Ravens vs. Chiefs final: 7 Winners and 4 Losers

The Baltimore Ravens start 0-1 after a heartbreaking (but accurate) touchdown reversal.

The Baltimore Ravens will fly home from Kansas City with an 0-1 record after their incredible comeback bid falls a half-inch short. Below are the winners and losers from tonight’s game.

Winners

QB Lamar Jackson
Passing: 26/41, 273 yards, 1 TD, 90.8 QBRating
Rushing: 167 rush, 122 yards

Jackson was not perfect. He missed throws he should’ve hit. He missed a wide-open Zay Flowers in the end zone one play before the reversed touchdown to Isaiah Likely with the clock expired. But he put on the cape tonight. The Chiefs’ rushers got after him and rarely could he throw from a clean pocket.

But instead of crumbling under the pressure, the strip-sack in the first half or the 2-minute deficit, Jackson answered. He played hero ball and all but willed a victory. The takes will commence. The criticism, the punditry, but Jackson went into KC and lost by the smallest of margins.

TE Isaiah Likely
Receiving: 12 targets, nine receptions, 111 yards, 1 TD

The reversed touchdown will be a brutal core memory for Likely and the Ravens all season, but what he did tonight was something special. Likely led the Ravens in targets, receptions and receiving yards, including his 49-yard touchdown.

Along with Likely’s receiving ability, he also showed significant improvement, including tossing 6-foot-4, 260-pound defensive end George Karlaftis.

Tonight, the Ravens showed they have two star tight ends. Now, the Ravens must get both involved.

Derrick Henry
Rushing: 13 carries, 46 yards, 1 TD

The first drive of the game showed what Henry can be for the Ravens as he helped lead them downfield and into the end zone on the first drive. And though the Chiefs defense bottled him up afterward, accounting for him let others run wild. Much more will come from Henry this season as the offensive coordinator Todd Monken finds ways to scheme him up and the offensive line starts opening lanes for the King.

RB Justice Hill
Receiving: Eight targets, six receptions, 52 yards

With the pass rush bearing down on Jackson, he needed a frequent outlet target and Hill provided it in spades.

He also fought tooth and nail against Chiefs defensive end Chris Jones one-on-one with the game on the line and won.

WR Rashod Bateman
Receiving: 5 targets, 2 receptions, 53 yards

Maybe the most clutch catch of the game came from a fingertip grab by Bateman along the sideline.

Bateman had numerous plays where he generated separation but wasn’t targeted. He is stepping up and the Ravens—and Jackson—need to get him the ball more frequently. However, that’s easier said than done when the pressure is after Jackson so quickly.

OLB David Ojabo
Defense: 1 sack

More will be necessary from Ojabo. You can’t be satisfied with one big play — one sack. But for Week 1, taking in the context of how much adversity Ojabo’s had to deal with, this was a big-time moment for him and an excellent play on a night where Mahomes sidestepped just about everybody else on the defense.

DB Ar’Darius Washington
Defense: 1 pass breakup

The Ravens could’ve been buried before they got much going. Instead, defensive backs made key plays to keep the Chiefs out of the end zone. Safety Marcus Williams broke up a ball at the goal line and so did Washington, who nearly got the interception.

Losers

Offensive Line

The biggest concern entering tonight’s game came to fruition. The offensive line, with three new additions — including a rotation at right tackle — couldn’t handle the Chiefs front. At times, Chiefs’ Jones was cherry-picking which player he wanted to go up against, moving other defenders out of their assigned gap to instead line up in their spot to make a play. This resulted in Jackson scrambling on nearly 20% of his dropbacks. And though his scrambling produced high results, it’s hard to imagine Jackson surviving 17 games at this rate.

Self-Inflicted Wounds

The Ravens burned two timeouts in the third quarter due to miscommunications and confusion. Confusion on the back-end of the defense resulted in a Xavier Worthy coverage-bust touchdown. All things you cannot do against the Chiefs.

Defensive Matchups

The Chiefs found ways to exploit the Ravens’ defense by targeting their linebackers in a way that put wide receiver Rashee Rice as their assignment and it hurt them. In the first half, Roquan Smith was incapable of sticking with Rice. In the second half, linebacker Malik Harrison was matched up against Rice on multiple targets. This was about as tough of a test Defensive Coordinator Zach Orr could have, and though the Ravens did admirably, it wasn’t enough to take down the reigning, defending champions.

NFL “DYNAMIC” Kickoff

The Chiefs kicked off six times and not a single one was returnable. Teams are not going to give their opponents a chance for a long return. They’ll take the five extra yards and be on their way.

Officiating

What in the hell was that?