Thin roster responds, beats KC 36-35, to go 1-1. Lions next.
Sunday, September 19, 2021, M&T BANK STADIUM, BALTIMORE – Every football game is different, with its tempo, its characteristics, and its signature moments. But even while giving credit to established favorites, some games must be analyzed by looking more closely at the deficiencies of teams perceived as underdogs.
On Sunday night, the Baltimore Ravens’ rash of injuries and a lack of depth came to the fore as they went up against a fully healthy, fully-loaded group of Kansas City Chiefs, The two-time defending AFC champions appeared to take complete advantage of the Ravens’ problems. Early at least…. In the end, Baltimore’s blue-collar, ground-oriented effort paid off handsomely before 70,417 fans.
Just as the Ravens’ defense seemed to tire late in last week’s opener at Las Vegas, Kansas City seemed worn down by the Ravens’ 14-play, 68-yard, eight-minute drive in the final quarter, culminated by Lamar Jackson’s one-yard touchdown run into the west end zone with 3:14 to go. But Kansas City superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes quickly drove the Chiefs to the Ravens’ 32 before running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire had the ball knocked loose by speedy rookie outside linebacker Odafe Oweh, who then fell on the ball.
The Chiefs still had three timeouts remaining–and they used them–as Baltimore faced fourth-and-1 inside their territory. But the gutsy Ravens went for it and converted when Jackson ran for two yards over the middle, icing the game.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, who used to have current Ravens head coach John Harbaugh on his staff in Philadelphia, was denied in his bid to become the first in league history to have 100 wins with two different franchises. For the Ravens’ part, they continued their sterling record under Harbaugh after a loss, rising that mark to 48-27–the league’s fourth-best since the Ravens’ head coach assumed his current position in 2008. The Ravens also managed to do it against the perceived AFC favorite.
Those records are nice, but what really matters is that Baltimore now possesses a critical head-to-head tiebreaker advantage over Kansas City–a team that Jackson has called his own team’s “kryptonite.”
In the distant past, the Colts were held back by the Green Bay Packers in the 1960s and the Miami Dolphins and Pittsburgh Steelers in the 70s. These days, the Chiefs serve as the Ravens’ most significant barrier, having beaten the Ravens in each of their last four meetings, winning on five of six lifetime trips to Charm City (including three prime-time games).
Making matters worse, this time a major factor was the injury list. The Ravens have 15 players on various injured-reserve lists, with ten of those players out for the season. By contrast, the Chiefs have just one player on season-ending IR. The running back position has been hard hit, and a deep and talented secondary has been dented. Veteran cornerback Jimmy Smith missed the opener at Las Vegas, and 6-foot-4 reserve Chris Westry (knee) tore a meniscus in Thursday’s practice. Smith was also inactive Sunday night.
Last week, backup Anthony Averett and undersized slot man Tavon Young, a talented player who has still missed most of the last two seasons with injuries, were picked on relentlessly by Raiders’ quarterback Derek Carr, and things looked to be no different against Mahomes.
After one quarter, Mahomes had a perfect passer rating and seemed to guide his team down the field against the Ravens easily. Newly healthy safety Tyrann Mathieu came up big, too, making two interceptions, running back the first one for a pick-six and the game’s first score.
And, for a second straight year, All-Pro left tackle Ronnie Stanley (ankle) has had to miss time, sitting out this game and possibly several others. To adjust, beleaguered correct tackle Alejandro Villanueva – beaten badly on many edge rushes in Las Vegas in his Baltimore debut – moved back to the left tackle spot he played more often as a Pittsburgh Steeler last year. Ben Powers and Ben Cleveland split left-guard duties, with Patrick Mekari manning the right tackle spot.
But the Ravens overcame all of those issues, and Sunday night’s outcome was a far cry from the poor effort in Las Vegas. The Ravens ran for 251 yards and allowed only one sack as they racked up nearly 36 minutes of possession time. It was Baltimore’s 41st straight game rushing for more than 100 yards–two shy of the NFL record set by Pittsburgh between 1974-77.
For his part, Jackson ran for 107 yards for 16 carries and two scores. The effort was his NFL-record fourth career game with 200 passing yards and 100 rushing yards. He also tied Michael Vick with his 11th career 100-yard rushing game, the most by a quarterback.
Two things helped the Ravens on this night–their newfound tendency to run outside to combat a stacked Chiefs defensive box and their defensive willingness to forgo their trademark blitz.
But, of course, it wouldn’t be easy. Mahomes’ seemingly bottomless pit of weapons reared its head when Darryl Williams’ two-yard touchdown followed catches by backup tight end Blake Bell and reserve Gerald McKinnon.
When Byron Pringle made a 40-yard catch-and-run score, and tight end Travis Kelce had a similar-looking 46-yard touchdown, the Chiefs looked like they had breathing room at 35-24 in the third quarter.
But big plays were still there to be made, including Oweh’s strip and recovery, as well as Young’s earlier interception of Mahomes. Combine that with Jackson’s two rushing scores behind a tattered-yet-inspired offensive line, and the Ravens finally had a recipe for their first win over the Chiefs in the team’s last five meetings. All of that was despite Mahomes having a Mahomes-like night with 24- 31 in the passing department for 343 yards and three touchdowns.
Now, these Ravens travel north to Detroit for their first Sunday afternoon game of the season (September 26, 1 p.m., locally WJZ-TV, Channel 13; WIYY-FM). It will be Baltimore’s sixth meeting with Detroit, the fewest number of lifetime meetings with any team in the league.
For sure, these Ravens still have plenty of work to do. But with a fabulous, albeit unexpected, win against what many believe to be the league’s best squad, Baltimore is back in the hunt.
