The Baltimore Ravens defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in an instant Sunday Night Football classic on September 19, 2021.
The final score was 36-35, and though the Ravens were playing at home, they were the underdogs as they faced the defending AFC Champions.
While the Browns nearly knocked off the Chiefs in Week 1, the Ravens were able to complete the job and secure the win.
That means that Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes will not attain his lofty 20-0 goal for the 2021 season.
.@PatrickMahomes wants to make history next season going 20-0 🔥
From B/R x @CoorsLight #madetochill @15andMahomies pic.twitter.com/7PafymYp7j
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 30, 2021
Other teams will be studying the game film closely and trying to emulate the play of the Ravens.
How did the Ravens do it?
Here are two reasons why they secured the win.
2. Shut Out The Chiefs In The 4th Quarter
Anytime a defense can shut down the Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, and Travis Kelce scoring machine, it is an accomplishment.
Kelce ended the game with over 100 yards and a touchdown, and Mahomes threw two other touchdown passes in the game.
The formula for beating the Chiefs is always shutting down Mahomes and company; it is just very few teams can do it.
To be fair, it took the Ravens until the 4th quarter to keep the Chiefs offense at bay and on the sidelines.
1. Lamar Jackson Shined Bright
When the Ravens defense shut down the Chiefs offense, it was time for Lamar Jackson to go to work.
He rose to the occasion in glorious fashion.
Jackson scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
He called his own number and ran both of them in.
The Ravens missed two two-point conversions in the quarter, but the 12 points scored were just enough to erase the 11 point deficit they had at the end of the third quarter.
"Lamar Jackson was THE best player on the field."@danorlovsky7 on the Ravens' win over the Chiefs 👀 pic.twitter.com/HdXzKaQlWv
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) September 20, 2021
Jackson played quite possibly the best game of his life.
He used his legs to convert a key fourth-down play in the fourth quarter to ice the game.
The #Ravens go for it on fourth down and Lamar Jackson runs behind the entire Baltimore roster to win the football game 👏 #RavensFlock
— Billy Heyen (@BillyHeyen) September 20, 2021
Other Notable Stats
The Ravens also owned the time of possession.
They had the ball for nearly 36 minutes while the Chiefs had it for 24 minutes.
The Ravens offense also had more yards in the game, 481 versus the Chiefs 405.
With all of that said, it is not surprising that the Ravens had more first downs also.
They had 31 in the game; whereas, the Chiefs had 22.
The Winning Formula
All of this translated into a winning formula for the Ravens over the defending AFC Champions.
This was a huge win.
Coach Harbaugh looked almost as jubilant as when the Ravens won the Super Bowl.
John Harbaugh was fired UP after Baltimore’s win over Kansas City 🗣
(via @Ravens)
pic.twitter.com/KhD2I50M4x— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 20, 2021
Being in front of a home crowd made it sweeter and potentially a little easier.
We saw in Week 1 that the Arrowhead crowd was deafening to the point that Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield could not hear the offensive plays be transmitted in his helmet.
Anyway, the Ravens need not rest on their laurels.
To be considered one of the AFC’s leading contenders, they cannot experience a letdown of any sort.
They next travel to Detroit for a Week 3 Sunday afternoon game at 1:00 PM on September 26.
