The Kansas City Chiefs made a winning start to their quest to win three straight Super Bowls as they beat the Baltimore Ravens in dramatic fashion in the NFL's season opener; Isaiah Likely is denied a touchdown on the final play of the game following a video review
Friday 6 September 2024 15:57, UK
Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and a touchdown as the Kansas City defense kept Lamar Jackson and the Ravens out of the end zone on three heart-stopping plays in the final seconds to guide the the Chiefs to a 27-20 victory over Baltimore in Thursday's season opener.
The game ended with a video review after Jackson appeared to connect with Isaiah Likely in the back of the end zone with no time remaining for a touchdown.
The video clearly showed Likely's toe landing on the endline, though, and the call was overturned, sending the Chiefs - and Taylor Swift - into a wild celebration.
Xavier Worthy scored rushing and receiving touchdowns, while Isiah Pacheco also had a touchdown run for the Chiefs, who not only won the rematch of last season's AFC title game but beat the Ravens for the fifth time in their last six meetings.
Jackson, who has called Kansas City his side's "kryptonite", threw for 273 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 122 yards on the ground.
Baltimore Ravens:
Kansas City Chiefs:
Jackson gave Baltimore a chance after getting the ball back at his own 13-yard line with 1:50 left and no timeouts. He completed a couple of throws to Likely, who finished with 111 yards receiving and a score, and scrambled on third-and-two for a first down. Two plays later, Jackson zipped a pass 38 yards to Rashod Bateman down the sideline that moved the Ravens to the Kansas City 10 with just 19 seconds to go.
Jackson's first pass was a throwaway, but his second missed wide-open Zay Flowers in the back of the end zone. Then came his last following a lengthy scramble, head coach John Harbaugh signalling for a winning two-point conversion only for the video review to deny them.
The Ravens opened with an 11-play, 70-yard drive that ended when Derrick Henry, who tormented the Chiefs in six previous meetings while he was with Tennessee, plunged into the end zone from five yards out for the early lead.
The Chiefs, trying to avoid losing their opener in back-to-back years, needed just two minutes to produce an answer.
Mahomes twice connected with Rashee Rice, before Worthy showed why the Chiefs made him their first-round pick with a 21-yard touchdown run.
Jackson was then strip-sacked by Chris Jones deep in his own territory, leading to a field goal for Kansas City. Flowers was stopped short of the first-down marker on fourth-and-three near midfield on the Ravens' next series, leading to another field goal. And even Justin Tucker, one of the league's most accurate kickers, pulled a 53-yard field-goal attempt wide left.
The Chiefs were not immune to mistakes. Mahomes was picked off by Roquan Smith on a poor throw late in the first half, leading to a chip-shot field goal that got Baltimore - who trailed twice at half-time all of last season - within 13-10 at the break.
Yet the Ravens' inability to get into the end zone, and swing the momentum their way, ultimately proved costly.
The Chiefs opened the second half with an 81-yard touchdown march to extend their lead.
Then, after Jackson had 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 to go.
Tucker made it a one-score game with his field goal with 4:54 to go, and Baltimore quickly forced a punt. But despite Jackson's impassioned play, he was left to trudge off the field after another disappointing loss to the Chiefs.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson on final play: "I thought it was a touchdown, I still think it's a touchdown. We were just hoping. I saw 32 and 20 turning to pursue him when he realised where the ball was going, so I threw it so he could make a play on it. Great job, acrobatic catch, I believed it was two feet in."
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes: "It was nerve-wracking. It's a game of inches, that's what they say. That's a great football team, to come out here and get a win at Arrowhead, that's a way to start a season. I feel like the guys responded well, that's a great start."
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh: "I thought our guys (overcame) setbacks at times, and fought like crazy to overcome. It looked like we had an opportunity there to tie the game up and try to win. Didn't happen at the end, but our guys fought."
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid: "It was a fight down to the end. When they say it's a game of inches, might be shorter than that."
The Ravens will play their home opener next Sunday when they host the Las Vegas Raiders, while the Chiefs welcome Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals to Arrowhead, live on Sky Sports NFL.
Watch the Atlanta Falcons take on the Pittsburgh Steelers from 6pm live on Sky Sports on Sunday September 8, followed by the Dallas Cowboys at the Cleveland Browns from 9.25pm and the Los Angeles Rams at the Detroit Lions at 1.20am Monday morning. Also stream with NOW.
