NFL Week 2 Game Recap: Baltimore Ravens 36, Kansas City Chiefs 35

This Sunday Night Football showdown between two of the premier teams in the NFL was one of the most highly anticipated games of the season and it certainly lived up to the hype. The Baltimore Ravens fought back and had the lead with a couple of minutes left to play, but Patrick Mahomes had the Kansas City Chiefs driving in what looked like a likely game-winning drive. That, however, never transpired as edge defender Odafe Oweh forced a fumble on Clyde Edwards-Helaire to give Baltimore their first win of the Mahomes-Lamar Jackson era of the in-conference rivalry.

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Baltimore Ravens

Quarterback

Lamar Jackson found little success as a passer but was his usual playmaking self in the designed run game. The Ravens generated +0.44 EPA per rush from Jackson. He picked up a first down or touchdown on 50% of his carries, breaking six tackles in the process. Jackson earned an elite rushing grade upon first review, making it one of several such performances on his career grading profile. 

Running Back

The big storyline in Baltimore the last few weeks has been the constant change within their running back room due to injuries. The Ravens had no choice but to sign a few different veterans, two of which — Latavius Murray and Devonta Freeman — saw the field along with Ty’Son Williams, but it was the original backup who got the most run and had the most success among the bunch.

Ravens’ running back room in Week 2

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Marquise Brown was Lamar’s go-to man in the passing game, and the wide receiver seized the opportunity. Brown was on the other end for half of the first down passes and for four of the Ravens’ six explosive pass plays on the night.

Tight end Mark Andrews saw most of his receiving success come when lined up inline as opposed to in the slot. He hauled in three passes for 39 yards (23 coming after the catch) when inline for 3.90 yards per route run. In the slot, he generated only 1.50 yards per route run.

Offensive Line

Baltimore’s offensive line was night and day compared to their poor debut in Week 1. Last week against the Raiders, Baltimore’s line surrendered 22 pressures and lost a combined 38 pass-block reps. Tonight against the Chiefs, they allowed only two pressures and combined for six lost pass-block reps. They also did plenty for the running back room, giving them on average 3.0 yards before contact across the unit’s 24 combined carries.

Defensive Line

Defensive coordinator Wink Martindale went away from his traditional scheme in his fourth time going up against Mahomes. After blitzing him at a high rate like every other quarterback they faced the first three outings, Martindale didn’t send the house nearly as often.

Ravens’ blitz rate against Kansas City since 2018

This limited the pass-rush impact from the Ravens’ defensive front, but one player in particular still had themselves a performance they’ll never forget. Rookie edge defender Odafe Oweh obtained a few pressures on Mahomes, one of which led to an interception. Oweh also had two run stops before adding another to steal the game away from Kansas City in the end with a forced fumble.

Linebacker

Second-year off-ball linebackers Patrick Queen and Malik Harrison both slipped up mightily in coverage for the Ravens. Queen gave up nine catches — eight of which were a first down — on 10 targets for 104 yards. Harrison only gave up three catches, but one was a 46-yard touchdown while the other two were first downs.

Secondary

Versatile corner Marlon Humphrey slipped up for the Ravens in Week 1, and that remained the case in Week 2 as he got beat by Demarcus Robinson for a 33-yard touchdown in the first quarter of play. It wasn’t a completely poor performance as he allowed only 16 more yards in coverage on six other targets with a passing stop, but it could have been a lot better from the star DB.

Anthony Averett racked up three passing stops and didn’t allow any big plays in coverage with just one first down on five targets, but he did miss a couple of tackles in the open field.

Kansas City Chiefs

Quarterback

This was far from Mahomes’ best performance as the Chiefs' starting quarterback. His passing grade currently stands in poor territory below 60.0 upon first review, something he has only done four other times in his career. He struggled to deliver any special throws downfield that the world has grown accustomed to. In Mahomes’ first three performances against the Ravens, he shredded them downfield. Tonight, that wasn’t the case.

Patrick Mahomes on 10-plus yard throws vs Baltimore in career

The Kansas City receiving room helped pad his box score with yards after the catch, and they were the driving force in the Chiefs still having an efficient pass offense. Mahomes also ended up with multiple turnover-worthy plays, both of which came under pressure. 

Running Back

There was only one 10-plus yard run to speak of from Kansas City, and it didn’t even come from the running back room. Edwards-Helaire and Darrel Williams combined for one first down/touchdown, one broken tackle and 1.6 yards after contact per attempt. Throw in the game-losing fumble at the end of the game that swung their win probability over 64 percentage points, and it couldn’t have been a worse performance.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

As alluded to above, the Chiefs' pass-catchers were instrumental in the team producing an efficient passing offense in Week 2. They racked up yards after the catch on short throws and averaged 8.8 extra yards after the catch overall, the fifth-most by a Mahomes-led offense in a single game. They combined for 205 yards after the catch on throws of nine yards or less downfield, which is the most by a Mahomes-led offense.

Mecole Hardman, Byron Pringle and Demarcus Robinson all stepped up and made some plays, but it was tight end Travis Kelce who was the leader of the group. He broke four tackles and was responsible for 87 yards after the catch and 53 yards after contact.

Star wide receiver Tyreek Hill was eerily quiet and had the second-least productive game of his career. He didn’t record a single explosive reception of 15-plus yards and generated only 0.44 yards per route run. This goes hand-and-hand with the dip in Mahomes’ downfield passing numbers.

Offensive Line

Outside of a botched snap from rookie center Creed Humphrey, there was no egregiously poor play from the Chiefs' offensive line. The other four starters did lose at least one rep in pass-protection, but no one gave up multiple pressures. That was encouraging to see considering starting tackles Orlando Brown Jr. and Lucas Niang combined for 10 pressures allowed in Week 1.

Defensive Line

The Chiefs' defensive line was virtually a non-factor in their loss to the Ravens. All eight defensive linemen to play on Sunday Night Football earned a grade near the red upon first review, ranging from the low 40s to just above 60.0. The group combined for only four pressures on Jackson, two of which were cleanups.

Linebacker

Anthony Hitchens was a boom-or-bust player against the run with a negative grade on nearly a quarter of such reps upon first review but also four impactful run stops. He was a clean performer in coverage though with zero catches allowed and one passing stop.

Rookie Nick Bolton wasn’t as clean of a performer in coverage as he allowed four catches for 47 yards, three being a first down.

Secondary

Tyrann Mathieu made his 2021 debut after missing Week 1, and he made his presence known right away. Mathieu came up with two third-down interceptions in the first quarter of play, one of which he took to the end zone for a touchdown. He did give up a couple of 20-plus yard gains, but those two picks and a forced incompletion later on were enough to make him the Chiefs' highest-graded coverage defender in the secondary. Those three plays on the ball were the only ones made by Kansas City in Week 2.