Introduction: The return

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Kansas City
Chiefs maintained their lead over their

arch-rivals in the AFC with a heartbreaking victory over the Baltimore Ravens in their season opener on Thursday night.

The game ended in the final seconds when Isaiah Likely’s touchdown attempt ended.
Two-game touchdown leader Patrick Mahomes and rookie receiver Xavier Worthy look to pick up where they left off in the Super Bowl and become strong contenders for the elusive three-pointer.

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

The game keys are:

QB Breakdown: The most disappointing part of Jackson’s game was inside the 20-yard line. In the first half, Jackson was 1/4 for 9 yards in the red zone on two carries, including a touchdown pass to a wide open Justice Hill. That’s a stark contrast from last season, when Jackson completed 68 percent of his passes in the red zone. Additionally, in the second quarter, Jackson fumbled at his own 13-yard line, leading to a Chiefs field goal. Jackson had four penalties in six games against Kansas City.

Worrying trend: Chiefs continue to target Mark Andrews, Jackson’s favorite target. Andrews had just five minutes left in the second half and finished the game with two catches for 14 yards. In his last five games against Kansas City, Andrews averaged 21.8 receiving yards and one touchdown.

Impressive stat: With 122 yards, the lanky Jackson passed Russell Wilson for third place on the all-time quarterback rushing list. Jackson is behind only Michael Vick (6,109 yards) and Cam Newton (5,628). But Vick and Newton played 140 games. Thursday night was Jackson’s 87th career game.

The biggest question: What are the ramifications of a Ravens loss? While you can’t overreact to the Week 1 loss, this opener showed once again that Mahomes is first for the Ravens. Baltimore knew they couldn’t even score in last season’s AFC Championship Game loss, but the Ravens still weren’t sure if they could move Mahomes. After losing that potential tiebreaker against the Ravens, the road to the Super Bowl could go through Arrowhead, where Jackson is 0-3. – Jamison Hensley