The Kansas City Chiefs opened the NFL season with a 27-20 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday, winning by a few blades of grass.
The Ravens were trailing by seven points but were deep inside Chiefs territory with only four seconds to go when Lamar Jackson connected with tight end Isaiah Likely in the back of the end zone as time expired. The catch was initially ruled a touchdown and Baltimore appeared ready to go for two and the win, but on replay, Likely’s right toe was shown to have landed out of bounds by mere inches.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards in front of a packed house at Arrowhead Stadium, which included pop megastar and Travis Kelce's girlfriend Taylor Swift.
Baltimore opened the scoring on its first drive of the matchup before Kansas City scored 13 straight points to take a 13-7 lead. After a Ravens field goal late in the first half, the Chiefs took a 20-10 lead on an Isiah Pacheco run to cap their first drive of the second half.
The teams then traded touchdowns before a Justin Tucker field goal brought the game within seven, setting the stage for Baltimore’s dramatic final drive.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson threw for 273 yards and ran for 122 more. He was mostly fantastic playing behind an inexperienced and struggling offensive line. He did make one costly error late, missing a wide-open Zay Flowers in the end zone on the second-to-last play of the game.
Running back Derrick Henry made his Baltimore debut and ran 13 times for 46 yards and a touchdown. Likely had nine catches for 111 yards and a score.
The Chiefs were led on offense by receivers Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy. Rice caught seven passes for 103 yards and was the most targeted receiver. Worthy, a rookie from Texas, scored two touchdowns — one rushing and one receiving.
Kansas City’s next game is against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 15. The Ravens play the Raiders on the same day,
Good night Kansas City, hello São Paulo
And that's a wrap on Game 1 of this long 2024-25 NFL season, as the gridiron focus shifts to Brazil for Friday night's Green Bay-Philadelphia contest.
The NFL's first game in South America will stream live on Peacock with kickoff from Corinthians Arena set for 8:15 p.m. ET.
No complaints from Baltimore on final call
Ravens coach John Harbaugh didn’t have any beef with the heartbreaking, toe-length call that went against his team on Thursday night's final play.
Harbaugh said he told tight end Isaiah Likely not to be down on himself for putting his toe an inch too far, nullifying a possible tying or winning TD.
“I thought Isiah played a great football game I was proud of him and lot of others guys too,” Harbaugh told reporters.
Mahomes already thinking about postseason
There are 16 games still to go and Patrick Mahomes is already thinking about the playoffs.
The Chiefs QB recognized that Thursday night's victory over a potential postseason foe could matter in January.
“That’s a team that’s going to be in the playoffs,” he told NBC Sports immediately after the Chiefs' thrilling 27-20 win over Baltimore. “I know it’s a long way away but that (win) could be home field advantage.”
Ravens touchdown wiped out by a toe
Lamar Jackson found Isaiah Likely for what looked like a potential tying or winning touchdown. But Likely's toe was out of bounds, ending the game in a 27-20 Chiefs win.
Will Baltimore go for the win if it gets the chance?
The Ravens defense came up with a huge stop, giving Lamar Jackson the ball back after the two-minute warning and a chance to tie or take the lead.
Baltimore got a key third down stop, tipping a Patrick Mahomes pass — that he actually ended up catching himself — to prevent a conversion that would have effectively ended the game.
What’s most interesting to think about here is what the Ravens will do if they score a touchdown. John Harbaugh is one of the most aggressive coaches in the league and actually seems to appreciate his analytics staff. Baltimore could go for two and try to take the lead if it scores a touchdown.
Considering all the improbable game-winning drives we’ve seen Mahomes lead over the years, I’ll be surprised if the Ravens don’t try to take the lead. If they score, that is.
Ravens will get the ball back with 2 minutes, down 7
Baltimore will force a Kansas City punt and get the ball back with a chance to tie it.
The Ravens will likely have to go 80 or more yards for a potential tying score.
Lamar Jackson likes Isaiah Likely
For our fantasy football players: Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely has received the second-most targets of any Baltimore receiver so far tonight.
Though tight end Mark Andrews has historically been Lamar Jackson’s security blanket in the passing game, Likely has been the go-to guy Thursday night. Late in the fourth, Likely was out-targeting Andrews seven to two.
Likely came on late last season after an ankle injury to Andrews. The two have played together often Thursday, but Likely has been the favored receiver.
Baltimore cuts Kansas City lead to 27-20
Justin Tucker's 32-yard field goal brought the Ravens a little closer as they trail the Chiefs 20-17 with just under 5 minutes left.
Facing fourth-and-4 from the K.C. 14-yard line , the Ravens opted to take 3 points now and bank on getting the ball back for a tying 7.
The Xavier Worthy pick is already paying off
The Chiefs are looking like geniuses for grabbing receiver Xavier Worthy in the first round of April’s draft.
Worthy has two touchdowns in his first NFL regular season game — one on the ground and one via the air.
Kansas City effectively swapped a third-round pick for a fourth-round one with the Bills to move up and take Worthy in the first. He’s already added another explosive element to the Chiefs’ offense — and Buffalo may come to regret allowing one of its AFC rivals to add such a dynamic player.
Taylor Swift cheers on Travis Kelce
Taylor Swift was back in the box at Arrowhead Stadium tonight, sipping what appeared to be a vodka cran and hanging with Donna and Ed Kelce as they watched the Super Bowl Champion Chiefs.A series of video clips appeared to show Swift interacting with fans on the other side of the glass and even wearing a friendship bracelet to go with her denim set and red boots.She was caught cheesing and cheering at what is surely not her last NFL appearance of the season.