Baltimore vs. Kansas City
Jackson Goes Head over Heels as Ravens Rally to top Defending AFC Champs
A full house of 70,417, the largest crowd at M&T Bank Stadium since 2019, weren’t the only ones flipping out down the stretch.
Lamar Jackson somersaulted across the goal line for the game-winning score as the Ravens quarterback bested Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in a battle of former MVPs in a 36-35 win.
“I’m speechless,” Ravens head coach John Harbaugh told reporters after the game. “I’m speechless, okay? First of all, all hats off to the Chiefs because that was a great football game against a great football team.”
Jackson rushed for more than 100 yards for the ninth time in his career, tying a record shared by Michael Vick for most by a quarterback, and had a hand in three touchdowns.
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Mahomes threw for 343 yards and three touchdowns, setting the stage for a dramatic finish. Completions to Byron Pringle and Travis Kelce moved the Chiefs well within Harrison Butker’s range for a potential go-ahead field goal. Rookie linebacker Odafe Oweh stripped running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire and recovered the fumble with 1:24 remaining in the game.
It appeared as if Mahomes would get one more opportunity after the Chiefs defense held firm to force a 4th-and-1 at the Ravens’ own 43. Head coach John Harbaugh rolled the dice, betting heavily on his offense.
“Do you want to go for it? I’m like, ‘Hell, yeah!’” quarterback Lamar Jackson described his discussion with coach Harbaugh on electing to stay on the field for that pivotal 4th down.
The pigskin never left the hands of its franchise dual-threat, as Jackson took the shotgun snap and weaved his way through traffic for a conversion to seal the W.
“Once I saw the play-call that we were putting the ball in Lamar’s hands, I had 100% confidence that we were going to convert,” wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown said.
Behind Jackson, the backfield of Ty’Son Williams, Devonta Freeman, and Latavius Murray helped combine for 251 yards rushing, the team’s 41st consecutive contest with at least 100 on the ground. It’s Jackson’s first victory over the Chiefs in four tries.
“It’s definitely a big confidence boost,” said cornerback Anthony Averett. “I know since I’ve been here, we haven’t beaten the Chiefs.”
GAME RECAP
It was about as disastrous of a start as possible for the Ravens. After receiving the opening kickoff, Lamar Jackson’s 3rd-and-8 throw to Sammy Watkins found Tyrann Mathieu instead, who returned it 34 yards for a pick six. The extra point made it 7-0 Kansas City.
The ground game took over on the following possession as runs by Latavius Murray, Ty’Son Williams, and Devonta Freeman moved the Ravens inside the red zone. The drive wrapped with a fortunate Baltimore bounce as Mike Hughes jarred the football loose from Williams inside the 1-yard-line but fell right into the hands of Devin Duvernay, who took it across the goal line for a touchdown to even the score.
Kansas City’s first stint on offense saw 2018 MVP Patrick Mahomes complete all five of his throws, including a 33-yard touchdown toss to Demarcus Robinson, who got behind Marlon Humphrey in coverage to make it a 14-7 ballgame.
A promising drive yielded nothing for the Ravens as Mathieu intercepted Jackson for a second time on a throw into triple coverage meant for Marquise Brown. The mistake wasn’t a costly one as an intentional ground on Mahomes resulted in an unusual 3rd-and-39 scenario to close the first quarter and an eventual Chiefs’ punt.
Both sides would exchange punts again before Murray capped a 72-yard drive with a 5-yard rushing score to tie it up at 14-14 with 3:21 remaining in the second quarter.
Four consecutive Mahomes’ completions quickly put KC in prime field position and a 2-yard rush by Darrel Williams put the Chiefs ahead by seven once again with under a minute until halftime.
Even with limited time, Jackson and company still manufactured a 7-play, 50-yard drive to set up Justin Tucker for a 43-yard field goal which cut the deficit to 21-17 at the intermission.
Both halves exchanged 40-plus yard touchdown tosses to open the second half. Mahomes connected with Byron Pringle, who broke a short route in the middle of the field down the sideline for a 40-yard touchdown reception to extend their advantage to 28-17. Jackson responded with a 42-yard strike to Hollywood Brown, who got behind the coverage for an easy score to make it a four point game again. Mahomes countered that with a 46-yarder to tight end Travis Kelce who broke multiple tackles and followed a convoy of blockers to the endzone to make it 35-24 with 6:50 to go in the third quarter.
Daniel Sorensen’s sack of Jackson forced the Ravens to punt on their ensuing possession, but rookie linebacker Odafe Oweh’s pursuit of Mahomes on the next drive resulted in an off-balance throw and a Tavon Young pick at the Ravens’ 44. Jackson opened the fourth quarter with a 2-yard rushing touchdown, which made it 35-30 after an unsuccessful two-point conversion attempt.
Baltimore regained possession after a Chiefs’ punt and began an eight-minute clock consuming drive which Jackson capped with a bootleg right and a flip across the goal line for a 2-yard rushing touchdown to give the Ravens their first lead of the evening. An unsuccessful two-point conversion attempt from Jackson to Brown kept the score at 36-35 with 3:14 remaining in regulation.
Kansas City marched toward field goal territory with completions to Pringle and Kelce, but Oweh made his second massive play on defense by stripping and recovering a fumble by Clyde Edwards-Helaire for a turnover. It would be the last time KC had possession as a gamble on 4th-and-1 at the Ravens’ 43 paid off with a 2-yard rush by Jackson into traffic for a conversion. One kneel down later and Baltimore secured the 36-35 victory.
UP NEXT
Baltimore (1-1) ventures north to the Motor City to take on Detroit (0-2). The Lions carried a 17-14 lead into halftime against the Packers on Monday Night Football before the duo of Aaron Rodgers and Aaron Jones, each of whom had a hand in four touchdowns, sparked a second half rally for a 35-17 Green Bay victory.