On Sunday afternoon, the Kansas City Chiefs collected a 37-20 win over the Baltimore Ravens on GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, bringing their record to 2-2 on the season — and backing the Ravens into a 1-3 corner.
Once again, the Chiefs’ defense recorded multiple turnovers
Before Sunday’s game, Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson hadn’t given the ball away even once this season. But on a rare coverage snap, Kansas City linebacker Leo Chenal turned to cut in front of tight end Mark Andrews to collect the first pick of his career. His teammate Nick Bolton — who spent a good portion of his afternoon skulking behind the defensive line until Jackson committed himself to passing or running — contributed to Jackson’s interception by forcing him into an early throw.
Late in the second quarter, it was Chenal’s turn to spy on the Baltimore quarterback. Ravens’ center Tyler Linderbaum crossed in front of his boss to keep Chenal away, colliding with the quarterback and knocking the ball loose — just as George Karlaftis and Chris Jones took Jackson to the ground.
While the play was counted as a sack, neither Karlaftis or Jones received credit for it. But linebacker Drue Tranquill got full credit for recovering the fumble — and ending a drive that could have narrowed the Chiefs’ halftime lead.
Once again, the Chiefs’ defense shut down the Ravens’ weapons
Each time Kansas City faces Jackson (or running back Derrick Henry), defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo (and his unit’s leaders) all say how much they respect these two players — and how hard they will have to work to contain them.
But while there have been some exceptions, the Chiefs’ defense has generally been able to hold both of them in check. On Sunday, Jackson was 14 of 20 for 147 yards, a touchdown and an interception, which was good for a passer rating of just 86.9. Henry did average 5.3 yards a carry, but collected just 42 yards on eight attempts.
More importantly, Baltimore scored on just four of its 10 drives. The two giveaways accounted for two more. Another ended in a punt, leaving three other drives where the Ravens gave up the ball on downs.
Meanwhile, Kansas City also possessed the ball 10 times. The Chiefs began the game with four consecutive scoring drives — and then ran off three more to begin the second half. Harrison Butker’s missed field goal, Matt Araiza’s only punt (with just 3:29 left in the game) and the final whistle ended the other three.
It’s fine to be concerned about drives that end in field goals instead of touchdowns — and placekickers who sometimes miss long ones. But the Chiefs simply found a way to score on most of their drives.
That’s what championship teams do.
Xavier Worthy was so back
You’re familiar with this season’s prevailing narrative: the Chiefs are trending down. So analysts are likely to say that Kansas City took advantage of the Ravens’ injury-depleted defensive line. And if we’re being honest, that had something to do with the Chiefs’ offensive output; Kansas City was a perfect 4-of-4 on fourth down.
But there’s a stronger argument that Worthy’s return was an even bigger part of it.
The first of those fourth-down conversions was just past midfield in the first quarter. Patrick Mahomes was confident enough in Worthy to send the ball his way. The wideout’s 4-yard catch moved the chains, keeping the team’s first scoring drive alive. (Worthy couldn’t quite bring in his first target on the game’s opening play, but still drew a 15-yard facemask penalty on Baltimore cornerback Marlon Humphrey).
Just as he did in 2024, Worthy demonstrated his versatility. He caught deep sideline passes, generated yards after catch, found the room he needed to be effective underneath and collected 35 yards on a beautifully executed end-around that set up the Chiefs’ first score. In all, Worthy accounted for 121 total yards from seven touches.
Patrick Mahomes was so patient
Kansas City’s quarterback took off running a few times — because that’s what he does — but on many snaps, he had the time he needed to survey the field, set his feet and make throws. He finished with 25 completions on 37 attempts for 270 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. That’s a very good passer rating of 124.8 — and it was his first four-touchdown performance since October of 2023, when he threw for 424 yards in a 31-17 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
That extra time came to him courtesy of his offensive line. While rookie left tackle Josh Simmons was beaten badly on Baltimore’s only sack, Next Gen Stats says that left guard Kingsley Suamataia didn’t allow a single pressure on 41 dropbacks — and officials never found a reason to call right tackle Jawaan Taylor’s number, either.
With every game, we see Mahomes becoming more comfortable behind his offensive line. And that makes us more comfortable, too.
