The defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs survived to knock off the Baltimore Ravens, 27-20, in a matchup that went down to the wire.
Here are five takeaways from the thrilling kickoff to the 2024 NFL season:
Late misses came back to haunt Lamar Jackson
Behind a leaky offensive line, Jackson nearly single-handedly kept the Ravens’ chances to win alive. But, several misses down the stretch ultimately made the difference.
Over the final 18 seconds of regulation, Jackson missed two wide-open targets in the end zone on back-to-back plays before finally connecting with tight end Isaiah Likely for what looked to be a touchdown with five ticks remaining. But the replay official ruled correctly that Likely’s toe had landed out of bounds, thus ending the game.
Jackson had an outstanding game, finishing 26-of-41 for 273 yards and a touchdown while adding 122 rushing yards off 16 carries. However, instead of gaining a measure of revenge in a rematch of last year’s AFC Championship Game, he and the Ravens leave Kansas City 0-1, wondering what could have been.
