Chiefs ride 2nd-quarter burst to 33-28 win, drop Ravens to 2-1.
Sunday, September 22, 2019, Kansas City, MO: In thoroughbred racing, there’s a well-known saying to express when a good horse takes on better competition. It’s “stepping up in class.” And that’s what happened in the NFL at Arrowhead on Sunday afternoon.
It wasn’t enough that Baltimore had won its first two games by a combined margin of 82-27. That’s because they had played against two of the NFL’s worst teams. On Sunday, they ran up against one of the best–the unbeaten, defending AFC runners-up, Kansas City Chiefs–a team that has one of the most high-powered offenses in recent NFL history.
The Chiefs won last year’s meeting in overtime, staving off one of the most physical defenses they would face on their way to the AFC Championship Game. This year’s Ravens feature an offense that is much better and more flexible than last year’s. That was supposed to make this year’s meeting even more compelling than last year’s nail-biter.
It just didn’t turn out that way. Yes, it was close–33-28–but a Chiefs’ loss was likely never in doubt for the 73,390 fans who packed an occasionally-rainy Arrowhead Stadium.
The game marked an NFL-record 26th straight game in which the Chiefs had scored 24 or more points. And it’s likely the reason why the Ravens were ultra-aggressive from the start, going for several fourth-down plays in their own territory and missing on a pair of two-point conversions.
But nothing ventured, nothing gained. “I thought our guys fought like crazy,” head coach John Harbaugh said. “If we get a little bit better, we’ll win games like this.”
As a result, Baltimore (2-1) fell to 20-30 in one-score games since the start of the 2013 season. That storyline has a bitter signature. Losing close games has helped keep the Ravens out of the playoffs in four of the last six seasons.
The Ravens’ unique schedule (one that sees them alternate road and home games all the way through the season) continues next week with a home game against division rival Cleveland Browns (Sunday, Sept. 29, 1 p.m.; WJZ-TV, WIYY-FM).
Yes, that’s a critical game, but for a different reason. On this day in KC, another question was at the fore: Where do the Ravens stand as far as the entire AFC is concerned? A win would have given a significant head-to-head conference tiebreaker advantage to either team. For the Ravens, it would also give them a 3-0 start for only the fourth time in team history (2006, 2009, 2016).
With that at stake, it was clear from the start that the Ravens were unafraid to throw everything they had at the Chiefs. But while bodies were willing, the execution was weak.
Ravens’ quarterback Lamar Jackson didn’t play his best game. Even though Jackson came into the game with an NFL-best 145.2 passer rating, those numbers will fall markedly after a 22-for-43, 267-yard performance with three sacks (70.6 rating). He seemed confused by the Chiefs’ improved secondary–one that’s overseen by ex-Ravens assistant Steve Spagnuolo. After the game, Jackson cited the Chiefs’ cover-2 looks with rolling coverages to either side as what flummoxed him.
“It’s still with me right now,” Jackson said late last week. “It doesn’t go away until I get that opportunity again and perform very well…. I hate losing.”
Harbaugh agreed. “[Competitiveness is] in his DNA,” he said. “It’s who he is. He doesn’t really dwell on the positives too much. He dwells on the areas of improvement, and we appreciate that.”
The Ravens stayed in the game with their legs. Mark Ingram (103 yards, 16 carries) paced a 203-yard rushing attack. Ingram tied a Ravens’ team record with three rushing touchdowns.
As for a Raven defense that had allowed 41 rushing yards (the fewest through two weeks for any team since 1950), they would be challenged through the air by Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the reigning league Most Valuable Player. And Damien Williams (62 yards) and LeSean McCoy (54) did just enough by way of bruising runs and screen passes to keep the Ravens’ pass rush from bothering Mahomes.
The Ravens hit Mahomes 15 times in last year’s meeting–the most he had been hit in any 2018 game. But this time, they reached him only once as he completed 27 of 37 passes for 374 yards and three touchdowns, playing to a 132 rating.
Ravens’ linebacker Matt Judon got that sack on the game’s first drive, but he would also be flagged for a questionable horse-collar and a hands-to-the-face penalty, which kept Chiefs’ drives alive. A pass-interference flag on Tony Jefferson nullified a Brandon Carr interception, and a dubious holding call on Willie Snead wiped out a big Gus Edwards run. On top of that, an offensive pass interference flag on Miles Boykin was costly. Boykin didn’t catch a pass until late in the first half, and four early shots to Marquise Brown (nine targets, 49 yards, two catches) fell incomplete.
Tight ends Nick Boyle, and Mark Andrews combined for seven catches for 73 yards, but the entire Ravens’ wideout corps caught just seven of Jackson’s 22 completions.
On the other side of the field, Kansas City’s tight end, Travis Kelce, gathered in seven catches for 89 yards to loosen up a battered Ravens’ secondary–a secondary that had to do without top corner Marlon Humphrey, who slightly injured his leg late in the first half before returning.
But it was speedy rookie Mecole Hardman who did a lot of damage, especially during a 23-point second-quarter blitz that mirrored the Chiefs’ 28-point run in the second quarter last week at Oakland. Hardman highlighted the spurt by taking a short pass, splitting Earl Thomas and Anthony Averett, and then romping the rest of the way for an 83-yard touchdown.
After the Ravens had failed on a fourth-down play in their own end of the field, DeMarcus Robinson–who had scored twice against the Raiders–got behind coverage and made a leaping, one-handed catch for another score.
The Ravens returned to their usual no-frills, ground-based approach in the second half, and it very nearly got them back in the game. But the Chiefs had enough of a working margin to hang on for the win.
KC also got out the whip and taught the Ravens a lesson. This is what can happen when you step up in class.
