5 things we learned from the Ravens’ 27-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs
Childs Walker, The Baltimore Sun
The Ravens’ offensive line’s big risk looks… risky
We’ve spent the last four months discussing general manager Eric DeCosta’s big gamble: replacing three offensive linemen, including stalwarts Kevin Zeitler and Morgan Moses, with players with extremely little experience.
DeCosta recently described the restructuring as a necessary response to the salary cap created by Jackson’s five-year, $260 million contract extension, but he and Harbaugh both acknowledged there could be teething issues early this season.
Kansas City All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones made sure we didn’t have to wait.
Jones beat Daniel Faalele, who started at the right guard position he had only begun learning in the spring, and put pressure on Jackson on the Ravens’ first drive.
On the first drive of the second quarter, Jones threw aside rookie right tackle Roger Rosengarten and threw the ball past Faalele to strip the ball from Jackson, giving Mahomes a short field play.
Jackson couldn’t look down the field, rarely having more than two seconds before a red jersey invaded his privacy.
As the Ravens gained momentum late in the third quarter, a hold by Tyler Linderbaum on Jones prevented a 29-yard run by Jackson that would have brought them to the Kansas City 13-yard line.
This was the risk DeCosta took when assembling his roster, and we’re seeing what it costs in the short term.
The analysis: Brown’s five thoughts on the tough away loss against the Chiefs
Clifton Brown, BaltimoreRavens.com
Is probably a rising star
There was a lot of excitement about Likely before the season, but the hype may have been underwhelming. He was sensational with nine catches for 111 yards, and his 49-yard touchdown catch, capped by a juke move that left the Chiefs’ Bryan Cook reaching for empty space, was a masterpiece.
Likely seemed untrackable, and his catch radius and ability to run after the catch make him a unique player. With Likely and three-time Pro Bowler Mark Andrews (two catches, 14 yards), the Ravens have the best tight end duo in the league, which should cause problems for opponents all season long.
It sounded like he would like to see the Chiefs again in January.
“I would say this is probably the worst game we’ll play all year,” Likely said. “So if this is their best game, good luck in the postseason.”
2024 NFL season, Week 1: What we learned from the Chiefs’ win over the Ravens on Thursday night
Eric Edholm, NFL.com
Henry calm in Ravens debut. Derrick Henry capped the Ravens’ gutsy opening drive, in which he overcame three penalties and converted three third downs, with a 5-yard touchdown run that gave the Ravens a 7-0 lead. It was Henry’s fifth carry of the drive and a strong start for the Ravens’ big free agent acquisition. Henry then touched the ball just three more times in the entire first half, finishing with 13 carries for 46 yards and no catches on two attempts.
Henry averaged 16.5 runs per game with the Titans last season, and in six games he had 13 or fewer, so this wasn’t a shockingly low effort by Henry’s recent standards. With the Ravens trailing by two points in the second half, Henry was taken off the field in favor of Justice Hill, and the ball was predominantly in Lamar Jackson’s hands. So there was clearly a flow of play that worked against Henry in his debut. With 6:34 left in the game, he converted a huge run on fourth-and-1 – his last touch – that helped the Ravens stay in the game despite trailing by 10 points. Hill had one run and Flowers had two. The remaining run attempts went to Jackson and Henry. Don’t read too much into this effort, although it does illustrate Henry’s limitations when the Ravens are trailing and/or on pace.
This is how the Ravens’ new signings played against the Chiefs
Paul Mancano, The Baltimore Banner
RB Derrick Henry (signed a 2-year, $16 million contract): Henry didn’t wait long to get into the end zone, scoring a touchdown on the first drive of his tenure with the Ravens. But after that, offensive coordinator Todd Monken abandoned Henry, and the 30-year-old got just 13 carries for 46 yards (3.5 avg.). On a night when Jackson did the heavy lifting in the running game, Henry was largely irrelevant.
S Eddie Jackson (signed 1-year contract worth $1.5 million): Jackson, a two-time Pro Bowler in Chicago, was brought in as the third safety, an important role for a team that often mixes and plays with its secondary. The veteran finished the season with two tackles in 22 defensive snaps.
OT Roger Rosengarten (drafted No. 62 overall): The Ravens have high hopes for their second-round pick out of the University of Washington, but Rosengarten’s NFL career couldn’t have started worse. When he replaced veteran Patrick Mekari on the team’s third possession, Rosengarten gave Chris Jones a free pass to Lamar Jackson, who dropped the ball on a strip sack. The Ravens’ coaching staff stuck with Rosengarten on the next possession, but the rookie never quite found his stride. When it mattered most, Baltimore went back to Mekari on the game’s final drive, a sign that Rosengarten isn’t quite ready to take his job away from him. Rosengarten finished the game with 19 snaps to Mekari’s 55.
The gap between Chiefs and Ravens is bigger than the game-deciding toe
Mike Jones, The Athletic
When you compare that to the lack of consistency in options and production in Baltimore’s offense, the gap between the competing franchises appears even wider.
The Ravens have their own all-world quarterback in Jackson. And in the offseason, they signed running back Derrick Henry in the hopes that the longtime Tennessee Titans workhorse could help balance things out and ease the pressure on Jackson.
But Baltimore’s offense had the same problems Thursday night that it did in Jackson’s six seasons as starting quarterback. When Jackson isn’t giving it his all, momentum is limited. Aside from Jackson, who could go down in history as the best dual-threat quarterback of all time, versatility is rare.
The Ravens are banking on wide receiver Zay Flowers to continue to step up in his second year, but on Thursday he was used similarly to his rookie season, when he primarily caught quick passes and tried to use his speed and agility to break up those short throws for big gains. He probably managed nine catches for 111 yards and a touchdown, but the Ravens had trouble getting No. 1 tight end Mark Andrews into the game (he managed just two catches for 14 yards).
