KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Lamar Jackson insisted the Baltimore Ravens were not seeking revenge after the Kansas City Chiefs beat them in the AFC title game seven months ago, denying him the opportunity to play for his first Super Bowl championship.
It sure looked as if he was trying to get some anyway Thursday night.
Jackson threw for 273 yards and a touchdown and ran for 122 yards, gamely rallying Baltimore from a late 10-point deficit against the two-time and defending NFL champions. And it looked for a moment as if Jackson had at least forced overtime when he hit Isaiah Likely in the back of the end zone with no time left in raucous Arrowhead Stadium to complete the comeback.
The final play immediately went to a video review, though, and the evidence was clear: The tight end's toe landed on the endline, putting him out of bounds. The pass was incomplete. The game was over. And the disappointment quickly set in.
It was a 27-20 loss, the fifth for Jackson in six tries against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, and one that could only have been upstaged by the 17-10 loss that the Ravens endured on a cold January night with the Super Bowl in their sights.
“I believe everyone in our program — coaches, trainers, equipment guys, cafeteria women and men, and definitely the players,” Jackson said. “For us to lose to those guys in the way we lost, even though I don’t want to do it, I can’t be mad at my guys.”
Jackson has long been one of the NFL's premier quarterbacks, winning his second MVP award after last season. And he has not only proven his worth in big games but against some of the league's best quarterbacks, going 2-0 against Tom Brady before his retirement and winning four of his five games against Joe Burrow and the Bengals.
Yet he can't seem to beat Mahomes and the Chiefs, no matter what magic he brings to the field.
For most of the NFL's opener Thursday, Jackson was having another night against them to forget. His rebuilt offensive line was called for illegal formation three times in the first seven plays, and it broke down completely two series later, when Jackson was strip-sacked by Chris Jones deep in his own territory to set up an easy field goal for the Chiefs.
“Every time we almost had an explosive play, we had a penalty right after that,” Jackson said. “It's hard to get in the groove.”
He finally found his groove over the final two series, when Jackson began to play some sandlot-style football.
First, he had a 12-play, 56-yard drive to set up Justin Tucker's field goal, closing the Ravens within a touchdown with 4:54 left in the game. And when the league's No. 1 scoring defence last season forced a quick punt, Jackson had one more opportunity.
He kept going to Likely, who had 111 yards receiving and a touchdown, and Jackson used his feet when he needed to, including a scramble on third-and-2 that gave the Ravens a fresh set of downs. Three plays later, he spied Rashod Bateman streaking down the Kansas City sideline for a 38-yard completion that put them at the Chiefs' 10-yard line with 19 seconds left.
“I thought his last drive was great,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said.
Jackson's first shot to the end zone was a throw-away with nobody open, but Jackson appeared to miss Zay Flowers open in the back of it on the next play. With one last shot with four seconds to go, Jackson found himself under pressure, yet found enough space to keep the play alive and spot Likely coming open in the back of the end zone.
The throw was a bit high, but Likely thought he had made the catch — as did Jackson, who turned to see Harbaugh signalling for the Baltimore offence to remain on the field for a 2-point conversion that could have won the game.
The play had gone to video review, though, and the Ravens never got that opportunity.
“I felt that we did a great job,” Jackson said, “but you know, just coming down and the red zone, 10-yard line — whatever.”
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