The NFL season is underway and Game 1 of 272 was an absolute thriller. The Kansas City Chiefs walked away with a 27-20 victory after Isaiah Likely’s toe went out of bounds in the back of the end zone on a pass from Lamar Jackson on the final play of the game.
It was a rough end to a great night for Likely, who caught a career-high nine passes for 111 yards and a touchdown. Jackson also had a great night with 122 yards on the ground and a 26/41 night through the air with that touchdown pass to Likely in the fourth quarter.
Patrick Mahomes threw a pass for 291 yards and a touchdown – the TD pass went to rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy, who also ran for a touchdown in his NFL debut.
The start of the game was delayed by 20 minutes shortly before the scheduled kickoff at 8:20 p.m. ET due to inclement weather in Kansas City.
Both teams can now get some rest heading into week two, with Kansas City hosting the Bengals and the Ravens returning to Baltimore for their first home game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
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Lamar Jackson and Isaiah Likely almost manage a touchdown pass in a thrilling finish
It couldn’t have been closer. On the last play of the game, the Ravens were just inches away from tying the game or winning with a 2-point conversion. Isaiah Likely caught the ball in the end zone, but his toe touched the chalk, making the pass incomplete.
The Ravens have a chance to tie, but Isaiah Likley is out.
After a great pass from Jackson to Bateman that puts Baltimore in the red zone, the Ravens are down 10 with 10 seconds left in regulation time.
Time out 1:11 before the end for Leo Chenal
The Chiefs linebacker has to leave after the injury timeout, which stops the clock. The Ravens have no more timeouts.
Isaiah Probably over 100 meters
With two catches on the final drive and both out of bounds, Likely has over 100 yards for the night as Baltimore tries to tie or take a late lead.
Mahomes catches his own pass to avoid a late third down interception
Mahomes avoided disaster by catching his own deflected pass, preventing an incomplete pass and, more importantly, an interception, allowing the Chiefs to hold on to the game until the 2-minute warning.
Pacheco’s strong evening continues
The Chiefs’ fierce running back picked up a crucial first down to bring the clock under three minutes, overrunning defenders to fight to the marker and putting KC just one first down away from winning the game.
Ravens score 3 points and reduce the score to one point
Justin Tucker gets on the scoreboard again with 4:54 left and the Chiefs lead is cut to 27-20. Baltimore has more points than Kansas City, but some foul penalties have stalled some offensive plays, leading to three field goal attempts by Tucker. The only turnover was a great individual effort on a strip sack by Chris Jones, but the game felt like Baltimore had to play catch-up the entire second half, even though the Chiefs don’t have much of an advantage statistically.
Baltimore can continue to run the ball well
Lamar Jackson is over 100 yards rushing – a mark he reached only once last year – but he is the NFL leader in 100-yard rushing games by quarterbacks. The Ravens are averaging 6.1 yards per run but are 10 yards behind as they approach the red zone midway through the 4th quarter.
Mahomes finds Worthy and brings Kansas City back to 10 points
After gaining a big 1st down on a key 3rd down situation, Mahomes found a completely free Xavier Worthy charging down the right sideline for a 35-yard touchdown. The first touchdown pass of the season for Mahomes and the second touchdown of the day for Worthy, who is making a great NFL debut.
Rice looks like a No. 1 receiver
Rashee Rice rushed for over 100 yards in the season opener. He only managed two 100-yard games in his first season and seemed like a top option for Patrick Mahomes against one of the best defenses in the NFL.
Baltimore scores with 49-yard pass from Jackson for Likely TD
Lamar Jackson’s magic was on full display here. The reigning league MVP got the Ravens back in the game by escaping pressure and getting the ball to his surging No. 2 tight end, who rappelled down the sideline to cut Kansas City’s lead to 20-17.
Lamar Jackson plays with his legs and gets a big 1st down
On a difficult third down, Jackson brought Baltimore into KC territory with a 16-yard run. He’s already gained 79 yards and the third quarter isn’t even over yet. Jackson followed with another long run that was called back by a hold from center Tyler Linderbaum.
The Chiefs’ signing of Xavier Worthy has the effect of giving Rashee Rice more room to play, so I thought Rice would be a focus for the Chiefs tonight. https://t.co/euWB3wkD63
Baltimore’s drive runs out of steam and the Ravens’ punt
The field is flipped and the Chiefs start at their own 10-yard line. The Ravens have been running the ball well, averaging 5.4 yards per carry on 19 carries. But moving the ball at the start of drives has been challenging, leading to long down-and-distance situations.
Baltimore on the up with two consecutive big passing games
The Ravens opened their drive after the KC touchdown with a couple of long passes to get into Chiefs territory. A third-and-12 conversion to Justice Hill and a big pickup by Mark Andrews got Baltimore past the 50.
Isiah Pacheco gives Chiefs a 20-10 lead with a 1-yard touchdown run
The Chiefs take a 10-point lead with a 6-play, 81-yard drive, highlighted by a 33-yard catch-and-run by Rashee Rice and a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty that allows Pacheco to score a 1-yard touchdown. He had 7 rushing touchdowns last year in his second season as Kansas City’s lead back.
Rashee Rice’s big night continues
5 catches for 80 yards for Rice, who just had a big 33-yard catch to get KC moving on the Chiefs’ first drive of the second half. Rice was the Chiefs’ second-leading receiver last season with 79 catches and 938 yards.
Fit for a two-time NFL MVP
Here is the all-time list:
Michael Vick: 5,569 meters
Cam Newton: 5,631 yards
Lamar Jackson: 5,321+ yards
About this attitude towards Xavier Worthy
NBC commentator Rodney Harrison was blunt in his analysis of Chiefs rookie Xavier Worthy.
Rodney Harrison – “Xavier Worthy is this small, skinny guy. He doesn’t scare me. I know he’s fast, but he doesn’t scare me.” pic.twitter.com/EjwbspMhyx
