Gap between Chiefs and Ravens is bigger than toe that decided game

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Yeah … a toenail separated the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens as the final second ticked off the game clock in Thursday’s 2024 NFL regular-season opener.

Ravens quarterback and reigning MVP Lamar Jackson directed an impressive 77-yard drive, and for a few moments, seemed to have tied the game as he delivered a pass that only tight end Isaiah Likely could catch in the back of the end zone. And Likely did seem to get both feet down to complete the would-be scoring play, prompting officials to signal “touchdown.”

But film review revealed a smidgen of Likely’s right toe landed on the white of the back boundary line of the end zone, meaning he was out of bounds. No catch. Game over. Chiefs win 27-20. Waves of relief and jubilance washed over the Kansas City faithful. Heartbreak suffocated Baltimore’s flock.

A toenail? That’s it? Yes and no.

The majority of the first 59 minutes and 59 seconds of the game reflected a far greater margin of discrepancy and the reality that even in a flawed performance, the back-to-back Super Bowl champion Chiefs remain the toast of the league. It also showed that the Ravens — one of the AFC’s elite teams, who also fell to Kansas City in gut-wrenching fashion in the conference championship game last January — have a ways to go if they expect to overtake the champs. So do the NFL’s 30 other teams.

There were plenty of disjointed moments as the Chiefs kicked off their quest for an unprecedented Super Bowl three-peat. Three first-half drops in scoring position and an interception by Patrick Mahomes on a tipped pass prevented the Chiefs from taking a lopsided halftime lead. If not for defensive shortcomings that allowed Baltimore to score on a 49-yard catch and run by Likely to cut the score to 20-17 early in the fourth quarter, the Chiefs would have won comfortably.

But also on display:

• The unmatched adaptability and creativity that serve as the hallmarks of Andy Reid’s offense.

• A near flawless performance from Mahomes, who aside from the interception to Baltimore’s All-Pro linebacker Roquan Smith off a tip by Trenton Simpson, completed 20 of 28 passes for 291 yards and a touchdown.

• The development of second-year wide receiver Rashee Rice, who recorded seven catches for 103 yards.

• The heroics of another new weapon in rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy, who had a 21-yard rushing touchdown and a 35-yard touchdown catch.

• The continued dominance of defensive lineman Chris Jones, who recorded a second-quarter strip-sack to position Kansas City to take its first lead of the game.

The list goes on.

This is the last thing the rest of the NFL wants to hear, but this Chiefs team is better than last season’s iteration. That was clear Thursday night.

Aside from the fact that Kansas City has the best quarterback of this generation and that Reid and Mahomes share a brain, the Chiefs appear poised to maintain their place atop the heap because Reid and general manager Brett Veach have built a juggernaut. They do so in a way that remains far from stagnant. There are core pieces, yes. But the evolution remains constant.

Year after year, whether it be draft picks or journeyman free agents, the coach and GM have excelled at finding talent capable of plugging holes and filling key roles — some for the short term, some for the long term.

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It’s a player like 2021 fifth-round tight end Noah Gray, who has developed into the perfect complement to Travis Kelce. Or 2022 seventh-round running back Isiah Pacheco, who has grown into a workhorse. Or first-rounders turned defensive cornerstones Trent McDuffie and George Karlaftis, or Rice, a second-round pick in 2023. The latest difference-making puzzle piece is Worthy, a Texas product, who boasts a 4.21-second 40-yard dash time and started opposite Rice on Thursday night.

Successful drafts and free-agent acquisitions have enabled Kansas City to keep rolling despite the departures of key players like Tyreek Hill, one of the best wide receivers in the game. Kansas City’s brass simply looks for another piece and figures out how to capitalize on the replacement player’s strengths.

The principles of Reid’s offense remain the same, as they have for more than a decade in Kansas City. But the Chiefs’ ways of attacking remain ever-changing. Part of this stems from the creative freedoms the coach affords Mahomes and Kelce. But that future Hall of Fame duo’s leadership and influence on their teammates also breeds cohesion and versatility.

“Everybody accepts everybody in this offense,” Mahomes said. “They learn so much from (Kelce) and they pick his brain and listen to him talking to me, and we build all throughout the year. You can see (Rice) picked up right where he left off, and (Worthy) made some big plays. … We’re going to continue building and building and we’re looking forward to getting Hollywood (Brown) back and see how good this offense can be.”

