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Chiefs hold off Ravens 27-20 as review overturns TD on final play of NFL’s season opener

VaselineSeptember 6, 2024

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Chiefs hold off Ravens 27-20 as review overturns TD on final play of NFL’s season opener

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes thought for a moment the Chiefs were headed to overtime. So did fellow Ravens forward Lamar Jackson, who found Isaiah Likely in the end zone with no time left for a touchdown that appeared to tie the game.

Ultimately, the NFL’s season opener on Thursday night was decided by referee Shawn Hochuli, who conducted a video review.

With a full room that including pop superstar Taylor Swift Hochuli waited with bated breath, needing only a few seconds to watch the final action before making his announcement: Probably landed with his toe on the finish linewhich knocked Baltimore’s tight end out of bounds and gave the Chiefs a 27-20 victory, setting them on a record-breaking run for a third straight Super Bowl title.

“It was definitely nerve-wracking because it looked good from where I was on the sideline,” Mahomes said, “but then you see his cleat at first glance. … You need to wear white cleats next time. That’s my advice to him.”

Mahomes threw for 291 yards and a touchdown pass to Xavier Worthy, who also had a rushing TD in his NFL debut. The Chiefs not only gained revenge for last season’s AFC Finals, but also defeated the Ravens for the fifth time in six meetings.

That crooked ledger is especially frustrating for Jackson, who Kansas City called the Ravens’ “kryptonite.” He was sublime Thursday night, throwing for 273 yards and a touchdown and adding 122 yards on the ground, but that final-play judgment left him regretting a missed opportunity to finally outshine Mahomes and Co.

“I thought it was a touchdown,” Jackson said. “Still think it was a touchdown.”

The Ravens trailed 27-17 in the fourth quarter before shooting a field goal, getting the ball back at their own 13 with 1:50 left and no timeouts. Jackson completed a pair of tosses to Likely, who had 111 yards receiving and a score, and scrambled for a crucial first down. Two plays later, Jackson found Rashod Bateman down the sideline for 38 yards to move the Ravens to the Kansas City 10 with 19 seconds left.

Jackson’s first pass was a throwaway, but his second missed a wide-open Zay Flowers in the end zone. Then came the final throw, after Jackson had scrambled for what seemed like an eternity, and it looked like Likely had forced overtime.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh even signaled his team to attempt a game-winning 2-point conversion, but the team never got the chance.

“I thought our guys (overcame) adversity at times and fought like crazy to overcome it. It looked like we had a chance there to tie the game and try to win it,” Harbaugh said. “That didn’t end up happening, but our guys fought.”

The wild ending came after the start was delayed for about 20 minutes due to a storm that brought heavy rain and lightning.

The Ravens opened with an 11-play, 70-yard drive that ended with Derrick Henry, who had tormented the Chiefs in six previous meetings while at Tennessee, diving into the end zone from 5 yards out for an early lead.

But the high-octane Chiefs, trying to avoid back-to-back losses in the season opener, needed just two minutes to respond. Mahomes connected twice with Rashee Rice, who has thus far avoided any NFL punishment for his role in an alleged crash during a street race in Dallas, before Worthy showed why the Chiefs made him their first-round pick with his 21-yard touchdown run.

After those two drives, however, the first half was mostly characterized by blunders from week 1.

Jackson was stripped deep in his own territory by Chris Jones, setting up a Kansas City field goal. Flowers was stopped in front of the first-down marker on fourth-and-3 near midfield on the Ravens’ next series, setting up another field goal. And even Justin Tucker, one of the league’s most accurate kickers, made a 53-yard field-goal attempt wide left.

The Chiefs weren’t immune to mistakes. Mahomes’ pass was intercepted by Roquan Smith on a bad throw late in the first half, leading to a chip-shot field goal that put Baltimore — which trailed twice at the break last season — up 13-10 at the break.

But the Ravens’ inability to reach the end zone and turn the momentum in their favor ultimately proved costly.

The Chiefs opened the second half with an 81-yard touchdown march to extend their lead. Then, after Jackson connected with Likely on a broken play for a 49-yard touchdown throw, Mahomes drove them 70 yards against the No. 1 scoring defense in the NFL last season for a touchdown that made it 27-17 with 10 minutes left.

Tucker made it a one-score game with his field goal with 4:54 left, and Baltimore quickly forced a point. But despite Jackson’s passionate play, he was forced to limp off the field in another disappointing loss to the Chiefs.

“It was a fight to the end,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “When they say it’s a game of inches, it can be shorter than that.”

A star audience

Swift, the girlfriend of Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, wasn’t the only star in attendance for the NFL’s opening night. Quincy Hall, the Olympic 400-meter champion, was in the crowd, along with AC Milan midfielder Christian Pulisic, who will join his U.S. teammates for an exhibition game against Canada on Saturday night at nearby Children’s Mercy Park.