Xavier Worthy scores twice, Chiefs hang on by a toe for huge NFL-opening win over Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens were the NFL’s best team last regular season. They’re one of the few teams that, theoretically, can compete with the Kansas City Chiefs.

If we get this matchup in the AFC championship game again, nobody should complain.

Thursday night gave us an exciting first game of the NFL regular season. The Ravens had a chance to win it late. Lamar Jackson, looking thinner and faster, made plays as usual. He had 100 rushing yards for the 14th time, which is a record for a quarterback. He got the Ravens into position for a touchdown late in the game, trailing 27-20. But the Chiefs held on for a huge win, and it was as close as could be.

Jackson missed a wide-open Zay Flowers in the end zone with five seconds left. On the final play, Jackson scrambled and seemed to hit tight end Isaiah Likely for a touchdown as time expired. But Likely’s toe was barely on the back line and it was ruled incomplete after a replay review. The Chiefs escaped.

The Chiefs made an interesting first-round draft pick in lightning fast receiver Xavier Worthy, and he paid off right away with two touchdowns. He scored on an end-around on his first NFL touch, and then scored a key touchdown in the fourth quarter when the game got close. Just what head coach Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes needed: a game-breaking rookie receiver who is faster than everyone else on the field.

The Chiefs looked good on Thursday night. The Ravens gave them a tough challenge. Maybe we’ll see them play again in January. It couldn’t have been closer on Thursday night.

Ravens battle Chiefs until the end

Both offenses started well. Derrick Henry finished his first drive with the Ravens by scoring a 5-yard touchdown. The Chiefs answered on their first possession with a 21-yard end-around touchdown to Worthy. It was Worthy’s first touch in the NFL and he zoomed by the defense for a score.

Then the defenses took over for the rest of the half. There were no more touchdowns in the first half. Jackson lost a fumble in Chiefs…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/xavier-worthy-scores-twice-chiefs-hang-on-by-a-toe-for-huge-nfl-opening-win-over-ravens-035616558.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-09-06 03:56:16

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.