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          NFL Nation

          Championship mettle? Ravens first need to solve the Chiefs

          • Jamison Hensley, ESPN Staff WriterSep 29, 2020, 03:20 AM
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              Jamison Hensley is a reporter covering the Baltimore Ravens for ESPN. Jamison joined ESPN in 2011, covering the AFC North before focusing exclusively on the Ravens beginning in 2013. Jamison won the National Sports Media Association Maryland Sportswriter of the Year award in 2018, and he authored a book titled: Flying High: Stories of the Baltimore Ravens. He was the Ravens beat writer for the Baltimore Sun from 2000-2011.
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          BALTIMORE -- The Baltimore Ravens talked this week about wanting to show their championship mettle against the Kansas City Chiefs. Instead, the Ravens were reminded how the defending Super Bowl champions remain "our kryptonite," according to quarterback Lamar Jackson.

          In a hyped-up battle of the NFL's top two teams, Jackson and the Ravens painfully found out how far they are from unseating Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in a humbling, 34-20 loss on Monday Night Football.

          The Ravens (2-1) were left scratching their heads about everything from Mahomes' underhand touchdown to pass fullback Anthony Sherman and another scoring toss to left tackle Eric Fisher to why they look superhuman against the rest of the NFL in the regular season yet look so ordinary against the Chiefs.

          Jackson didn't resemble the reigning NFL MVP in a choppy performance, falling to 0-3 against the Chiefs with a career-worst 97 yards passing. It was unlike the Jackson who has dominated the remainder of the league with a 21-1 regular-season record.

          The Ravens' defense hadn't allowed more than 21 points in 13 straight games. On Monday night, Baltimore gave up 27 points to Kansas City in one half.

          Baltimore hadn't trailed in the second half at any point in 13 consecutive games, the best such stretch since the 1930 Green Bay Packers. On Monday night, the Ravens trailed the entire second half.

          While Mahomes and the Chiefs played loose in their backyard-football style, the Ravens looked confused on both sides of the ball, plagued by Jackson's errant passes, drops by receivers and uncharacteristic mistakes on defense. There are plenty of teams who stumble against the Chiefs, but the Ravens have to figure out why their worst performances repeatedly happen against Kansas City.

          Entering the season, the biggest question surrounding Jackson and the Ravens was whether they could win in the postseason after abrupt exits each of the past two seasons. Now, Baltimore knows its biggest hurdle to any championship aspirations is overcoming the doubts about whether it can beat Mahomes and Kansas City -- which has the inside track for the top seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

          QB breakdown: Jackson had one of the worst passing games of his career. After showing so much improvement as a pocket passer in the first two games, Jackson struggled with his accuracy and finished 15-for-28 (a season-worst 53.6%). It won't be much of a rivalry with Mahomes until Jackson beats him and plays well in doing so.

          Troubling trend: Jackson has yet to lead a significant comeback. He is now 0-5 when trailing by 10 points at any point in the game. He also is 0-5 when trailing at halftime. Some of this is due to a lack of opportunities. Jackson and the Ravens had led at halftime in 11 straight games, which was one shy of tying an NFL record. But when faced with a large deficit, Jackson has struggled.

          Eye-popping NextGen Stat: The one highlight was Baltimore rookie Devin Duvernay's 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the second quarter. Duvernay's top speed of 21.48 mph was the second fastest by an NFL ball carrier on a kickoff over the past two seasons. He traveled 110.4 yards of distance on the play, and he reached his top speed at the Chiefs' 45-yard line.