Here We Go Again!

Kansas City Chiefs 27 Baltimore Ravens 20

The 2024 NFL season began with Kansas City Chiefs embarking on an attempt to achieve a third successive Superbowl success but their opener against the Baltimore Ravens at Arrowhead was not going to be an easy test to start with. A Lamar Jackson-led Ravens were expected to be a stern task of their aspirations. And although the Chiefs controlled most of the game, it was all credit to the Ravens for managing to keep the game to one score.
And that’s how it was when the final play took place on the Chiefs’ 10-yard line with just four seconds remaining. The Ravens had already had two attempts at getting the ball home from that spot but Jackson had missed an almost open Isiah Likely in the end-zone and had to throw another attempt away. Success on either pass would have made the score 27-26 with an extra point to come.
Wind forward to the final play with those four seconds remaining and Jackson danced around to avoid being sacked before spearing a pass to an unmarked Likely at the back of the end-zone. A leaping catch resulted with Likely toe-tapping on the very back line; the Ravens celebrated, and coach John Harbaugh, at 61 the oldest coach in the League (to his surprise) signalled for the offence to go for two points to seal a victory rather than kick the one point to go to overtime.
Alas he was not able to see his plans come to fruition for by the skin of their teeth, or rather the length of a toe-nail, a closer look at the catch revealed Likely’s toe to be just over the end-zone boundary line and the catch was declared incomplete. The Chiefs, therefore, opened their season with, dare I say it, a nail-biting victory 27-20.
In the game Patrick Mahomes was his usual mercurial self, particularly impressive when, near the end of the game on a third down, he rescued a potential interception rather dramatically. Deep in his own half his attempted pass was tipped and looped up into the air but, flanked by two huge Ravens’ linebackers, he leapt between them and caught his own pass to allow the ball to be punted away. This subsequently set up that dramatic end.
There were praiseworthy performances from Ravens’ Isiah Likely who had nine rushes for 111 yards and a touchdown and, of course, Jackson, who was the side’s leading rusher with 16 attempts for 123 yards as well as his 26 passes from 41 attempts for 273 yards. But Derrick Henry was restricted to 46 yards from 13 rushes with a longest of just 10 yards; he did score one short-run touchdown to open the scoring.
For the Chiefs, Mahomes had 20 completions from 28 attempts for 291 yards and one touchdown and also became the Chiefs’ all-time passing leader with, at the moment, 28,508 yards thus overtaking the late great Len Dawson’s record. Rashee Rice held seven catches for 103 yards and it was good to see the rookie, speedy Xavier Worthy have a receiving touchdown, two catches for 47 yards, and a rushing touchdown, one attempt for 21 yards and he will be one to look out for. In addition Isiah Pacheco was impressive with 18 rushes for 46 yards and a touchdown plus two catches for 33 yards, another from whom more impressive performances will be expected.
One frustrating thing for Harbaugh was the number of illegal formation penalties that the Ravens incurred and he will definitely be looking for those to be cut out.
It was an enthralling opening game in which Kansas City Chiefs, while perhaps not being at their very best did nothing to dispel thoughts that they will be contesting Superbowl LIX at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, in February 2025.