Baltimore - It wasn't just that Patrick Mahums threw a ton of yards and four touchdowns. Most impressive is how he did it.
Mahomes was joking, dancing, jumping in and out of the jeep. Sometimes he pulled back and fired accurate shots into the field. He gave shovel passes and tossed aside.
The common thread was that all he did was working with the Super Bowl Kansas City Chiefs reigning champion, who skipped the Baltimore Ravens 34-20 Monday night.
Mahomes put on a shining display while beating Lamar Jackson, who was 0-3 against the leaders and 21-1 against the rest of the NFL as the primary midfielder in the regular season.
With Mahomes leading, Chiefs (3-0) emphatically ended Ravens' winning streak for the regular season of 14 games while extending their career to 12 matches (including playoffs). Mahomes went 31 to 42 for 385 yards and averaged 6.5 yards in his four quick attempts.
Mahomes, who signed a $ 503 million 10-year extension in July, gave Chiefs their money's worth Monday night, tearing up the Baltimore defense that only allowed two touchdowns in the first two games.
In a duel between Mahomes, the 2018 NFL MVP, and the player who won the honor last year, Jackson was no match for the man whose resume also includes the Super Bowl MVP Cup.
Jackson completed 15 of 28 passes at 97 yards and ran 83 yards, 30 of them with a single load during his inaugural Ravens possession. It wasn't enough against Mahomes, whose performance Jackson described in one word: "Awesome."
The Chiefs scored touchdowns on their first two possessions - one in a run by Mahomes, the other on a shovel pass to Anthony Sherman - to lead a 13-3. After that second score, Ravens rookie Devin Duvernay grabbed the kick-off and shot down the right sideline for 93 yards.
Kansas City followed suit with a hat-trick and an exit, but Baltimore simply couldn't contain the Mahomes for long. After recovering the ball, Mahomes completed passes from 29 and 18 yards before hitting Tyreek Hill to score 20 yards to close at 73 yards.
A touching 49-yard pass from Mahomes to Mecole Hardman raised Chiefs by 17 in the first half. The only other time Jackson was so late to a break in an NFL match was last year, when Chiefs was leading 23-6.
During a 13-game, 75-yard run that produced a game-breaking result, Mahomes switched third and fifth with an 18-yard pass and ran 12 yards in third and 10. He flipped a 12-yard pass to Sammy Watkins to score his first and goal in 2, with Mahomes throwing a pass. Falling to a discretionary Eric Fisher intervention with 8:14 remaining.
Small crowd
There were an estimated 250 people in the seats consisting of immediate family members of Ravens players, coaches, and front office staff. They were scattered in several sections behind the Baltimore side.
They were much more lively than the cartoon cutouts of the people behind each end zone.
Take the knee
All the presidents appeared to be on the sidelines while the national anthem was played. On the other hand, the Ravens displayed a mixed bag of protests to draw attention to social injustice: Some kneeled, including Jackson, some stood up and others sat on the bench.
Injuries
Heads: CB L'Jarius Sneed was ruled out in the third quarter due to a collarbone injury. ... DE Alex Okafor (hamstrings) was inactive. Reed said ... G Andrew Wylie was inactive and went to the hospital with a stomach problem, but was fine.
***********************
***********************
No comments:
Post a Comment