Patrick Mahomes Runs Out Victorious Against Lamar Jackson in NFL Opener

In the battle of the A-list quarterbacks, it was Patrick Mahomes who emerged victorious as the Kansas City Chiefs edged out the Baltimore Ravens in an incident-packed opening NFL clash at the Arrowhead.

The Chiefs, reigning NFL champions, completed a 27-20 victory after an Isaiah Likely touchdown catch for the Ravens was ruled out in the dying moments of an entertaining encounter. 

Mahomes completed 20 of 28 passes for 291 yards and a touchdown, while Lamar Jackson managed 26 from 41 for 273 yards and a touchdown pass of his own. Jackson also topped the rushing yards with 122 yards from his 16 rushes.

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On the loss, reigning NFL MVP Jackson is still unconvinced that the Ravens’ late touchdown should not have been overruled, stating,

“I thought it was a touchdown,” 

“Still think it was a touchdown.” He added.

Receiver Likely caught the pass from Jackson, but as he came down, he was judged to have had his toe out of bounds. Hence, a touchdown that was initially given was then overruled, costing Baltimore the game.

Mahomes initially agreed with Jackson’s assessment before changing his mind.

“It looked good from my angle on the sideline,” “But then the first view you could see his cleat. You have to wear white cleats next time. That’s my advice for him.”

Ravens coach John Harbaugh was still full of praise for his team’s display,

“I thought our guys (overcame) setbacks at times, and fought like crazy to overcome. It looked like we had an opportunity there to tie the game up and try to win,” Harbaugh said. “Didn’t happen at the end, but our guys fought.”

Baltimore was beaten in the AFC Championship game by the Chiefs last season and have now lost four of their last five games against Kansas, in what is a worrying trend. Harbaugh did not hold back in his assessment of the officials after the game,

“They put a thing out that they said they were gonna call that differently,” 

“I think understanding how differently, we were the first offensive series of the season with that, and I think they saw probably everybody watching it.” Harbaugh added.

The Chiefs got off to a strong start and look like a good bet to win their third successive Super Bowl, with Andy Reid’s side aiming for a fifth Super Bowl appearance in six seasons.

The Ravens will also hope to be involved in the latter stages of the postseason with Harbaugh hoping to take Baltimore to their first Super Bowl in over a decade in what is his 17th season in charge at the M&T Bank Stadium.