In a monumental game between AFC contenders that got off to slow starts to the season, the Kansas City Chiefs blew out the Baltimore Ravens, 37-20, in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score. The Chiefs, who started the season with consecutive losses, improved to 2-2 and dropped the Ravens to a disappointing 1-3 in the process.
The Chiefs offense was the big story in this one, as Kansas City piled up 380 yards and scored 30-plus points in a regular-season game for the first time since Week 12 of last season. The Chiefs scored on seven of their first eight possessions of the game, totaling four touchdowns and three field goals, with the only drive that didn’t result in points having ended on a missed field goal. They didn’t punt until there were fewer than four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, when the game was fully in hand.
Patrick Mahomes threw for four touchdowns in this game — one each to JuJu Smith-Schuster, Isiah Pacheco, Tyquan Thornton and Hollywood Brown. It was his first four-touchdown game since October 2023. The second toss to Pacheco was also the 250th of his career, making him the youngest and fastest player to ever reach that mark, breaking the record held by the great Dan Marino.
The return of speedster Xavier Worthy opened things up for the entire offense, and the difference his speed made in clearing things out for everyone else was palpable. Worthy himself made several big plays, totaling five catches for 83 yards and also taking an end-around hand-off for a 35-yard gain. This looked like the offense that Kansas City likely envisioned having coming into the season.
The other story of the game was injuries on the Ravens’ side. Baltimore came into the game banged up on defense, with four starters missing the game due to injury. In the first half, the Ravens lost two more defensive starters as both Marlon Humphrey and Roquan Smith left the game with lower-body injuries, while they also saw left tackle Ronnie Stanley leave the game. Late in the blowout, cornerback Nate Wiggins also sustained an injury while trying to make a tackle. That made for seven defensive players and the starting left tackle out of the lineup.
Making matters even worse, Lamar Jackson left the game with a hamstring injury and was replaced by Cooper Rush for the fourth quarter. Jackson had already played his worst game of the young season, throwing an early interception against an all-out blitz and fumbling the ball after running into his own offensive lineman while trying to scramble up the middle. If the injury keeps him out of any future games, though, it could throw the Ravens’ season into even further disarray.
Stay tuned for more takeaways from this game.