KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For nearly four years, Lamar Jackson has been trying to live down the single time that he referred to the Kansas City Chiefs as the Baltimore Ravens’ kryptonite. And during that same time span, the franchise has been trying to reduce the number of instances when Jackson has to carry the burden of Superman to keep the Ravens toe-to-toe against their AFC rival.
Yet here we are again after Thursday night’s NFL’s season opener, with the Kansas City once again fitting the bill as Baltimore’s kryptonite, and Jackson once again having to don a cape and play the role of a superhero to keep the Ravens toe-to-toe with the Chiefs. All with a familiar outcome of defeat for Jackson and Baltimore, this time via a 27-20 win for Kansas City that was literally sealed for the Chiefs by the length of one out-of-bounds toe as time expired in the fourth quarter.
The definitive moment in a game rarely ever gets any closer than what happened at Arrowhead Stadium, which saw Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely catch a potential game-tying touchdown as time expired, only to have the score overturned when a review showed the tip of his foot touching the white boundary line at the back of the end zone. This was the smallest of margins in a game the Ravens didn’t play particularly well, coming on the road in one of the toughest stadium environments in the NFL.
From that vantage, the Ravens can take heart. They took the Chiefs to the last second of the game and the smallest margins separated victory from defeat. But in a first week that is almost always plagued by overblown analysis, Thursday night also offers us the first potential overreaction. In the form of a question that is worth asking only because it’s very familiar: Is the Ravens’ reliance on Jackson to be Superman in games like this sustainable as an offense?
Before we get into that, I’ll say it again: This is Week 1 and we very rarely get a fully accurate depiction of an NFL team after a loss in the season opener. Particularly teams that have good talent, good coaching and a quality quarterback. The Ravens have all of those things, so there’s plenty of reason to give them a few weeks (or even months) to fully realize their scheme ambitions. But we can do that while still being realistic along the way. And that requires a look at their first crack at a balanced offense Thursday.
Yes, it was balanced. But largely only by the creative acumen of Jackson, who repeatedly had to extend plays while passing for 273 yards and a touchdown and also running 16 times for 122 yards. To put a fine point on it: He was the Ravens’ entire offense.
This is something the team has been trying to get away from for years. Not because Jackson isn’t capable of carrying the load, but because the model has proven to be historically unsustainable. Either because Jackson suffers too much physical punishment or the Ravens fizzle out in key postseason moments when he can’t be perfect. The last 20 seconds of Thursday’s game were a prime example of those pitfalls, with Jackson missing Likely on what appeared to be a touchdown opportunity, then throwing a ball between two wideouts in the back of the end zone, missing a streaking Rashod Bateman and a wide-open Zay Flowers. And finally, when Jackson pulled off the throw he absolutely needed to have as time expired, the Ravens fell victim to Likely coming down with a toe out of bounds.
That need for perfection and constant playmaking from Jackson is what I thought of Thursday watching Baltimore. That the way the offense operated — steering almost entirely away from running back Derrick Henry in the second half — is not what the Ravens are trying to achieve from a balance or roster construction standpoint. While this was a game that developed in a way that necessitated Jackson taking over in some way at almost every key moment, the continued hope has to be minimizing that need. Eventually, it invites some kind of breakdown like the ones that happened at the end against the Chiefs.
Is this just a one-game overreaction? Maybe. Clearly the Ravens didn’t seem to think there was any definitive statement to be made from the loss — especially after Baltimore refused to roll over despite trailing 27-17 with five minutes left in the fourth quarter. The Ravens had committed a multitude of costly penalties, turned the ball over, fallen in a hole that steered the play-calling away from Henry and gone through extended stretches of looking mediocre on offense.
But Jackson also showcased his typical dynamic play when creating on the run, something that he clearly wanted to lean into after slimming down to what he believes is a faster, quicker weight. He also showcased an exceptional groove with Likely, the team’s third-year tight end who has shown flashes of developing into a key weapon.
“The adversity throughout the course of the game was a challenge … and we fought like crazy to overcome it,” Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said Thursday night. “I’m proud of the way the guys fought. We’re only going to get better from here on out. I’m looking forward to that.”
“It was a great effort by Lamar,” linebacker Roquan Smith added. “Personally, as a defense, we never should have put him in that position of having to come back like that. Hats off to him. There’s a reason he’s a two-time MVP, but as a defense we should have never put those guys in that position. … This is the worst we’ll play all season. I can promise you that.”
That was a sentiment from Jackson, too — that the offense is still in an adjustment period and that the Ravens will find a way to win games like Thursday as everyone settles into their roles. There was no frustration at carrying the majority of the offensive load, only encouragement that the Ravens didn’t play particularly well but still pushed the Chiefs to the last second at Arrowhead Stadium. That … and one message that Jackson wanted to make clear when a reporter mentioned his past comments about Kansas City being Baltimore’s kryptonite.
“They’re not my kryptonite,” Jackson said, cutting the reporter’s question off and then repeating it a second time. “They’re not my kryptonite.”
On Thursday night, the scoreboard again suggested otherwise. Just as Jackson’s performance suggested that he’s still being counted on to be Superman at a time when the offense is supposed to be protecting him with more balance. We’ll see if it was a Week 1 anomaly or a sign of things to come as the season moves forward.