able to overcome a lot of those things.” Ravens vs. Chiefs, September 5, 2024 | PHOTOS Those were hardly the only penalties that set them back, however. Inside linebacker Roquan Smith was flagged for a horse-collar tackle on the Chiefs’ opening possession, helping set up a 21-yard touchdown run by speedy rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy on an end-around to even the score at 7 after Derrick Henry (13 carries, 46 yards) gave Baltimore the early lead with a 5-yard touchdown run. Then in the second quarter, Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman was hit with an offensive pass interference call for blocking downfield before Zay Flowers caught a short pass, wiping out a 4-yard gain and eventually leading to a punt three plays later. On their next possession, a delay of game pushed the Ravens back 5 yards and Justin Tucker eventually missed a 53-yard field goal attempt. “A lot of the things that happened were self-inflicted,” Smith said. “They made us pay for it, and hey, it’s a game of inches.” And for the Ravens, a game of costly miscues — again. That included in the third quarter, when defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike was flagged for roughing after a hit on Mahomes. Instead of facing third-and-20 from Baltimore’s 28-yard-line, the foul gave Kansas City a first down on the 14. Two plays later, Isiah Pacheco bullied his way into the end zone from a yard out to give the Chiefs a 20-10 lead. Other mistakes by Baltimore included mismanaging the clock at the end of the first half by burning 20 seconds with all three timeouts in hand before settling for a 25-yard field goal by Tucker, as well as using two timeouts by midway through the third quarter. “We just had some issues with the substitutions back and forth,” Harbaugh said. “They were running different groups on the field and stuff like that. We did have some communication problems.” In between, the Ravens’ defense and first-year coordinator Zach Orr had their own problems, with few answers for the Chiefs’ speedy and potent offense. Mahomes, who was the league’s MVP in 2018 and 2022, completed 20 of 28 passes for 291 yards and a touchdown, while wide receiver Rashee Rice had seven catches for 103 yards and Worthy had two catches for 47 yards, including what ended up being the deciding score when he got loose behind cornerback Marlon Humphrey on a busted coverage for an easy 35-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter that put the Chiefs up 27-17. Most devastating was Mahomes’ play against the Ravens’ single-high coverage. He finished 12 of 14 for 151 yards for a plus-13.8% completion percentage over expected, per Next Gen Stats, for his highest mark against the formation since Week 17 of the 2021 season. Still, Jackson kept pulling the Ravens back from the abyss. The reigning NFL MVP completed 26 of 41 passes for 273 yards, including a 49-yard touchdown to Likely in the third quarter. He also rushed for 122 yards on 16 carries to lead Baltimore’s rushing attack. When the Ravens finally did stop Mahomes, forcing a Kansas City punt with 1:55 remaining, they got the ball back at their own 13-yard line with no timeouts. Jackson drove Baltimore to the Chiefs’ 10, highlighted by Bateman’s leaping 38-yard grab that helped set up the game’s final play. “Our offense battled, and we battled through the third and fourth quarter,” Jackson said. “Unfortunately, these ugly games, we have to overcome them.” Home opener Raiders at Ravens Sunday, Sept. 15, 1 p.m. TV: CBS Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM Line: Ravens by 7 1/2 Chiefs safety Chamarri Conner, right, reacts to a missed field goal attempt by Ravens kicker Justin Tucker in the first half Thursday night. (Charlie Riedel/AP) View the full article Quote
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