Chiefs Defender Glad Ravens Abandoned Run Game

The Baltimore Ravens got away from their identity in the AFC Championship Game loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Jon Alfano | Jun 19, 2024

Jan 28, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens running back Gus Edwards (35) runs with the ball as Kansas City Chiefs safety Justin Reid (20) defends during the first half in the AFC Championship football game at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports / Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

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Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens came oh so close to making it back to the Super Bowl last season, but an extremely frustrating loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game ended their championship ambitions early.

Losing that game would've been bad enough, but the way in which Baltimore lost only made it worse. The Ravens had the league's best rushing offense for the entire season, yet made the baffling decision to abandon the ground game completely after going down early. They had just 16 carries as a team, with quarterback Lamar Jackson having eight of them, running backs Gus Edwards and Justice Hill having three each and receiver Zay Flowers having two.

In the months following the game, Ravens players and coaches have admitted that the offensive game plan was very flawed. On the other side of the coin, Kansas City happy to take full advantage of Baltimore's mistakes.

During an appearance on "The Green Light" podcast, Chiefs safety Justin Reid said he was just as confused as everyone else that the Ravens stopped running the ball, but happy it made his job much easier.

"You know what, I'm not exactly sure why they abandoned it, but I'm glad that they did," Reid said.

"That team is brute and brawn and is blue-collar and is going to run the ball down your throat," Reid said of the Ravens. "We knew if you don't stop the run, they're not going to stop running it. So, the emphasis was to stop the run and we wanted to make a statement there that we could both match and exceed that physicality and try to change the dynamics of the game. Try to make them change what they're doing and try to make them find a different way to beat us than running the ball."

To the Chiefs' credit, they executed their game plan perfectly and shut the Ravens' rushing attack down. While Reid didn't dismiss Jackson's passing ability, he knows that Baltimore's success is predicated on the run game above all else.

The Ravens and Chiefs meet again to open the season on Sept. 5 in Kansas City, and while this game won't change anything about what happened in January, it would be nice for the Ravens to get a bit of revenge against the team that eliminated them last season.

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Published Jun 19, 2024

JON ALFANO