Too Many Turnovers, Too Many Penalties
The Ravens had three turnovers, including two in the red zone, and committed eight penalties for 95 yards. That’s not a winning formula against a team as experienced as the Chiefs, who had no turnovers and just three penalties for 30 yards.
Baltimore simply made too many mistakes to sustain momentum, and after falling behind 17-7 at halftime, the urgency to catch up in the second half made every miscue more costly.
It appeared the Ravens were about to score a touchdown to pull within three points on the first play of the fourth quarter. But rookie wide receiver Zay Flowers, who was the Ravens’ biggest playmaker (five catches, 115 yards), also made a crucial mistake. After catching a pass from Jackson, Flowers fumbled just inches short of the goal lines as he reached out the football trying to break the plane of the end zone. The ball was stripped by Kansas City defensive back L’Jarius Snead and recovered by teammate Trent McDuffie.
Instead of getting seven points or three points and turning momentum in their favor, the Ravens came up empty and the Chiefs milked more time off the clock. After the Ravens drove into Kansas City territory again on their next possession, Lamar Jackson forced a throw into triple coverage that was intended for Isaiah Likely. The underthrown pass was picked off by Deon Bush, and the Ravens had another costly empty trip.
Justin Tucker’s 43-yard field goal with 2:38 left pulled the Ravens to within three, but they never got the ball again. Mahomes’ 32-yard completion to Marquez Valdes-Scantling was the final dagger that allowed Kansas City to run out the clock.
Jackson, who was strip sacked in the first half, felt the turnovers were the difference.
“You can’t turn the ball over,” Jackson said. “When we get in that red zone…we’ve got to finish. We didn’t do a good job of finishing. They played the game basically perfect.”
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