Key plays in Kansas City Chiefs win vs Baltimore, Patrick Mahomes numbers and his most targeted receiver

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The kickoff was a replay of the AFC Championship final and showed why the teams should be strong contenders for the title once again.

And it was worth the wait. Seven months later, NFL fans were able to enjoy a great start to the season – and were treated to a real spectacle.

The Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens met last Thursday at Arrowhead Stadium.

In an electrifying finale, the game once again ended in victory for Kansas City – this time 27-20.

The matchup’s standout players

After 60 minutes and great performances from their two main stars, Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson, the reigning two-time champions came out on top.

The key was to capitalise on the opponent’s mistakes at pivotal moments. Even so, it was a fairly balanced game.

Mahomes finished with 20/28 completed passes, 291 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception, while Isiah Pacheco had 15 runs and 45 yards, averaging three yards per attempt.

Rashee Rice was by far Kansas City’s most targeted receiver, with seven receptions and 103 yards. Freshman wide receiver Xavier Worthy had two catches, 47 yards and two TDs in his regular season debut.

The NFL’s top dual threat, Lamar Jackson had 273 air yards, one touchdown and 122 ground yards on 16 runs. Derrick Henry, the Ravens’ main addition for the season, ended up overshadowed by the quarterback, managing 46 yards on 13 attempts, as well as a terrestrial TD.

Tight end Isaiah Likely stood out and had the best game of his career, recording his highest marks in yards (111) and receptions (nine), with a TD.

Game details

1st Quarter:

Despite a very bumpy first drive, with three fouls for illegal formation, the Ravens managed to find solutions to convert first downs. First on a short pass to Justice Hill, who reversed a third down for 11 yards.

Then Jackson found Zay Flowers in the middle of the field, converting a 3rd & 9. Henry secured two good runs, followed by two more from Baltimore’s QB.

With the ball on the five-yard line, the running back ran up the middle once more to score his first TD in a Baltimore jersey, in a campaign lasting almost seven minutes.

The Chiefs’ response couldn’t have been quicker. In his first minutes on the field, Mahomes connected with Rice twice in the middle of the field. The receiver also suffered a tackle by the collar, going another 15 yards on one of them. Already in the redzone, in a great fake, number 15 fooled the Ravens defense and handed off to Worthy who scored his first touchdown in the league.

After the initial success of both offenses, the defense showed up well to limit the gaps and freeze the first quarter at 7-7.

2nd Quarter:

On the first play of the following quarter, Lamar was pressured in the pocket and suffered a fumble, forced by Chris Jones and recovered by Felix Anudike-Uzomah. Kansas City’s offense returned to the field with the ball on the 14-yard line, but was forced back ten yards when Travis Kelce committed a holding call.

Well-positioned, the visitors’ secondary avoided the worst-case scenario, allowing only a field goal from Harrison Butker. Still suffering from fouls, the Ravens risked a fourth down for three yards at the start of the next drive.

Flowers was brought down before the first down mark, and the ball went back to the home side halfway down the field. In a characteristic Mahomes move, the quarterback escaped pressure well and threw a beautiful ball to Kelce for a 23-yard connection. Soon after, however, he flirted with an interception and forced the Chiefs to settle for another FG.

Towards the end of the first half, a rare and improbable mistake by Justin Tucker on a 53-yard attempt seemed to put an end to the scoring.

On the first play of the drive, however, Mahomes was pressured and threw the ball into the hands of linebacker Roquan Smith, accounting for his first interception of 2024.

Lamar Jackson was able to get good space to run with the ball, but was stopped by a field goal after the Chiefs’ young and excellent defense showed up to contain the passes. At half-time, the score was 13-10 in KC’s favour.

A slow second half, but an exciting finish

The Chiefs’ first drive of the second half ended with the same result as the first: a touchdown. Baltimore struggled to catch passes in the centre of the field, and after a roughing the passer by Justin Madubuike and a reception by Noah Gray at the four-yard line, Pacheco was pushed into the endzone.

In the following drives, defensive errors by the Ravens forced the team to take two timeouts before the final third of the third quarter.

By the start of the final quarter, the score had stagnated. Right on cue, Jackson found a beautiful pass to Likely on the right side. The tight end grabbed the ball at the 30-yard line and evaded two defenders before entering the endzone, leaving the game at 20-17.

A Baltimore mistake on the ensuing drive left the way open for Worthy on the right side, who scored a 35-yard touchdown, the freshman’s second of the night. 27-17.

In a campaign of just over five minutes, the Ravens were saved by Jackson’s runs and relied on a fourth-down conversion by Henry to set up a field goal, leaving the game at one possession. The Chiefs’ next attack almost ended with another interception by Mahomes, which was prevented so that Baltimore could receive the ball for a final attempt at the two-minute warning.

In the final minute, Lamar escaped pressure and released his arm for a beautiful reception from Rashod Bateman at the ten-yard line.

The final ten seconds would see the two most spectacular plays of the game. On the first attempt, in motion, Jackson brutally missed a pass to Zay Flowers, who instantly regretted it.

Grand finale that gave the Chiefs victory

With five seconds left on the clock, the last play was a cruel one for Baltimore fans. Jackson found a perfect pass to Likely deep in the endzone, and the initial score was a touchdown.

However, the review showed that the TE had the tip of his boot off the field, defining, by centimetres, the result of an early candidate for best game of the season.

If he’d been wearing two less numbers on his football boots, the TD would have been validated.