Lamar Jackson and his Baltimore Ravens finally managed to overcome the Patrick Mahomes-led Kansas City Chiefs. In a Sunday night clash between the two AFC rivals, Jackson, who was previously 0-3 against the Chiefs, rushed for two touchdowns and added one passing score to propel the Ravens to a close-contested 36-35 win.
Things started badly for Jackson as he threw a pick-six on his third play of the game. Chiefs All-Pro safety Tyrann Mathieu intercepted the ball on a tough 3rd & 8 pass deep in Baltimore’s territory and managed to return it all the way to the end zone.
The Ravens managed to make things even on the following possession, although they did it in an unusual way. Running back, Ty’Son Williams fumbled the ball as he was trying to reach for the end zone, but wideout Devin Duvernay managed to pick it up in the air and score an unlikely touchdown.
The Chiefs then regained the lead thanks to a 33-yard pass from Mahomes to Demarcus Robinson, with Baltimore responding via newly-acquired back Latavius Murray after several punts by both teams. By the end of the first half, Kansas City put another seven points on the board while the Ravens had to be content with a 43-yard field goal by Justin Tucker.
The third quarter saw more of the same. The Chiefs scored on their first drive, and the Ravens immediately hit back on their first possession of the second half with a huge 42-yard play from Jackson to wideout Marquise Brown.
Kansas City responded with a 46-yard TD pass from Mahomes to tight end Travis Kelce to get a comfortable 35-24 lead.
Entering the fourth quarter, it seemed Mahomes and the Chiefs would remain unbeaten against the Ravens in the Lamar Jackson era. However, Jackson and Baltimore’s defense had other ideas.
The Ravens scored a TD to open the fourth quarter and then forced Kansas City to punt. Jackson used this opportunity to deliver another scoring drive that he capped off himself with an impressive flip into the end zone.
Baltimore now had a 36-35 lead but still had to stop Patrick Mahomes and a high-octane Kansas City Chiefs defense one last time. And they managed to do it in a spectacular fashion, with Odafe Oweh first forcing a fumble by Clyde Edwards-Helaire and then recovering the ball himself.
The win improved the Ravens to 1-1 and second place in AFC North, while the Chiefs are now third in AFC West with the same record.
Lamar Jackson finished the game with 239 passing yards and one passing touchdown adding 107 rushing yards and two TDs on the ground.
Mahomes, on the other hand, had 343 passing yards and threw for three touchdowns.
