The NFL’s 105th season is underway, and so is the Kansas City Chiefs’ quest for a historic Super Bowl three-peat, in thrilling fashion.
In front of a delighted Arrowhead Stadium crowd – which included Taylor Swift – the Chiefs unveiled their championship banner and gave their home fans a nail-biting 27-20 win against the Baltimore Ravens in a game that came down to the final play to determine the outcome.
Chiefs superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes broke the franchise record for all-time passing yards, putting him ahead of Len Dawson, while rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy – who broke the NFL combine 40-yard dash record at 4.21 seconds – had a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown.
A rematch of last season’s AFC championship game featuring Super Bowl LVIII MVP Mahomes and the reigning league MVP in Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, the Chiefs were in control in the first half, taking a 13-10 lead into the break, and they extended the lead to 20-10 in the third quarter.
The Ravens, though, started showing signs of life early in the final period, with a 49-yard pass from Jackson to tight end Isaiah Likely to cut it to 20-17.
But Mahomes, as he so often does, answered quickly by finding Worthy for a 35-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 27-17. In the first half, Worthy had sprinted 21 yards on an end-around to the end zone – his first touch in his NFL career.
The biggest catch of the night, however, might have been from Mahomes himself. With less than three minutes left in the game and the Chiefs holding a seven-point lead, Mahomes had a third-down pass deflected by Ravens linebacker Trenton Simpson, but the Chiefs quarterback managed to block out two defenders to catch the floating ball, avoiding the turnover.
Kansas City was forced to punt, giving Jackson and Baltimore one last drive.
With no timeouts, Jackson took to the air and hit wide receiver Rashod Bateman for a 38-yard gain, making it first-and-goal. Incomplete passes to Likely and wide receiver Zay Flowers made it third-and-goal with five seconds to go.
On the final play of the game, Jackson threw to Likely in the back of the end zone for what looked like a touchdown. That would have given the Ravens a chance to tie with an extra point or win the game with a two-point conversion.
But, the play was reviewed – as all possible scoring plays are in the final two minutes of the game – and subsequent views showed Likely had a toe out of bounds.
The play was ruled an incomplete pass and the Chiefs escaped the opener with the win by a toe.
“Obviously, it was nerve wracking,” Mahomes told NBC. “It’s a game of inches, that’s what they say. That’s a great football team, and to come out here and get a win at Arrowhead, it’s a way to start off the season.”
That moment meant that Mahomes could truly celebrate his new place in Chiefs lore. The franchise-record-breaking moment for Mahomes came on the kind of play NFL fans have seen from the Chiefs star QB so many times in his career.
It was on a third-and-12, and Mahomes, under pressure, scrambled to find open space and connected with his longtime trusty target, tight end Travis Kelce, for a 23-yard gain midway through the second quarter.
Mahomes had entered the night 84 yards away from surpassing Dawson for the franchise record. He finished the night 20-of-28 passing for 291 yards and a touchdown, throwing one interception.
Jackson was 26-of-41 for 273 yards and one touchdown.
After the game, Jackson had a hard time accepting the result: “I thought it was a touchdown,” he said of the final play. “Still think it was a touchdown.”
Kickoff for the season opener was slightly delayed – 20 minutes – until 7:40 p.m. local time in Kansas City because of a thunderstorm that went over Arrowhead Stadium, delaying event and game activities. During the downpour, spectators were told to leave their seats and take cover, while players cleared the field.
After the inclement weather cleared, a rainbow appeared in the distance – as if a sign for exuberant NFL fans that the season was near.
This story has been updated with additional reporting.
