Ravens' comeback falls short against Chiefs

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs continued their run of dominance over a key AFC rival, winning 27-20 in a heartbreaking season-opener over the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night.

The game was decided when tight end Isaiah Likely's foot went out of bounds on a potential touchdown pass in the final seconds.

Led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes and a two-touchdown performance from rookie receiver Xavier Worthy, the Chiefs picked up where they left off in the Super Bowl and look like legitimate contenders for the elusive three-peat.

Meanwhile, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson fell to 1-5 in his career against Mahomes.

Here are the keys to the game:

Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs drafted Worthy to help them pick up the big plays in their offense. He won't always do it as well as he did in his NFL debut, but judging by what happened Thursday night, he'll have a big impact.

Worthy seemed to fit well into a group of wide receivers that includes Rashee Rice and Marquise Brown. Brown did not play against the Ravens because of a shoulder injury, but should return early in the season.

Worthy scored a touchdown on a 21-yard run the first time he had the ball in an NFL game. In the fourth quarter, he caught a 35-yard touchdown pass. While he won't always score twice in a game, you'd expect Worthy to have that kind of impact. He won't necessarily get a ton of touches, but he'll make the most of the ones he does get.

QB Breakdown: Mahomes made a critical mistake by forcing a pass late in the first half that was intercepted. That cost the Chiefs a chance at some points and gave the Ravens good field position, which they took advantage of to kick a field goal. Otherwise, it was a solid game from Mahomes. He completed 20 of 28 passes for 291 yards and surpassed Len Dawson as the Chiefs' all-time leading passer.

Advanced statistics that leave you speechless: Receiver Rice, who caught seven passes for 103 yards, had 72 of those yards after the catch, the second-most in a game of his career. Mahomes was often able to find him when he was moving down the field with a defender behind him or in zone coverage. — Adam Teicher

Next game: vs. Cincinnati Bengals (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS, Sept. 15)

Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens' season began the same way their last season ended: with a frustrating loss to Mahomes and the Chiefs.

In a rematch of the AFC Championship Game, Thursday night's loss left Jackson and the Ravens with a 1-5 record against Mahomes. Jackson is 60-19 (.759) against the rest of the league, including the postseason.

On the final drive, Jackson drove the Ravens to the Kansas City 10-yard line, where he had three attempts to reach the end zone. Jackson was unable to handle a pass from a wide-open Zay Flowers in the end zone and then appeared to throw a 10-yard touchdown to Likely as time expired. But Likely's right foot touched the goal line, causing the score to be overturned.

Jackson, the reigning MVP, did his best to keep Baltimore on top with his ninth 200-yard passing and 100-yard rushing game, the most in NFL history. Even with his performance, the Ravens couldn't keep up with the big plays of Mahomes, who now has 14 career touchdown passes and three interceptions against Baltimore.

QB Breakdown: The most frustrating part of Jackson's game was his play inside the 20-yard line. In the first half, Jackson completed 1 of 4 passes for 9 yards in the red zone with two off-target passes, including a tipped pass to a wide-open Justice Hill. This was a far cry from last season, when Jackson completed 68% of his passes in the red zone. Additionally, Jackson fumbled at his own 13-yard line in the second quarter, resulting in a Chiefs field goal. Jackson has lost four fumbles in six games against Kansas City.

Worrying trend: The Chiefs are still missing tight end Mark Andrews, who has been Jackson's favorite target. Andrews wasn't targeted until five minutes into the second half and finished the game with two 14-yard receptions. In his previous five meetings with Kansas City, Andrews had averaged 21.8 yards on receptions and hadn't scored a touchdown.

Amazing statistics: With 122 rushing yards, a leaner Jackson passed Russell Wilson for third place on the all-time rushing list for quarterbacks. Jackson trails only Michael Vick (6,109 rushing yards) and Cam Newton (5,628). But Vick and Newton each played in more than 140 games. Thursday night was Jackson's 87th career game.

The biggest question: What are the implications of the Ravens' loss? While it can't be overstated in the face of a Week 1 loss, this opener once again proved that Mahomes has the edge for the Ravens. Baltimore knew it couldn't match the score from last season's AFC Championship Game loss, but the Ravens left Thursday with even more uncertainty about whether they can beat Mahomes. After losing this potential head-to-head playoff, the Ravens' road to the Super Bowl might have to go through Arrowhead, where Jackson has an 0-3 record. — Jamison Hensley

Next game: vs. Las Vegas Raiders (1:00 p.m. ET, CBS, Sept. 15)