By the sliver of a toe, the Kansas City Chiefs avoided a second-straight season-opening loss as the defending Super Bowl champs.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson found Isaiah Likely in the back of the end zone for what initially appeared to be a spectacular score as time expired, but further review showed the tight end's toe was just barely out bounds, nullifying the score.
Picking right up where they left off seven months ago, the Chiefs navigated self-inflicted offensive wounds and rode a smothering defense to beat the Baltimore Ravens 27-20 in a rematch of the AFC title game for the league's season-opener.
To win, the Chiefs had to withstand a late Ravens rally led by Jackson's wizardry, though Jackson missed receivers in the end zone on back-to-back plays to force the third and final game-deciding play where Likely narrowly missed a game-saving play.
While Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense had a handful of miscues including dropped balls and holding penalties, the Super Bowl MVP was in midseason form as he supplanted Len Dawson as the franchise's all-time leading passer on a 23-yard completion to tight end Travis Kelce.
Mahomes completed 20 of 28 pass attempts for 291 yards and two touchdowns. He even had a catch, nabbing his own deflected pass late in the fourth quarter to save a near-interception on third down as his team led by a touchdown. And no one had a bigger night than rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy, who found the end zone twice in his debut.
As usual, the Ravens' offense flowed through Jackson -- but more often than not, it was under duress. He rushed for more than 100 yards, moving into third all time in quarterback rushing yards behind Michael Vick and Cam Newton. With the Ravens offensive line struggling to hold up against a ferocious Chiefs pass rush, the Ravens' passing attack was mostly horizontal and Jackson averaged just 1.3 air yards per attempt in the first half.
The Chiefs maintained momentum for most of the game, including scoring a touchdown a drive after the Ravens cut the lead to a field goal in the fourth quarter, but Jackson and the Ravens entered the final two minutes of the game trailing by a just touchdown and nearly mounted an unlikely comeback.
Here are the highlights from the NFL's 2024 season opener.