Chiefs secure playoff spot. Ravens fall to 7-6 in a crowded wild-card race.
It was a pivotal game at a pivotal time of year. The Ravens needed to bring everything and everyone to the table.
But it wasn’t enough this Sunday as Baltimore’s three-game winning streak ended with an excruciating 27-24 overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in front of 74,336 fans at chilly Arrowhead Stadium.
Not even the rumored insertion of healthy-again quarterback Joe Flacco could stop Baltimore from falling to 7-6. The rumors about Flacco were just that–talk. Still bothered by a hip injury, Flacco was declared inactive just before the game and, with that call, he missed his fourth straight contest. Otherwise, Flacco would have been an active non-starter for the first time in his 11-year career.
In the end, the Ravens lost at Arrowhead for the first time and the team is now in danger of dropping out of the AFC’s final playoff spot (depending on other results) with three games remaining.
On the other side of the field from Flacco stood Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes. He ended the day 35-53 for 377 yards, two touchdowns, an interception, three sacks, and a 91.5 rating. His biggest play of the game came late in the final stanza. He converted a fourth-and-9 play to Tyreek Hill and, then, found Damien Williams with 53 seconds left to send the game to OT.
Even Harrison Butker’s miss of a game-winning field goal couldn’t keep KC from celebrating at the end. Redemption came when he snuck the ball inside the left upright on a 35-yard attempt with 4:46 left in OT. The Ravens couldn’t get past the Chiefs’ 45, and the game ended right there.
It was a frustrating end to a game that the Ravens knew would be a tough win. And, now, they must look ahead. Next week the Ravens play the fourth (and last) of their interconference games against the NFC South Division, entertaining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at M&T Bank Stadium (Sunday, December 16, 1 p.m.; WBFF-TV; WIYY-FM).
But the Chiefs dealt the Ravens a fourth AFC loss, which temporarily equals the Ravens with the Dolphins. That was possible because Miami pulled out a win over New England, scoring miraculously on the last play of the game.
On the other hand, the Ravens’ loss to KC clinched a playoff berth for the Chiefs. It also denied the Ravens of their first four-game win streak since 2013.
Keeping up with Mahomes and the Chiefs’ top-ranked scoring offense was the Ravens’ priority. Baltimore had hope, though, coming into the game having scored in a franchise-record 18 straight quarters. Rookie first-round pick Lamar Jackson was largely responsible for that run. And the offensive line got a boost with the return of left guard James Hurst, who had missed six weeks with a back ailment.
But the streak ended in the first quarter on Sunday. Jackson (13-for-24, 147 yards, two touchdowns, three sacks, 100.5 rating; 71 yards, 13 carries) played well enough before leaving the game late with what appeared to be a leg injury. Jackson said after the game that he felt “fine.”
The Chiefs asserted themselves early using the talents of pass-catching tight end Travis Kelce, who had four early catches–all for first downs.
Even without receivers Sammy Watkins and the newly-signed Kelvin Benjamin, the Chiefs used plenty of pre-snap motion and elusive running to break tackles and keep the Ravens off-balance.
With the game still in its early stages, the Ravens’ Jackson, Gus Edwards (67 yards, 16 carries) and Kenneth Dixon (59 yards, eight carries, one touchdown) kept the ball on the ground. Dixon capped it off against the Chiefs’ porous run defense by running through a Marshal Yanda hole and breaking a tackle to get the tying score as the second quarter began.
But even though the Ravens could run the ball well, the Chiefs showed more variety. Marlon Humphrey’s helmet-hit penalty helped pushed another drive into Baltimore territory. Butker then missed a 51-yard field goal try.
Baltimore took advantage of Butker’s miss and got a Justin Tucker 28-yard kick to take the lead. The Chiefs answered quickly by driving 75 yards in nine plays. Mahomes executed a third-and-19 pass completion to Hill (139 yards, eight catches) and then found Kelce for 15 yards and a touchdown.
On this day, Kelce did something others have done–damage the Ravens over the middle of the field. It was the sixth time in the last seven games Baltimore had allowed a tight end to score. But in doing what he did, Kelce did something no other NFL TE has ever done–have 80 catches and gain 1000 yards for a third straight season.
But what makes receivers like Kelce (77 yards, seven catches, touchdown) is a fearless quarterback like Mahomes. The rookie used different throws–some of them sidearm–to keep plays alive and avoid the Ravens’ pass rush.
The Chiefs’ offense got the ball back early in the third quarter when Gus Edwards’ fourth-down run was stopped at the Kansas City 39. But Mahomes, as he often does, threw into coverage. Chuck Clark came up with the Ravens’ first interception in seven weeks (the team’s sixth of the year).
The Ravens came into the game needing to play a ball-control game. But the Chiefs were more effective at that game (no drive was shorter than eight plays). However, the Ravens began to wear down the Chiefs by driving 73 yards on 14 plays, including a fourth-and-2 conversion. On that play, Jackson threw to Maxx Williams, who had lined up in the backfield, to secure a ten-yard touchdown to tie the game at 17.
The drive took just over seven minutes and the Ravens knew what they needed to do–make a defensive stop to turn momentum completely in their favor. Even though the Chiefs again got into the Ravens’ half of the field, a CJ Mosley sack of Mahomes stopped the drive.
All game long, Don Martindale’s-coordinated blitzes kept Mahomes slightly off his game. He was hit 15 times, a season high. But it took Cyrus Jones’ 55-yard punt return and Jackson’s subsequent touchdown pass to John Brown to put the Ravens in front. Mahomes and his teammates’ heroics followed.
At day’s end, KC showed that depth and variety can be pivotal in a pivotal game.
