Baltimore Ravens vs Kansas City Chiefs: Box score, stats and summary feat. Xavier Worthy
The Baltimore Ravens took on the Kansas City Chiefs in a repeat of last season's AFC Championship game that Kansas City won on the road. Today, it was Baltimore's turn to travel, and by half-time, the game was giving a sense of deja vu.
It was the Ravens who scored first with Derrick Henry getting the first touchdown of the 2024 season but it was the Chiefs who went into the break ahead 13-10. Eventually, that culminated in a 27-20 victory.
Here is a summary of the box scores from the first game of the 2024 NFL season:
Box Score: Ravens v Chiefs
Summary: Ravens vs. Chiefs
Just as in the AFC Championship last year, the Chiefs prevailed by seven points. The game began briskly with the Ravens showing their intent, not just for this match, but for the rest of the season by using Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry on designed runs with both pulling off in different directions. The run game was firmly established when Derrick Henry scored the opening touchdown.
But the Chiefs hit back immediately and rookie Xavier Worthy showed his speed with a brilliant rushing touchdown on a reverse play. The first half then had Harrison Butker and Justin Tucker exchanging kicks, with the Ravens star missing a long attempt.
In the second half, Isiah Pacheco scored on a short run before Baltimore reduced the arrears with Isaiah Likely catching a deep pass from Lamar Jackson. But Xavier Worthy had a professional debut to remember as he caught a touchdown pass to add to his rushing score earlier, and that was the difference as the Chiefs won 27-20.
A final attempt by Likely to tie the scoreboard, as the clock ticked zero, failed after a toe was found to have scraped the whitewash as he was completing the catch.
At the end of the day, both teams are expected to be competing for the opportunity to represent AFC in the Super Bowl, just like they did last season. Both teams showed enough to prove that other competitors will find them tough to handle.
The Ravens will be happy to have an improved offense with Derrick Henry playing in the backfield and both Isaiah Likely and Zay Flowers looking sharp. But the worry for them, and everyone else, is that the reigning two-time Super Bowl champions keep finding ways to win.