KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Patrick Mahomes and the high-flying Kansas City Chiefs have been the talk of the NFL for months, their innovation and points-a-plenty style making them one of the league’s most entertaining offenses.
They might not even be the best one on the field Sunday.
That’s because for all the gaudy numbers the Chiefs hung on Jacksonville and Oakland in roaring to a 2-0 start, Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens have been even more prolific.
They lead the league in total offense and points; Kansas City is merely third and fourth. They also lead in time of possession and rushing, they’re fourth in passing and third-down percentage rate, and like the Chiefs they have yet to turn over the ball this season.
So what is making it all click for Jackson and the Ravens?
“He’s does a lot of things well,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “Everyone kind of goes to his run game but he can throw the football. He’s doing it with accuracy and he can do it all different levels, whether that’s rolling out or in the pocket.
“He has talent around him for sure,” Reid added, “but the way it’s slowed down for him, his reads are great and all those little things end up being big things.”
Just ask Mahomes, who mastered so many of those little things while rolling to league MVP in his first season as the Chiefs’ starter. And all he’s done for an encore is throw for 821 yards and seven TDs without an interception through the first two weeks of his season.
In other words, Mahomes vs Jackson should be a compelling game-within-a-game on Sunday.
Just like it was last year.
The Chiefs rallied downfield in the final minute of regulation, Mahomes converting a fourth down with an audacious throw to Tyreek Hill before finding Damien Williams for the tying touchdown. Harrison Butker added the winning field goal in overtime in a crucial December matchup.
“Of course we’ll watch last year’s game,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said, “but teams change so much, and they watch the game, too. So it’s always a new game. … You try to predict something and all of a sudden it gets blown up in your face. That, to me, is the beauty of this league.”
As two of the AFC’s top teams prepare to meet at Arrowhead Stadium, here are things to know:
INJURY INTRIGUE
The Chiefs, already missing Hill to a broken collarbone, are without left tackle Eric Fisher after he underwent core muscle surgery earlier this week. They also could play without Williams (knee) and fellow running back LeSean McCoy (ankle), who have been hobbled by injuries.
