3 Ravens to blame after failing to get revenge vs. Chiefs in AFC Championship rematch

The Baltimore Ravens came to Arrowhead on Thursday night to open the 2024 season against the Kansas City Chiefs with one thing in mind - revenge. They wanted revenge after falling short against Kansas City in last season's AFC Championship Game. The task was sure to be difficult, facing a team as lethal as Kansas City on the road in a hostile environment, but the Ravens seemed to have as good of a shot as any team out there to find a way to get a win.

Things could not have gotten off to a better start for Baltimore, as new running back Derrick Henry put them on top with a touchdown on their first drive.

For the most part, the Ravens played the Chiefs tough and were in the game the entire way, but in the end, they were a toe away from potentially winning the season opener. The loss was gut-wrenching for Baltimore, and these players in particular deserve blame.

3. Lamar Jackson, QB

This might not be completely fair, but hear me out. Lamar Jackson is, obviously, one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. He isn't Patrick Mahomes, but he isn't a two-time MVP winner by accident. He's expected to step up and find ways to win games like this.

For the most part, Jackson was exceptional on Thursday. He accumulated 395 yards from scrimmage - 122 of which came on the ground, proving once again how incredibly tough he is to defend. He was able to do this despite getting seemingly no help around him from anyone not named Isaiah Likely. Still, it wasn't enough, and Jackson was far from perfect.

His costly fumble to begin the second quarter not only cost his team a chance to drive down the field and take the lead, but it gave the Chiefs the chance to do so with a field goal.

Jackson also, for all of the good that he provided, struggled when the Ravens needed him most.

The Isaiah Likely play will be the one everyone remembers from this game, but the play prior saw Jackson just completely miss a wide open Zay Flowers in the end zone in a play that could've tied the game or even given Baltimore the lead had they gone for two.

Before he missed the wide-open Flowers, Jackson even missed Likely in the end zone.

Overall, Jackson was really good for much of the night, but failed to perform like the MVP he's been at crucial points of the game. Those around him didn't do much to help, but this felt like a game that the Ravens would've won had Jackson performed as NFL fans have become accustomed.

2. Entire Ravens offensive line

It's hard to single out one specific player on Baltimore's offensive line, so why not just blame all of them at once? The offensive line was expected to be a weakness on this team which makes sense considering the losses of Kevin Zeitler, John Simpson, and Morgan Moses without major replacements brought in, but still, it was bad.

Thanks to Jackson's superhuman abilities to navigate the pocket he was sacked just once, but it feels as if the Ravens designed their entire game plan to only either let Jackson run or throw short passes. He didn't really let any throws loose until late in the game when he had to, and that's because the Ravens did not trust the offensive line to give them enough time to get anything done.

In addition to the Ravens' offensive line being unable to protect Jackson much, they shot themselves in the foot numerous times by committing illegal formation penalties, stalling drives that could've given them momentum.

There are a couple of factors to consider. Having to deal with Chris Jones in Week 1 of the season with a makeshift offensive line is an incredibly difficult task that not many teams will have much success with. Also, this offensive line can easily improve with more time to gel and gain chemistry. Still, they did not help the Ravens much at all, and deserve a share of the blame for this loss.

1. Mark Andrews, TE

Did anyone spot Mark Andrews at Arrowhead? Isaiah Likely dominated, which is great, but Mark Andrews was a complete no-show all night.

Andrews, a guy who has been Jackson's No. 1 target for years now, is healthy and played in 74 percent of their offensive snaps, yet it felt like he was invisible from the start.

In the first half, Andrews had a total of zero receptions and zero targets. He ended the game with just two receptions for 14 yards - the fifth-most receiving yards on the team. This is a three-time Pro Bowler who was a non-factor.

Some of Andrews' lack of production wasn't his fault. The Ravens clearly didn't have him as a major part of their game plan, and it's not as if he was out there dropping passes - he caught both of his targets. Still, Andrews has to find a way to be more involved. It's hard to envision this Ravens team going anywhere if he's going to be catching two passes per game.