The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Cleveland Browns last week (barely) thanks to the magic of quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his offensive genius head coach Andy Reid who both made the perfect halftime adjustments, so expect them to again unleash their Tyreek Hill / Travis Kelce two-headed monster against this beat-up Ravens team in Week 2.
Ravens QB Lamar Jackson fumbled the ball in overtime on Monday Night Football to help give Baltimore a tough Week 1 loss, with the Ravens’ running back injury count playing a huge part in their failure to score touchdowns, HC John Harbaugh now counting on Ty’Son Williams and last-minute pickup Latavius Murray to rush the ball.
These two AFC teams have played each other 11 prior times (including 1 postseason game), with the Baltimore Ravens winning 4 of those games and the Kansas City Chiefs winning 7 of the games.
Can the Chiefs Get Their Run Game to Match Their Effective Passing?
After their game last week against the Browns, the Chiefs were ranked 6th in the league in passing but 26th in the league in running the ball, a factor they must improve on or risk becoming a one-dimensional offense.
Doing the rushing for Kansas City are running backs Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Darrel Williams, and Jerick McKinnon, who along with the rest of the offense recently combined for just 73 yards on the ground against Cleveland.
This must get better, which will not be an easy feat against this Ravens defense that kept the Raiders to just 82 yards on the ground last week.
Can the Ravens Defense Stop the Hill-and-Kelce Scoring Machine?
Chiefs’ speedy receiver Tyreek ‘Cheetah’ Hill and the team’s mountainous tight end Travis Kelce had their way with the Cleveland Browns last week the way they have done for countless games in the past, the duo the perfect targets for their brilliant QB Patrick Mahomes.
The three make magic happen together, with Hill’s speed stretching defenses backward while Kelce’s pinpoint route running and veteran in the moment adjustments give him free reign of the middle of the playing field.
Both players can get mega-YACs or yards after the catch, so Ravens linebackers Patrick
Queen and Malik Harrison and cornerbacks Anthony Averett and Marlon Humphrey had better prepare themselves for a busy Sunday evening trying to neutralize arguably the most dangerous offensive duo in the league.
Editor’s Picks
Chiefs Key Player: (DT) Chris Jones
One way to beat the Ravens is to limit Lamar Jackson’s ability to escape the pocket and that is right up Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones’s alley, the 6’ 6” 310-pound quarterback hater now in his sixth NFL season.
Last week against the Browns, Jones had 2 sacks, 3 tackles with two of those for a loss plus 2 quarterback hits, his forever churning engine always locked in forward gear posing a major threat to opposing offenses.
Jones will face a Ravens front line that includes tackles Ronnie Stanley and Alejandro Villanueva, so expect to watch a classic battle in Baltimore from Chris Jones, a powerful veteran with 42.5 total sacks and 102 quarterbacks hits already to his name.
Ravens Key Player: (RB) Latavius Murray
Following the recent disappointing season-ending injuries to Ravens running backs J.K. Dobbins (knee – ACL), Justice Hill (Achilles), and Gus Edwards (knee – ACL), the front office went free agent hunting and found veteran back Latavius Murray available.
In his Ravens debut against the Las Vegas Raiders, Murray carried the ball 10 times for 28 yards and a touchdown, which was not too shabby for a guy who had almost no time to learn the team’s game plan, let alone the playbook.
Now Murray the 8-year NFL veteran will have had some time to work with Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman for a bit so expect him to be an even bigger factor in Week 2 against these Chiefs who are relatively soft against the run.
How to Watch Chiefs vs Ravens
| Chiefs vs Ravens Information |
| What |
Kansas City Chiefs vs Baltimore Ravens |
| Where |
M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, MD |
| When |
Sunday, September 19, 2021; 8:20 PM ET |
| How to watch |
NBC |
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