- Tarrian Rodgers
Lamar Jackson gets the monkey off his back, defeating the Chiefs on a gutsy call, 36-35
The 2021 version of the Baltimore Ravens have a flair for the dramatics as both of their games this year have come down to the final play. For the Ravens this a huge victory. While it’s certainly tough to call any week 2 game a must win game, this game had those kinds of ramifications for the Ravens. The Ravens didn’t want to start the season with an 0-2 record.
The Ravens got off to a rough start against the Kansas City Chiefs, with quarterback Lamar Jackson throwing an early pick-six on the team’s first possession. Baltimore came back with a vengeance on their second possession, driving down the field and scoring a touchdown in a very wacky way as Ty’son Williams fumbled and Devin Duvernay caught it off the rebound for an early touchdown.
For Jackson he fought through two early interceptions both by Tyrann Mathieu. The Ravens seemed dead in the water trailing 35-24. The Ravens gritted back hard and Jackson battled back, tossing a touchdown pass and running for two others, and also picked up a game-sealing first down with less than a minute to go in the game. The Ravens escaped with a 36-35 win. Rookie edge rusher Odafe Oweh made what might have been the biggest play of the night, forcing a Clyde Edwards-Helaire fumble with the Chiefs in field-goal range and the clock winding down.
Patrick Mahomes finished 24-for-31 for 343 yards and three touchdowns. But he threw a critical interception in the fourth quarter that helped the Ravens erase that 11-point deficit entering the fourth quarter. This was a night of spectacular plays. The most thrilling play of the night was Travis Kelce's 46-yard Madden esque play in which he avoided nearly the entire Baltimore defensive unit, breaking three tackles before falling into the end zone. The Ravens extended their streak of 100 yard rushing games to 41 as Ravens had 251 yards rushing. Most importantly Baltimore ensured that all four AFC North teams would have 1-1 records. Kansas City, which allowed 481 yards and gained 405 falls to 1-1 themselves in what seems to be a tough AFC West.
Both teams will have a quick turnaround as Chiefs will face a tough divisional foe in Chargers and Ravens have the Lions at home.
