KC Chiefs: Ravens provided blueprint on how to beat Chiefs

By Leigh Oleszczak | Dec 11, 2018

Quarterback Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens (Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images) /

Even though the KC Chiefs won on Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens, the team in purple showcased to the rest of the league how to slow down the Chiefs and how to take them down to the wire.

Before we dive into the topic at hand here, let’s take a moment to appreciate how the Kansas City Chiefs got the W on Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens. Time and time again, it looked like the Chiefs were on their way to their third loss of the year, but they pulled out all the stops and got the victory, despite it being way too close.

This win probably doesn’t happen if this is the 2013-2017 Chiefs. As much as I like and respect Alex Smith, he isn’t making a no look pass on fourth down to keep a very important drive going.

The Ravens were not a good match-up for the Chiefs at all. This is a team that, ever since making the switch to rookie Lamar Jackson at quarterback, has been a run-first offense. That in itself is not good for the Chiefs, as their run defense has been a disaster this season.

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Baltimore put up just shy of 200 yards rushing on Sunday and kept the Chiefs offense off the field. That right there is the recipe toward beating these high-flying Chiefs. Run the ball down their throats and keep their franchise quarterback off the field.

Oh, the Ravens also let their defense loose in trying to get to Patrick Mahomes and rattle the young quarterback. Baltimore hit Mahomes 15 times and sacked him three times. The Chiefs offensive line didn’t play well, but the Ravens were clearly making it a point to get after Mahomes and make him uncomfortable.

For a good portion of the second half, that worked. The Ravens defenders were all over Mahomes and limited him to under 40 yards passing throughout the beginning of the second half. Obviously we all know he turned it on and got the ball down the field to tie things up, but Baltimore provided a blueprint on how to stop this team and the rest of the league would be foolish not to pay attention to that.

Running the ball down KC’s throat is the best idea because they’ve been unable to stop it for the duration of the season. That also keeps Mahomes on the sidelines, which means less points for the Chiefs to score. If the Chiefs run into a team like Houston or another defensive-savvy unit in the playoffs, that could be trouble for them.

In their Wild Card loss to the Titans last year, Tennessee did just what the Ravens did this past Sunday. They ran the ball repeatedly and kept the Chiefs offense off the field. When KC’s offense did get on the field, the defense smothered Alex Smith.

Mahomes is a much different quarterback than Smith and can make plays when being pressured, but the strategy by the Ravens could have opened a lot of other teams’ eyes when it comes to game planning against this Chiefs team.

The Baltimore Ravens really should have won this game and if they had pulled it off, it’d have been because of their 198 yards rushing and their dominant defense getting in Mahomes’ face. The Chiefs might not be lucky enough to catch some breaks next time around.

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