Mahomes on Thursday passed for nearly 300 yards and spread the ball around to seven pass catchers NOT named Kelce. The All-Pro tight end had a very pedestrian three catches for 34 yards, but that’s because the ever-increasing comfort and effectiveness of Rice, Gray (three catches, 37 yards) and Pacheco (two catches, 33 yards) means Mahomes doesn’t have to force-feed Kelce just to get the offense rolling.

The versatility extends to the backfield. One third-quarter sequence perfectly reflected this. Pacheco (15 carries for 45 yards) came out of the game after a 3-yard carry. Free-agent addition Samaje Perine replaced him, caught a pass out of the backfield and gained 10 yards. On the next play, rookie Carson Steele entered and rushed for 5 yards. The machine just keeps rolling because every contributor clearly understands his role, and the coaches have a firm grasp on how to use them.

Contrast that with the lack of consistency in options and production for Baltimore’s offense, and the gap between contender franchises feels far more significant.

The Ravens have an all-world quarterback of their own in Jackson. And this offseason, they signed running back Derrick Henry in hopes that the longtime Tennessee Titans workhorse could help ensure balance and ease pressure on Jackson.

But Baltimore’s offense encountered the same problems Thursday night that it has throughout Jackson’s six seasons as the starting quarterback. Unless Jackson does it all, there is next to no spark. Outside of Jackson, who may go down as the greatest dual-threat quarterback the game has seen, versatility is scarce.

The Ravens are counting on second-year wideout Zay Flowers to continue to ascend. But Thursday, he was used in a similar fashion to his rookie season, when he primarily snagged quick hitters and tried to use his speed and elusiveness to break those short throws for big gains. Likely did rack up nine catches for 111 yards and a touchdown, but the Ravens struggled to get No. 1 tight end Mark Andrews involved (he finished with only two catches for 14 yards).

The struggles of a revamped offensive line left Jackson either scrambling to elude defenders or quickly dumping the ball off before plays could develop downfield. (If anyone could use a burner like Worthy, it’s the Ravens, who until hitting on Flowers’ draft selection last season have annually swung and missed at wide receiver prospects.)

It was one game, but Baltimore offensive coordinator Todd Monken will have to go back to the drawing board because his offense looked a lot like it did last year. Unless the Ravens have the lead, they struggle to establish a run game.

As time started to wane, you could sense Jackson’s frustration growing as his line afforded him little time to operate from the pocket. So he donned the cape once again and started calling his own number.

Jackson willed the Ravens back into the game, delivering 273 passing yards and a touchdown and 122 rushing yards on 16 carries. But although he’s capable, 122 rushing yards from Jackson is not the recipe for sustained success.

Henry, meanwhile, finished with 46 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. But he’s traditionally at his best in the second half of games, where after pounding away at defenders in the first half, his bruising runs begin to take their toll on the opposition and turn into big gains. But because the Ravens trailed for the majority of the game, they couldn’t afford a methodical, run-heavy approach.

Jackson and the Ravens said they drew encouragement from their game-ending drive, even if it did come up short by the centimeters of Likely’s cleat.

Self-inflicted wounds from penalties, missed connections on open passes (two in the end zone before the last play), blown pass coverages on defense — and not the Chiefs — cost them the game, Jackson and his teammates insisted.

“They’re not my kryptonite,” Jackson said when asked about his history of struggles against Kansas City. “They’re not my kryptonite. … The whole game gives me encouragement because guys fought. We have to clean up penalties, clean up incompletions and work on scramble drills, make those throws and catch those. … It’s very frustrating, but we were busting our behinds out there. We’re trying to win a game out there, and it felt like every time we had a big play there was a flag and we can’t be having that.”

It’s a long season, the Ravens understand. But they missed an opportunity to make a statement against the Chiefs. They believe another opportunity will present itself. And when it comes, they expect to deliver.

“That’s the worst game we’re going to play all year,” Likely said, vowing that he and his teammates will improve as the season progresses, “and if this was the best they’ve got, then good luck.”

You have to like the mindset, but who wants to break it to him?

That certainly wasn’t Kansas City’s best. And while the Ravens did manage to hang with the champs thanks to some late-game heroics, they’ll need much more growth to overtake them.

(Photo of Marcus Williams and Patrick Mahomes: David Eulitt / Getty Images)