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There’s no way to water down what happened on Sunday night football: the Kansas City Chiefs’ defense played incredibly poorly, which cost them a key victory in the conference. Led by quarterback Lamar Jackson – who started slow and improved as the game progressed – the Baltimore Ravens edged the Chiefs 481-405 yards.
Jackson took the victory over Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. His first attempt out of four is the one that escaped him. The Chiefs’ defense couldn’t do anything to stop the run, from Jackson to (with injuries) their fourth-string running back Ty’Son Williams – or even their fifth or sixth string. The pass rush was nonexistent – and while the Chiefs weren’t nicked in the air, they gave up much of the distance at key spots.
The Ravens deserve proper credit. They didn’t let the game fall into quicksand. They scored points after every Chiefs touchdown in the first half, exploiting defensive lineman Chris Jones in the running game early – then apparently tackling rookie linebacker Nick Bolton later. Jackson added his own version of the “jump pass ” to his resume with the touch of Marquise Brown, who fled unscathed because of a cover that was completely, completely blown away.
The Ravens gave up two touchdowns early in the second half – but they then bonded, leading Patrick Mahomes to throw his very first interception in September.
NBC Sports Analyst Cris Collinsworth noted that the Chiefs presented a plan to facilitate Frank Clark’s arrival for his first start after a hamstring injury. It didn’t have much of an impact. Neither did Jones, who made some important plays in the first week.
The Chiefs have confirmed their offseason defensive goal is to improve in the red zone, where they struggled last year. So far, too bad. The opposing teams are a perfect 8 for 8 over the year. Ravens defensive coordinator Wink Martindale crafted a game plan specifically for the Chiefs, moving away from his signature big blitz and Cover-0 appearance (at one point, the CNB broadcast noted that the Ravens blitzed three times on the first 17 setbacks). They adapted and did enough in their revised plan to win.
If there was just one – very lonely – the good side of the defense was Tyrann Mathieu’s immediate impact on his return to the lineup. We wondered when entering the match if Mathieu would be at 100%. Well, 100, 95, 90 – or whatever – the instincts were there. Mathieu knocked out Jackson in game three of the game, taking advantage of a slip and knockdown from Sammy Watkins to give the Chiefs a 7-0 lead. While the first interception led to a pick of six, the second interception was more impressive in my eyes, as he and the Chiefs seemed to trick Jackson into thinking he was out of the picture before coming back to snatch the ball in. the air. .
It didn’t matter much, as Jackson bounced back from early adversity to put in a winning performance – including placing fourth and 1 in midfield to freeze the game.
Meanwhile, Mahomes put in another great performance. Besides the ugly interception, he threw for 343 yards and three touchdowns. In past quick reactions, I’ve called the quarterback the Magic Gum – a player who can fix anything.
But on Sunday night, utter defensive ineffectiveness – and an expensive fumble, the first in running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire’s career – was just too much to overcome.
The Travis Kelce section
In 15 or 20 years, when most of the details – including poor defensive performance – of this start to the season Sunday night football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens have long been forgotten, one moment of the evening will not be forgotten at all: the best Pro Football Hall of Fame game of Travis Kelce’s career.
The game showed all that defines Kelce – the 260-pounder that moves like he’s 210. After securing the ball, the tight end circled around defense, then bowed and weaved for the. Chiefs go-ahead score. Maybe it’s fair to consider Rob Gronkowski or Tony Gonzalez as the greatest tight end in history – but Kelce is anchored in that conversation, and at 31, he’s shown no signs of slowing down.
Kelce led the Chiefs with seven receptions for 109 yards and one touchdown.
The Chiefs return to Arrowhead Stadium next week to face division rivals the Los Angeles Chargers. There are 15 games left and plenty of time to right the ship.
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