Points that stood out from Kansas City’s 17-10 AFC Championship Game victory in Baltimore Sunday afternoon:
· Go back 12 weeks to Germany, after Kansas City limped to a toothless 21-14 win over Miami. I talked to Patrick Mahomes for a “Football Night in America”: “We’re gonna get this offense figured out, I promise you, and we’ll be a hard team to beat.” Afterward, in the locker room, I stopped to thank him for his time and, unprompted, he said: “Believe me—we will figure out this offense. No doubt in my mind.” It’s clear that the AFC champs are not at peak efficiency, as they were in the Tyreek days. But the team that led the NFL in dropped passes in the regular season and was a sloppy, sloppy team for four months, is a far more efficient team in this 3-0 postseason run. Two turnovers in three games. Zero giveaways by Mahomes. And just three drops. The explosiveness isn’t there, but Mahomes was right. They’d figure it out, and they’d figure out the trustworthy offensive elements. As Mahomes said after Sunday’s game: “We always had everything we wanted in front of us. Coach Reid preaches that every single day we come into the building. And now we’re going to the Super Bowl.”
· Those trustworthy elements in the playoffs: Isiah Pacheco, 254 rushing yards; Travis Kelce, 262 receiving yards; Rashee Rice, 223 receiving yards. Each one had a game of glory—Rice in the win over Miami, Pacheco in the win at Buffalo, Kelce (11 targets, 11 catches, 116 yards) in the win at Baltimore. “We’re gonna get this offense figured out,” and they did. It’s not as explosive as some, but beware Mahomes in big games.
· Barring injury, barring something unforeseen, we’re probably a third of the way through Patrick Mahomes’ career. Six seasons. Six AFC West titles. Six AFC Championship Game appearances. Four Super Bowl appearances. Only Tom Brady (35) and Joe Montana (16) have more playoff wins than his 14 (tied with Peyton Manning, John Elway, Terry Bradshaw). He’s 28. Good Lord.
· Think playoff experience doesn’t matter? Kansas City had zero panic, zero moments in the game you thought, what are they doing? Baltimore will rue this first AFC title game in the city since 1971, for a long, long time.
· So many Baltimore errors, many of them so, so careless—and many by veterans. Kyle Van Noy, trusted 10-year vet, head-butting Travis Kelce for a penalty. Lamar Jackson, throwing a fourth-quarter pick into triple-coverage. Defensive leader Roquan Smith barreling into the KC line early for an unnecessary-roughness call, handing Kansas City a gift first down on the last series of the game. Jadeveon Clowney, with a big 15-yard roughing hit on Mahomes. And then, of course, the Zay Flowers stuff. A dumb taunting call late in the third quarter. And 10 inches from the goal line on the first play of the fourth quarter, fumbling away Baltimore’s best chance to get back in the game. “He didn’t have to extend the ball,” said one viewer, Sauce Gardner, on social media.
Jan 28, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers (4) fumbles the ball as Kansas City Chiefs cornerback L’Jarius Sneed (38) defends during the second half in the AFC Championship football game at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
· About that play … L’Jarius Sneed’s an accomplished NFL corner, and he made the biggest play of his career to dislodge the ball from Flowers. Played like a pro. “I saw him, he had a step on me,” Sneed said. “All that was in my mind was, catch up and make the tackle. And that’s what I did. And when I saw him stretch the ball out, I just punched at the ball, and it came out.”
· Seemed like a stunned Ravens team post-game, from what observers said. “I’ll learn from my mistakes,” Flowers said. Jackson had been pointing to this game since 2019—he was all-in on the Super Bowl and nothing else: “I’m angry about, you know, losing. We were a game away from the Super Bowl. We’ve been waiting all this time, all these moments, for an opportunity like this, and fell short. We scored once. That’s not like us.” It’s not—but that’s what being new at very big games does to a team.
· One amazing pro-Lamar play … The brilliance of Jackson’s second-quarter tipped-pass-to-himself-and-run for 13 yards has to include one other element: the fact that Jackson grabbed the ball inches from the grasp of KC safety Justin Reid. If Jackson doesn’t catch the ball and Reid does, Kansas City takes the ball at the Ravens’ 21-yard line with five minutes left in the half, already leading 14-7. Huge, huge play.
This will hurt for Baltimore for weeks, months. But at some point, they’ll know they’ll be better for the experience. And they’ll know there’s no shame in losing to Mahomes.
Read more in Peter King’s full Football Morning in America column.
