Rookie receiver Zay Flowers had 119 of the Ravens’ 336 yards, and he scored their only touchdown. But not scoring a second touchdown when he was thisclose will haunt him the entire offseason.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Flowers caught a short pass from Lamar Jackson and was diving into the end zone for a 9-yard touchdown. As Flowers was about to cross the plane, Chiefs cornerback L’Jarius Sneed knocked the ball loose.
Trent McDuffie recovered for the Chiefs in the end zone.
Flowers said after the game he thought he crossed the goal, but replay confirmed he fumbled first.
“Yeah, I thought I did, honestly,” Flowers said, via a transcript from the team, “but I’ll learn from my mistakes.”
The Ravens trailed 17-7 at the time and lost 17-10.
The crucial turnover was more about what Sneed did than what Flowers didn’t do.
“We coach two hands when you reach for the end zone,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “He had two hands on the ball.”
Flowers threw his helmet in frustration and appeared to cut his finger during his sideline temper tantrum.
“No, I had a cut already. It just opened up again,” said Flowers, who caught five passes for 115 yards and ran twice for 4 yards.
Flowers also drew a 15-yard taunting penalty after a 54-yard reception earlier in the game. Sneed held onto Flowers’ leg after the tackle, and Flowers responded by stepping over Sneed and then spinning the ball in his direction.
Flowers received a pep talk from veteran receiver Odell Beckham after the game, providing encouragement after a good day gone bad.
"[I] was just letting Zay know he’s going to be a special player, and this is a moment in [his] career that [will pass],” Beckham said. “It’s never going to break you; it’s always going to make you. And just being able to be there for him however I can.”