Chiefs Show Ravens How Far They Have to Climb

Kansas City looking to win second straight Super Bowl.

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has called the Kansas City Chiefs his "kryptonite." 

Jackson fell to 0-3 against Kansas City over his young career with a 34-20 loss in Week 3 of the 2020 season. 

Jackson had one of his worst games as a starter, completing 15 of 28 passes for 97 yards (73.1 rating) in front of a national Monday night audience. He was also sacked four times and endured five quarterback hits. 

The Chiefs are looking to win their second-consecutive Super Bowl on Feb. 7 against Tom Brady and the Buccaneers after knocking off the Bills 38-24 in the AFC championship. 

The Ravens need to build their roster capable of keeping pace with Kansas City's high-powered offense or find a way to shut down quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who threw for 385 yards with four touchdowns and did not take a sack in the Week 3 victory.

Baltimore coach John Harbaugh acknowledged that's the main challenge moving forward. 

"We haven’t beaten them. They’ve beaten us the last three times we played them," Harbaugh said. "You kind of look at it like … I think they’re a little ahead of us in the timeline. I don’t know. I don’t want to make this comparison, but [if you’re] a basketball fan, you look at the way it kind of went with … You had the [Boston] Celtics and the [Detroit] Pistons. Then, you had the Pistons and the [Chicago] Bulls. 

"Then, you had everybody and the Bulls. They were kind of taking over; they did it twice. Some of the older guys, we know that. That’s a team … We’ve got to beat them, and we’ve got to find a way to beat them."

Jackson is sometimes irked when he is compared to Mahomes. He points out that the Chiefs quarterback has won a Super Bowl, but Jackson did manage to win his first playoff game this past season.

Here's a look at the other two meetings between the Chiefs and Ravens with Mahomes and Jackson as the starting quarterbacks.

Dec. 29, 2018

Chiefs 27, Ravens 24 (OT)

Baltimore had built a 24-17 lead with 4:04 left in the game. However, Mahomes responded with an 11-play, 75-yard scoring drive that included a pair of fourth-down conversions. The first came on a fourth-and-9 from the Kansas City 40, when a scrambling Mahomes threw an impressive 48-yard, cross-body heave to Tyreek Hill for a first down at the Ravens’ 12-yard line. The second came on a fourth-and-3 at the Ravens’ 5 when Mahomes found running back Damien Williams for the tying touchdown. The Chiefs won the coin toss to open the extra period and won the game on that drive with a 35-yard field goal by Harrison Butker.

• Mahomes was 35 of 53 for 377 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.

• Jackson was 13 of 24 for 147 yards with two touchdowns. He also ran for 67 yards on 14 carries. 

Sept. 22, 2019

Chiefs 33, Ravens 28

The Chiefs amassed 503 total yards, compared to 452 for the Ravens. Kansas City jumped to a 23-6 halftime lead, scoring all 23 points in the second quarter. But, the Ravens rallied before falling just short. Baltimore converted three of four fourth-down attempts. Jackson had a 9-yard scoring run cut the margin to (33-28) with 2:01 remaining. However, the 2-point conversion failed, as did an onside kick attempt. The Chiefs then converted a third and-9 on a pass from Mahomes to Williams with just over a minute left in the game to halt the Ravens’ comeback. 

• Mahomes was 27 of 37 for 374 yards with three touchdowns.

• Jackson was 22 of 43 for 267 yards. He also had eight carries for 46 yards with a touchdown.