The Chiefs have a proven, winning formula. The Ravens are playing with their second-string QB. Still, though, I look for a close game.
WHAT: Week 14, Game 13 at Kansas City Chiefs
WHEN: 1 p.m. (ET); Sunday, December 9
WHERE: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City (76,416)
RECORDS: Ravens, 7-5; Chiefs, 10-2
LIFETIME SERIES (regular season): Chiefs lead, 4-3, having won the last meeting in 2015 after the teams traded three-game win streaks against each other; in Kansas City, the Ravens are unbeaten in two regular-season meetings and a 2010 wild-card game
TV: WJZ-TV, Channel 13 (Jim Nantz, Tony Romo, booth; Tracy Wolfson, sidelines)
RADIO: WIYY-FM, 97.9 (Gerry Sandusky, Dennis Pitta, booth; Justin Forsett, sidelines)
REFEREE: Tony Corrente
About the Chiefs
—The Chiefs began their existence as the Dallas Texans when the American Football League began operations in 1960. Three years later, owner Lamar Hunt (one of those primarily responsible for the invention of the Super Bowl) moved the team to Kansas City. The team won the 1962 AFL title as the Texans, then won the league again in 1966 and 1969 as the Chiefs. Those last two wins put the Chiefs into Super Bowl I (losing to Green Bay) and Super Bowl IV (beating Minnesota).
–In 58 complete seasons, the Chiefs have accumulated 20 playoff berths with ten division championships and ten wild-card spots. Under the present-day AFC West, the Chiefs have four division titles, including a title in each of the past two seasons. However, Kansas City has a lifetime postseason record of just 9-18 (.333), the second-worst win percentage in NFL history (only Cincinnati’s 5-14 (.263) ranks lower). The Chiefs have advanced to just one post-merger AFC Championship Game–losing to Buffalo after the 1993 season–in a game that put the Bills in their fourth straight Super Bowl.
–When the Baltimore Colts were part of the NFL, the team won just three of eight meetings with the Chiefs. That included Kansas City’s 44-24 win at Baltimore in 1970 in the second-ever “Monday Night Football” telecast.
–The Ravens and Chiefs have had a colorful, albeit short, history. The Chiefs were the Ravens’ first-ever Thursday-night opponent. They blasted the Ravens, 35-8, in 1998. Six years later, Kansas City won again in Baltimore. It was the Ravens’ only loss in a Ring of Honor induction game (Michael McCrary). The Ravens topped the Chiefs in a thrilling 2009 home opener; and, in 2015, Kansas City won a 34-14 game that featured the Ravens’ infamous mustard-yellow uniform pants.
–With one-quarter of the season remaining, the Chiefs still hold the top AFC playoff seed. The Ravens hold the sixth and last seed. Kansas City won its first five games this year, then fell to New England, before reeling off another four in a row preceding a history-making Monday-night loss at Los Angeles. Sunday’s game marks the start of a stretch that sees the Chiefs play three of their last four games at home.
–The Chiefs’ high-scoring offense has helped them outscore opponents in the first quarter, 109-49, and, again, in the third quarter, 113-74. Since the team hasn’t played many close games, their fourth-quarter deficit, 100-96, has not been very costly. Neither has their 39 touchdowns allowed. That’s because they’ve scored 56 TDs themselves. The Chiefs have won ten games when they’ve won the possession battle, but they’re 0-2 when opponents hold the ball more.
—The Chiefs sport a plus-6 turnover ratio, which is far superior to Baltimore’s minus-6 reading. But, still, they’ve only forced 20 takeaways, the second-fewest among the league’s top ten teams. The team has fumbled 12 times but has lost just four. Kansas City has had 19 dropped passes–the league’s fourth-highest total–but no individual player has had more than Tyreek Hill’s four drops.
—In an unusual stat for a team with such a gaudy record, the Chiefs have committed more penalties (108) for more yards (907) than any team in the league. The penalty total is eight more than second-place Buffalo. Other stats include 18 false starts (tied for the fourth-most), 16 defensive holds (tied with Cleveland for the most), and ten pass-interference calls (tied with San Francisco for second-most). Center Cameron Erving’s nine penalties are third-most in the league, and defensive backs Orlando Scandrick and Steven Nelson have had seven each.
—Head coach Andy Reid is the 13th head coach in franchise history. He is in his sixth year with the Chiefs and is in his 20th season as an NFL head coach. Reid is 64-33 with the Chiefs and has a career mark of 204-135-1 (includes the post-season). In his career as a head and assistant coach, Reid has coached in three Super Bowls and nine NFC Championship Games. He is also a three-time NFL Coach of the Year. Notable assistants include former Ravens’ linebackers coach Mike Smith, who now coaches the Chiefs’ outside linebackers, and defensive backs coach Emmitt Thomas, who was a Hall of Fame safety with the Chiefs in the 1960s.
—The Chiefs are ranked third in total offense (13th rushing, third passing, first scoring) at 37 points per game) and are fourth-best in the league on third-down conversions. They rank third-best in the Red Zone. The team’s 7.03 yards per play leads the league.
–Ribs, not defense, are a KC forte. Defensively, Kansas City is ranked 31st in total defense, including 22nd vs. rush and 32nd (and last) vs. the pass. The Chiefs allow 295 yards per game and are 27th in scoring. The Red-Zone defense is the league’s fourth-worst.
