Scott Polacek @@ScottPolacek Featured Columnist IV September 6, 2024
Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Perhaps the Baltimore Ravens would have won Thursday’s season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs if tight end Isaiah Likely wore white cleats to match the out-of-bounds line in the back of the end zone.
Even Patrick Mahomes might think so.
“It looked good from my angle on the sideline,” Mahomes told reporters when speaking about Baltimore’s final play. “But then that first view you saw, you can see the cleat. That’s a great football team, and I’m sure we’ll see them again at some point in the playoffs. We’re happy with the win now. He’s gotta wear white cleats next time. That’s my advice for him.”
Likely hauled in an apparent touchdown as time expired, which would have allowed the Ravens to go for the ensuing two-point conversion and the win. However, his toe came down out of bounds, and Kansas City walked away with the 27-20 victory after a replay review.
“I thought it was a touchdown,” Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson told reporters. “I still think it was a touchdown.”
NFL @NFL
The Ravens were THIS CLOSE to scoring the game-tying touchdown 👀#Kickoff2024 pic.twitter.com/08KjTVFHQZ
Bleacher Report @BleacherReport
Wow. pic.twitter.com/OxlknyB3gx
For his part, Likely told reporters: “At this point, you just have to live with the call. You have to look on, obviously watch the film, see where we can get better to not put ourselves in the situation to leave it in the refs’ hands to be able to call that.”
It was the defining play of an excellent game that saw the Ravens march down the field with no timeouts in the final two minutes. Jackson also missed a wide-open Zay Flowers in the back of the end zone on the previous play, so Baltimore will surely leave the game thinking about missed opportunities.
But it was more of the same for the two-time reigning champion Chiefs, who may be even better this season with the addition of rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy.
Worthy scored two touchdowns to help propel the offense, and Mahomes made just enough plays to keep the Ravens at bay.
Still, it would be anything but a surprise if the two teams matched up again in the playoffs, especially after facing each other in last season’s AFC Championship Game.
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