KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Upon further review, the Kansas City Chiefs survived the season opener Thursday against the Baltimore Ravens, starting the weather-delayed path toward a possible three-peat with a 27-20 win at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
Two plays after Isaiah Likely left the game when he appeared to injure his left shoulder while trying to make a leaping catch on an overthrown ball in the end zone, he returned for the game’s final snap.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson extended the play, moving back-and-forth in the pocket, before zipping a potential game-tying — or even go-ahead, if Baltimore had succeeded on a two-point try — touchdown to Likely in the back of the end zone.
It looked as if the Chiefs' defense would have to stop a two-point try to prevent blowing a 10-point fourth quarter lead, but a replay review showed that the tip of Likely’s right foot came down out of bounds.
“It was definitely nerveracking, because it looked good from my angle on the sideline,” Patrick Mahomes said. “But then the first view you saw (on replay), you could see the cleat.”
Linebacker Nick Bolton may have helped nudge Likely, who finished with nine catches for 111 yards, a half-inch over the end line.
“I tried to just use my momentum to push him out,” Bolton, who had seven tackles, said. “I didn’t know at the time, but I was hoping I pushed him hard enough where he couldn’t get two feet in.”
In the end, Bolton did enough.
“When they say it’s a game of inches, it might be shorter than that,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said.
Jackson, who finished 26 of 41 for 273 yards with a touchdown and also ran for 122 yards on 16 carries, missed a wide open Zay Flowers in the back of the end zone on the previous play.
Flowers came open in the back of the end zone was running across the field. Jackson threw the ball behind him, expecting him to stop in open space.
“That’s a playoff-caliber team right there with an MVP quarterback and we look forward to seeing them later down the road,” defensive tackle Chris Jones said.
SEASON-OPENING MAGIC: Since Andy Reid’s arrival 2013, Kansas City has been almost automatic in season-openers.
After Thursday's win against the Ravens, the Chiefs are now 10-2 in the first game of the season under Reid. The only losses came in 2014 and 2023.
Kansas City also improved to 6-1 in season openers since Mahomes took over as the starting quarterback in 2018.
The only loss during that span was came last year, when Detroit beat a Chiefs team that was missing Travis Kelce and Chris Jones 21-20 in the NFL opener.
ANOTHER GAME, ANOTHER RECORD FOR MAHOMES: Midway through the second quarter, Patrick Mahomes lobbed a 23-yard pass to Travis Kelce after scrambling away from pressure.
The throw moved Mahomes into first place for career passing yards in Chiefs history — passing Len Dawson, the only other quarterback in franchise history to win a Super Bowl.
Dawson passed for 28,507 yards in 14 seasons with the Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs.
Mahomes entered the season with 28,424.
He finished 20 of 28 for 291 yards, giving him 28,715 career yards.
Mahomes moved past Trent Green (28,475), Chris Chandler (28,484) and Len Dawson (28,711) into 62nd place on the NFL’s all-time career passing list.
MAHOMES, THE PILE-PUSHER: When Baltimore’s created a stalemate at the goal line early in the third quarter, Isaiah Pacheco got help from a surprising teammates in pushing the pile into the end zone — Mahomes.
“Obviously, he got right to the goal line and I felt like I could give him a little shoulder in there,” Mahomes said. “I don’t know if I gave him much, but I feel like I moved him off directly in there and then he fell through. I fell through too, so I felt like I scored a touchdown as well. I feel like I should get half a touchdown.”
Mahomes said the last time he tried to push the pile was 2018 against Indianapolis — maybe, he said — “and an O-lineman hit me from behind and Coach Reid told me never to do it again,” the QB said.
He expects a similar admonition from Reid after watching film.
“I was hoping he’d keep his legs out of the way — and arm,” Reid said. “That’s how he is. You’re not going to stop that. I don’t recommend it, but he’s a competitor.”
Mahomes echoed that idea.
“We were struggling in the red zone, so we were just trying to find a way to get in,” he said. “That’s a tough defense, especially down there. We needed that touchdown, so I just put my body on the line to get in there.”
RICE GETS ROLLING: For the third time in his career — four, if you include the postseason — Rashee Rice topped the century mark in receiving mark.
With Baltimore leery of rookie Xavier Worthy’s speed, Rice found room to roam in the middle of the field, making seven catches for a team-high 103 yards.
His nine targets were more than double any other Kansas City pass-catcher.
“Rashee had a big night,” Reid said. “No sophomore slump there.”
As a rookie last season, Rice totaled 79 catches for 938 yards and seven touchdowns, growing into the Chiefs’ top receiver over the course of the year.
But an offseason arrest for leaving the scene of a high-speed crash cast a shadow over the two-time reigning champs in late March.
WAS TAYLOR SWIFT AT THE GAME?: Taylor Swift doesn’t have work on Friday, so she was able to make the trip to Kansas City!
The Chiefs went 10-3, including the playoffs, in games Swift attended last season.
Kansas City’s now 11-3 when Swift, who has been dating Travis Kelce for more than a year now, shows up after the pop icon graced Arrowhead with her presence for the 2024 NFL opener.
Kelce made a few visits, including a memorable surprise appearance at Wembley Stadium, as Swift’s The Eras Tour made its way through Europe during the offseason.
With the years-long tour on a two-month break, Swift probably will be a regular at Chiefs game until her tour resumes in mid-October.
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