How do the Ravens, John Harbaugh and Lamar Jackson in Week 1 stack up against the Chiefs, Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes?
The NFL announced on Monday, May 13 that the Baltimore Ravens will head to Kansas City for the 2024 NFL season opener on Thursday, September 5. The Week 1 match is the highly anticipated rematch of the 2023 AFC Championship Game.
Both teams have been lauded for their head coaches preparedness for the season. Both Kansas City Chiefs’ Andy Reid and Baltimore Ravens’ John Harbaugh tend to start off in the win column by Week 1’s end. The same goes for their quarterbacks, Patrick Mahomes II and Lamar Jackson. So, what do the numbers say? Who might have the historical edge?
Win/Loss
In the Reid Era, the Chiefs have gone 9-2 since 2013. With Mahomes as the starting quarterback, they’ve gone 5-1, with their most recent loss coming in 2023 against the Detroit Lions.
The Harbaugh Era Ravens are 12-4 since 2008. With Jackson as the starting quarterback, they’ve gone 4-1 since 2019. Their only loss in that time was against the Las Vegas Raiders in 2021.
Team Performance
Both teams have done admirably in Week 1 when it comes to putting points on the board. Expect fireworks in Week 1 as both teams in their respective starting quarterbacks era’s have put up more than 30 points per game.
Mahomes era Chiefs: 34.8 PPG
Jackson era Ravens: 34.6 PPG
Even without their prolific starters, both offenses tended to rattle off touchdowns in Week 1.
Reid era Chiefs: 31.7 PPG
Harbaugh era Ravens: 28.3 PPG
Defensively, however, it’s a different tale. The Chiefs defense hasn’t allowed fewer than 20 points in the last 10 years. Meanwhile, the Ravens have allowed more than 10 points only once since 2016 (Raiders; 2021).
Reid era Chiefs: 22.5 Points Allowed Per Game
Mahomes era Chiefs: 24.2 Points Allowed Per Game
Harbaugh era Ravens: 14.4 Points Allowed Per Game
Jackson Era Ravens: 13.4 Points Allowed Per Game
In fact, the Chiefs, under Reid, have allowed 247 points since 2013. The Harbaugh-led Ravens have allowed 16 fewer points (231) points since 2008.
The Quarterbacks
Of course, the most important factor in these games will come down to the gunslingers. Both have consistently perforated defenses to open the season, ultimately leading to their consideration of individual accolades by season’s end.
Averages
Mahomes: 6 games | 69.2 Comp% | 294.7 yards | 3.3 TDs | 0.2 INTs | 0.7 sacks
Jackson: 5 games | 70.9 Comp% | 243.2 yards | 2.4 TDs | 0.4 INTs | 2.4 sacks
Mahomes outpaces just about everybody when it comes to passing stats. And, Jackson not being the high-volume passer means he’ll be behind in these categories. After checking out these stats it really just like, “yeah, that looks about right,” between these two.
But what about rushing stats? Surely Jackson makes up for it on the ground? Not exactly.
Averages
Mahomes: 15.2 yards | 1 Rush TD | 1 Fumble
Jackson: 37.8 yards | 0 Rush TD | 1.2 Fumbles
Week 1 has never been a significant showcase of Jackson’s rushing ability. It’s where Jackson made fun of the running back commentary in his first start of 2019, throwing for five touchdowns on the Miami Dolphins and said afterward, “not bad for a running back.”
Overall, the Chiefs have the edge in most categories. They score more, put up more yards and Mahomes is more protective of the football than Jackson. But defensively, the Ravens are the better team. They seldom allow more than a touchdown from their opponent. However, that opponent usually isn’t Mahomes and a mad-scientist Reid in his mad scientist laboratory for an entire offseason.