Chiefs escape Ravens by inches to win NFL season opener: Live updates and result reaction (2025)

Patrick Mahomes and the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs began their title defense with a thrilling 27-20 victory over the Baltimore Ravens in the 2024 NFL season opener.

Mahomes threw for 291 yards and a touchdown in a typically superb performance, but the Chiefs were nevertheless made to sweat in the final seconds of the game when the impressive Isaiah Likely appeared to catch Lamar Jackson’s pass at the back of the end zone with no time remaining.

His catch was initially ruled a touchdown — but the video showed Likely’s toes landing on the end line and the call was overturned, handing the opening night victory to the reigning champions.

Rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy enjoyed a debut to remember, with touchdowns rushing and receiving, while his teammate Isiah Pacheco also had a touchdown run, as the Chiefs once again got the better of the Ravens.

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Unofficially, the Baltimore Ravens were a right toe away from potentially beating the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs Thursday night in their house and starting the season with an improbable victory.

But ultimately they didn’t lose the NFL’s regular-season opener, 27-20, at Arrowhead Stadium because tight end Isaiah Likely’s toe came down on the white out-of-bounds line in the back of the end zone with the clock showing zeroes.

The Ravens lost because they spent the first 59 minutes of the game repeatedly shooting themselves in the foot against an opponent that knows what to do with an opponent’s charity. The Ravens already knew that from their AFC Championship Game appearance against the Chiefs roughly seven months ago. Thursday offered another painful reminder.

“This is the worst we’ll play all season,” said middle linebacker Roquan Smith. “I can promise you that.”

Isaiah Likely didn’t complete the comeback. His right foot was one size too big. However, Likely showed what became apparent this summer. That he’s rapidly becoming one of Jackson’s favorite targets and an ascending player in the league.

The Ravens will have to get Mark Andrews and Rashod Bateman more involved going forward, but they have to feel good about what they have in Likely.

Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr had an awfully tough assignment in his NFL regular-season debut. All he had to do was slow down one of the most prolific head coach and quarterback duos the league has seen, while guiding a new-look coaching staff and defense. It didn’t go especially well.

Orr’s group hung in there in the first half, forcing the Chiefs to kick two field goals and getting an interception by Roquan Smith. Then, the second half happened. The Ravens were forced to blow two timeouts in the third quarter because of confusion defensively. In the fourth quarter, a coverage bust led to a 35-yard touchdown by Worthy.

Mike Macdonald’s unit struggled early in his first year as a defensive coordinator, too. It’s going to take some time for Orr. That was readily apparent tonight.

One of the biggest revelations from Thursday’s game was how well the Chiefs used rookie receiver Xavier Worthy. As the first-round pick, Worthy had a dazzling performance, scoring two touchdowns, each of them the type of exciting moment the Chiefs were hoping for when they traded up in the draft to select him.

Worthy is also just the second rookie in franchise history to score two touchdowns in their first game. The last Chiefs rookie to score at least two touchdowns in his debut was former running back Kareem Hunt, who scored three touchdowns in the team’s blowout win over the New England Patriots in 2017.

Speaking after being flagged three times tonight for illegal formation, Ronnie Stanley says he felt the refs were trying to make an example out of him. He says it was not called the way the team was told it would be when the pro refs were at training camp practices.

Stanley adds that he was looking at how the Chiefs tackles were lining up and he couldn’t understand why the Ravens were getting called and Kansas City wasn’t. He’s calling for accountability with the refs.

More from Lamar Jackson speaking after the Ravens' loss: “We got to do what we got to do to win those games. I can’t be mad at my guys. They battled.

“Every time we have a big play, flag down. We have to clean that up.”

The Ravens took seven penalties for 64 yards tonight, but that number doesn't capture the yards they missed out on if positive plays had instead counted.

Speaking after the loss, Roquan Smith says: “This is the worst we’ll play all season. I promise you that.

“Whoever No. 88 is, he better watch himself. I’ll see him when I see him.” No. 88 is Peyton Hendershot, who wasn't in uniform tonight. Smith says he pushed him from behind on the sidelines.

Speaking after his game-ending touchdown was ruled out by a toe, Isaiah Likely says: “I got to get both feet in.”

Lamar Jackson, however, says that he still thinks it was a touchdown.

Chiefs fan Matt T.: "They really are went toe to toe here, didn’t they?"

Ravens fan Benjamin C.: "What a game! New OL held up in 2nd half and defense settling in. Going to be great when they meet in AFC championship again"

Ravens fan Joel R.: "Lamar lost by one centimeter to the best QB in NFL history."

Chiefs fan Daniel: "NO! TOEDOWN!!!!!!!!!!"

As you expected they would, the Ravens played extremely hard and pushed the Chiefs until late. That they had the ball with under two minutes to go and a chance to tie the game is a testament to that. However, they just made too many mistakes to expect to beat a championship-level team on the road. On offense, they committed a turnover deep in their own territory, were stopped on fourth down near midfield and were flagged for a litany of illegal formation penalties.

Defensively, miscommunication reigned and the Ravens also took several key penalties, including a Nnamdi Madubuike roughing the passer call that extended a Chiefs touchdown drive. On special teams, even the normally-reliable Justin Tucker missed a long field. Overall, the Ravens looked like a team who didn’t play most of their starters in the preseason and who have a first–year defensive coordinator and and a new-look defensive staff.

By an inch, maybe two, the Chiefs’ defense did just enough to hold the Ravens’ out of the end zone, a game-saving stop to surrender just 20 points in a thrilling opening-night game.

Through three quarters, the Chiefs held the Ravens to just 10 points. Pass rusher Chris Jones continued to put plenty of pressure on quarterback Lamar Jackson, coordinator Steve Spagnuolo unleashed a couple effective blitzes and the Chiefs’ secondary, led by cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson, had been exceptional in coverage.

Running back Derrick Henry, one of Baltimore’s biggest acquisitions in the offseason, had just 36 rushing yards on 13 attempts. On the game’s final play, linebackers Nick Bolton and Drue Tranquill did just enough in coverage to make Jackson’s pass to tight end Isaiah Likely a difficult one. Likely leaped in the air to make the catch, but his right foot landed out of bounds, the toe of his cleat touching the white-painted area of grass. Similar to last year’s season opener, the Chiefs held their opponent to just 20 points.

This game gave fantasy managers three players with 20+ PPR points, with Isaiah Likely leading the way with 26.1, followed by Lamar Jackson with 25.12 and Xavier Worthy with 20.8.

And Likely would've had another eight points if that touchdown on the final play had counted!