–Second-year quarterback Patrick Mahomes, a 2017 first-round pick from Texas Tech, is in his first year as the team’s starter. He got the job after the team traded Alex Smith to Washington. Mahomes leads the NFL with 41 touchdown passes. He is the third quarterback in NFL history (P. Manning and Brady are the other two) to have 40+ touchdown passes in the first 12 games of a season. Mahomes has seven games with four or more touchdown passes, which is two off Manning’s 2013 record. He has thrown just ten interceptions, been sacked 20 times, and is averaging 9.1 yards per attempt. He is playing to a gaudy 118.1 rating.
—The Chiefs lost a workhorse running back when they released Kareem Hunt earlier this week. Hunt had seven of the team’s 11 rushing touchdowns and had gained 824 yards while averaging 4.6 yards-per-carry. The team has auditioned backs to replace him, including former Chiefs’ starter Charcandrick West, who ran for a 38-yard touchdown against the Ravens in Baltimore three years ago. For now, Mahomes is the team’s leading rusher with a 4.7-yard average and two TDs. Fourth-year back Spencer Ware also has two scores.
—In the current era of stellar tight end play, the Chiefs’ Travis Kelce may be one of the best. Kelce has a team-high 79 receptions, is averaging nearly 14 yards per catch, and has nine of the team’s 41 receiving touchdowns. Overall, nine different Chiefs have caught touchdown passes. With 1082 yards, Kelce is only the second tight end in league history to have three straight 1000-yard seasons (Greg Olsen is the other). He is coming off a 12-catch, 168-yard, two-score game at Oakland.
-Tyreek Hill, an obscure 2016 fifth-round pick from West Alabama, leads the wideouts with 66 receptions. He has a 17-yard average and has scored 11 touchdowns. Much-traveled, veteran receiver Sammy Watkins has 40 receptions for a 13-yard average and three scores. Third-year Georgia product Chris Conley has gathered in 25 passes for a ten-yard average and five touchdowns,. Ware has chipped in with 15 catches.
—While not regarded as one of the league’s premier left tackles, Eric Fisher has been steady, if not spectacular. Fisher was the top overall draft pick in 2013–a year that saw five tackles and nine offensive linemen taken in the first round. Right tackle Mitchell Schwartz is in his third year with the team and has played every snap of his 96 career games with the Chiefs and Cleveland. The penalty-prone Erving is at left guard, while the right guard is a former Colt–Andrew Wylie. Center Mitch Morse is a 2015 second-round pick from Missouri.
—The Chiefs list Florida State-bred rookie Derrick Nnadi as their first-string nose tackle. They got him in the third round after trading two picks to Baltimore to move up 11 spots. He supplanted former starter Xavier Williams, who is still a reserve on the unit. Nnadi’s partners in the primary 3-4 alignment are ends Chris Jones (ten sacks) and Allen Bailey (6.5 sacks). Jones, a second-year player and a second-round pick from Mississippi State, has at least one sack in eight straight games. Bailey is a 2011 third-round pick and one of the team’s longest-tenured players.
—The Chiefs’ linebackers are an experienced group. The team’s leading tackler is an inside linebacker and Dallas free-agent pickup Anthony Hitchens, who has ten or more tackles in five of the Chiefs’ last seven games and has 96 total stops. He finished second in tackles for the Cowboys last year. Hitchens’ interior partner is Reggie Ragland (59 tackles), who is a Buffalo draft pick in is the second season with the Chiefs (after recovering from a torn knee ligament). On the outside are two SEC-bred standout pass rushers–Justin Houston (Georgia), who has four sacks, and Dee Ford (Auburn), who leads the team with 10.5 of the Chiefs’ 39 sacks. Ford leads the league with six forced fumbles.
—Kansas City has intercepted 11 passes with thefts coming from eight different players. Nelson, a starting corner (despite his penalty-prone ways), leads the team with three. Safety Ron Parker has a pair of pickoffs. Baltimore product Kendall Fuller (Good Counsel), who was acquired as part of the Alex Smith trade, is the other corner. Veteran safety and cancer survivor Eric Berry rounds out the secondary. Parker is second on the team with 64 combined tackles, while Fuller is close behind with 61. Nelson and reserve Eric Murray have 50 each.
—Besides being a dangerous offensive player, Tyreek Hill is also the team’s primary punt returner. He has 17 of the team’s 19 runbacks (only two fair catches) with an 11.6-yard average and a 91-yard touchdown to his credit. Tremon Smith, a sixth-round rookie cornerback, runs back kickoffs at a nearly 28-yard average. The Chiefs’ coverage team allows 21 yards-per-kick-return and a mere 2.2 yards on punt runbacks. They’ve forced nine fair catches.
–Former Georgia Tech and Carolina Panthers kicker, Harrison Butker, has missed four extra points this season, but he’s 19-for-20 on field goals and hasn’t missed a FG inside 49 yards. Thirteen-year vet, Dustin Colquitt, is the punter. He has put 16 of 34 punts inside the coffin corner and is netting nearly 42 yards per punt (with only four touchbacks). The Chiefs have blocked one opponents’ punt.
Prediction
The up-and-down Ravens tend to play their best against teams that are among the league’s elite. The Chiefs certainly qualify! And Baltimore has never lost at Arrowhead Stadium, to boot.
But, philosophically, the Ravens are in a state of transition. The Chiefs, on the other hand, have a proven and devastating formula. Patrick Mahomes has blossomed much more quickly than has Lamar Jackson, and Mahomes would probably outduel Joe Flacco if he were to play in this game.
Still, though, I think this should be one of the season’s most entertaining games. I’ll take KC in a close one.
Chiefs 24, Ravens 23
