Chiefs beat Ravens, Lamar Jackson concerns, Is Kansas City better than last year? | NFL | THE HERD

Let's start with this-- Kansas City 27, Baltimore 20. I said this last year. And I've said it this year. Last year's Chiefs team, that may have been the team to beat. Because they had a water-pistol offense. I mean, they couldn't move the ball. They had no deep threat. It was-- it was dink and dunk, as much as Mahomes can do that. And you had a chance to beat him. And the league couldn't. Because that's not what they are anymore. Now, Noah Grant, they've got another tight end. Noah Gray and Travis Kelce, you got two tight ends. Now, you got Xavier Worthy, a little bit of a gadget guy, but speed merchant over the top. They have lacked that for several years. Rashee Rice looks like a number one-- an absolute number one. Hollywood Brown, who's dangerous, will return. And JuJu Smith-Schuster, who they just reacquired, it's going to take him a while to get up to speed. But he knows the offense. He'll be like your number three or your number four. Outside of right tackle-- and they weren't good at right tackle last year. This is a better team than last year-- much, much faster offensively, much deeper at wide receiver, much more functional at wide receiver. And here's the thing. Great companies in any business give you these little brief moments to make up ground. And last year was the year to make up ground. Because they couldn't score. They were so vulnerable. They had to go on the road in the playoffs to Baltimore. They had to go on the road to Buffalo, and they still won. Last year was the year to get them, and nobody got them. They're not perfect. Mahomes had a terrible pick last night, almost two. They were dominated in time of possession. And their defense looked absolutely gassed at the end of the football game. They're not perfect. But they're so good in these close games-- number two, in the NFL last year in close games. They are so confident in these games, with the best coach and the best quarterback. You got to wrap them up early, and Baltimore didn't. Now, Xavier Worthy's fascinating. I said, when he got drafted, he's 165 pound track guy. He's not going to-- he's not going to dominate the league. He's a gadget guy. He's not going to be a 9, 10, 12 target guy. That's going to be Rashee Rice. There are a lot of guys in the league like that. Davante Adams is that guy. Ja'Marr Chase, when he gets back, he's that guy. Puka Nacua, for the Rams, is going to be that guy. But they needed a gadget guy. They needed and over-to-the-top guy. And, yes, he's small. And, yes, he's-- he's-- I don't know how durable he is. He was hurt a lot in college. But nobody in the NFL is going to draw up plays better for Xavier Worthy than one Andy Reid. And nobody will deliver the ball on those drawn-up plays better than Patrick Mahomes. So he really is something they need. And last night, Mahomes averaged 10 yards per attempt. That was more than any game last year. And that was-- a lot of that's Xavier Worthy. He's allowing other stuff to flourish. And so I watched them last night. And I'm thinking, man, you guys all had a chance in this league. You got-- you got them on the road in the playoffs last year. You know, you got-- Kansas City had to go on the road last year. They could-- they didn't have any over-the-top element last year. They were-- you know, they were OK in the offensive line. They were insanely thin. I mean, Rashee Rice was their best receiver last year, and he looked like a three. Well, now, he looks like a one. And so my take is this is a much more explosive version of the team that won the last two Super Bowls. So, you know, Lamar Jackson is somebody I've spent the last-- a better part of the last five years defending-- last night, 25 first downs, more than Kansas City; rushing first downs, three times as many as Kansas City; third-down efficiency, much better than Kansas City; interceptions, none. Kansas City had one. Time of possession, they dominated. Even against a great, young, twitchy defense, the top defensive coordinator, arguably, in the NFL, Steve Spagnuolo, was at wit's end. What do you do against this guy? Now, Lamar doesn't throw the ball downfield, in my opinion, well enough. He doesn't throw it downfield, like a Josh, a Stafford, an Aaron Rodgers, a Mahomes. First half, he averaged 1.1 air yards per attempt-- got better in the second half. But he doesn't do that like the top four or five guys in the league. And there's no way he can play, like he played last night, the rest of the season. He took a beating-- 16 carries. He was like a running back. And he's lost weight, so he's thinner. He cannot play that way. But I kind of understand why last night he played that way. Because it's Kansas City. It's his nemesis. It's his archrival. It's the team he's trying to get over. It's the Tiger for Mickelson. It's the MJ for Barkley. I get it. And so that effort is not a sustainable effort. Your quarterback cannot take that beating. And I don't think he will. I think he'll slide. He'll run out of bounds. He'll have seven carries, not 16. He was so fired up last night, he talked John Harbaugh, one of the better situational coaches in football, to go for it at midfield. And, you know, the Chiefs carved it up, sniffed it out. So I do think it was a unique night, where Lamar just said, I want to do it. But I'll tell you this. He is on a short list of quarterbacks in this league-- and it may be one or two max-- that can get the ball at the noisiest NFL stadium, against the great defense, the league's best offensive coordinator. There's one timeout and 1:50 left. And he gets them to within an inch, the end of a cleat from potentially tying or winning the game. The dude is one of one. He is so unique and so great. People say, well, he didn't play that great. Mahomes had a terrible pick, and almost two. But Mahomes is a legend. I talked about this the other day. We spend so much time on shows like this-- not just mine, others-- criticizing great players who can't beat legends. You know what? Who's beaten Mahomes? And I thought Lamar, last night, on that last drive-- I compared it last night on my podcast. I said, he's like, if you watch the high-school football game. And there was only one division, one player, and it was a quarterback. And he was just running around making people miss. I mean, Lamar makes other great players for Kansas City, defensively, totally flummoxed. And they're just kind of hoping he tires out. So the only thing I saw between these two teams that I think is trouble, especially for Baltimore, is offensive line play. These are not great offensive lines. These are not the Lions offensive lines. Baltimore's, I think, will get better. I think Kansas City's is what it is. It's not going to be great at right tackle. But I got to tell you. I'm going to defend Lamar Jackson forever. 1:50, one timeout, Spags, Kansas City, Arrowhead, gets down to the 13-yard line-- the kid is just absolutely unreal. Only Mahomes, that's the last hurdle he can't get over, just Mahomes. And nobody else can either. Kansas City's offense averaged 7.1 yards a play. Baltimore's offense averaged 6.1 yards a play. And that yard is because of a broken coverage that let Xavier Worthy get a touchdown. You take that broken coverage out, they both average about 6 yards a play. That's a heavyweight fight. I grew up as a kid. It was Ali-Frazier fought three times. Ali won two. Frazier won one. And I'm just waiting for that one big win for Lamar and the Ravens. But that was great football, great teams, great coaching, great franchises. Lamar is getting past everybody, just not that guy. And that-- that last drive, I'm sitting there on my couch thinking, who can do this? You find me the-- I don't think there is anybody. I mean, you find me a quarterback in this league. Spags, that defense, Chris Jones, that pass rush, Arrowhead Stadium, one timeout, 1:50-- you tell me who can do that drive. I don't know. I don't see a lot of guys. That's something else.