{"id":105301,"date":"2025-09-29T07:18:51","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T07:18:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=105301"},"modified":"2025-09-29T07:24:29","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T07:24:29","slug":"%e2%9a%a1-rivalry-ignited-the-defense-stood-like-a-wall-the-offense-exploded-in-every-direction-was-this-the-night-the-chiefs-proved-they-can-dominate-both-sides-of-the-ball-could-this-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=105301","title":{"rendered":"\u26a1 RIVALRY IGNITED: , The defense stood like a wall, the offense exploded in every direction\u2014was this the night the Chiefs proved they can dominate both sides of the ball, could this be the statement win that flips the AFC race, and is Baltimore now staring at a rival they just can\u2019t stop"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Kansas<\/em><\/p>\n

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 \u2014 and backing the Ravens into a 1-3 corner.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Once again, the Chiefs\u2019 defense recorded multiple turnovers<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n

Before Sunday\u2019s game, Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson hadn\u2019t 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 \u2014 who spent a good portion of his afternoon skulking behind the defensive line until Jackson committed himself to passing or running \u2014 contributed to Jackson\u2019s interception by forcing him into an early throw.<\/p>\n

Late in the second quarter, it was Chenal\u2019s turn to spy on the Baltimore quarterback. Ravens\u2019 center Tyler Linderbaum crossed in front of his boss to keep Chenal away, colliding with the quarterback and knocking the ball loose \u2014 just as George Karlaftis and Chris Jones took Jackson to the ground.<\/p>\n

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 \u2014 and ending a drive that could have narrowed the Chiefs\u2019 halftime lead.<\/p>\n

\n

Once again, the Chiefs\u2019 defense shut down the Ravens\u2019 weapons<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n

Each time Kansas City faces Jackson (or running back Derrick Henry), defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo (and his unit\u2019s leaders) all say how much they respect these two players \u2014 and how hard they will have to work to contain them.<\/p>\n

But while there have been some exceptions, the Chiefs\u2019 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.<\/p>\n

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<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Kansas City also possessed the ball 10 times. The Chiefs began the game with four consecutive scoring drives \u2014 and then ran off three more to begin the second half. Harrison Butker\u2019s missed field goal, Matt Araiza\u2019s only punt (with just 3:29 left in the game) and the final whistle ended the other three.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s fine to be concerned about drives that end in field goals instead of touchdowns \u2014 and placekickers who sometimes miss long ones. But the Chiefs simply found a way to score on most of their drives.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what championship teams do.<\/p>\n

\n

Xavier Worthy was so<\/em> back<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n

You\u2019re familiar with this season\u2019s prevailing narrative: the Chiefs are trending down. So analysts are likely to say that Kansas City took advantage of the Ravens\u2019 injury-depleted defensive line. And if we\u2019re being honest, that had something to do with the Chiefs\u2019 offensive output; Kansas City was a perfect 4-of-4 on fourth down.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s a stronger argument that Worthy\u2019s return was an even bigger part of it.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s 4-yard catch moved the chains, keeping the team\u2019s first scoring drive alive. (Worthy couldn\u2019t quite bring in his first target on the game\u2019s opening play, but still drew a 15-yard facemask penalty on Baltimore cornerback Marlon Humphrey).<\/p>\n

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\u2019 first score. In all, Worthy accounted for 121 total yards from seven touches.<\/p>\n

\n

Patrick Mahomes was so<\/em> patient<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n

Kansas City\u2019s quarterback took off running a few times \u2014 because that\u2019s what he does \u2014 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\u2019s a very good passer rating of 124.8 \u2014 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.<\/p>\n

That extra time came to him courtesy of his offensive line. While rookie left tackle Josh Simmons was beaten badly on Baltimore\u2019s only sack, Next Gen Stats<\/em> says that left guard Kingsley Suamataia didn\u2019t allow a single pressure on 41 dropbacks \u2014 and officials never found a reason to call right tackle Jawaan Taylor\u2019s number, either.<\/p>\n

With every game, we see Mahomes becoming more comfortable behind his offensive line. And that makes us more comfortable, too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In its Week 4 win, Kansas City took steps on both sides of the ball.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":105311,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-105301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\n\u26a1 RIVALRY IGNITED: , The defense stood like a wall, the offense exploded in every direction\u2014was this the night the Chiefs proved they can dominate both sides of the ball, could this be the statement win that flips the AFC race, and is Baltimore now staring at a rival they just can\u2019t stop - News 365<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=105301\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u26a1 RIVALRY IGNITED: , The defense stood like a wall, the offense exploded in every direction\u2014was this the night the Chiefs proved they can dominate both sides of the ball, could this be the statement win that flips the AFC race, and is Baltimore now staring at a rival they just can\u2019t stop - 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