In the season-opener on September 5, where the Ravens faced a 27-20 loss to the Chiefs, Lamar Jackson’s missed throws contributed to Baltimore’s defeat. Stephen A. Smith didn’t hold back when analyzing Jackson’s performance–pointing out the mistakes that could have rewritten the Ravens’ rivalry with Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs.
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Smith zeroed in on two highlights.
Firstly, Smith slammed Jackson’s overthrow to Isiah Likely in the corner of the end zone. Likely was fully prepared for the TD but since the QB’s throw sailed too high, he took a dangerous fall after getting pushed in the back by a defender.
Despite the injury-prone drop, Likely still stayed back in the game and later caught a crucial pass. However, the earlier blunder remained costly. Smith said on the Stephen A. Smith show,
“You missed Lively in the left corner of the end zone; you overthrew him. He’s 6’4″, and you still overthrew him and almost got him hurt because he came down so hard after being shoved in the back.”
Secondly, Smith called out Jackson for missing WR Zay Flowers, who had crossed the end zone with no defenders in sight to contest the play. As Jackson overshot Flowers by five yards, Smith called the miss “awful” on the Stephen A. Smith Show and added:
“Wide open, nobody within seven yards of him, and Lamar Jackson missed him by five. It wasn’t even close. It was that big of a miss.”
Although Jackson connected with Likely for another play later, more heartbreak for the night was lined up for Baltimore. Likely caught the ball in the endzone but the TD fell through as the tight end’s toe barely touched out of bounds.
Thus, Smith feels, the QB had got several chances to turn around the game but couldn’t encash them, which was too frustrating to bear.
Kansas City Chiefs’ narrow 27-20 win over the Baltimore Ravens doesn’t mean it was a well-fought game. Instead, the slim margin exposed the Ravens’ critical issues, per the analyst.
Smith’s major takeaways from the Chiefs vs. Ravens game
According to Smith, the Chiefs are juggernauts with explosive offenses alongside defenses led by Steve Spagnuolo, which is a combination that isn’t easy to crack. But, as the ESPN analyst pointed out, not every NFL team can attack Spagnuolo’s defense the way Lamar Jackson can.
Unfortunately, in spite of Jackson’s superpower, the Ravens still fell short.
Moving on, Smith pointed fingers at Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh’s decision to go for two instead of playing safe, which added pressure at a time when Baltimore had a chance to win or tie the game. It could have changed the course of the game even if the Ravens had scored a touchdown.
Going by this, he speculated that if the TD was converted, the Ravens might still have lost by just one point if they failed the two-point attempt. So, the outcome would have been uncertain regardless of the score.
Next came the hard truth for Lamar Jackson. As per Smith, the QB failed to deliver in the final moments. He had the game in his control but made two errant throws that cost the Ravens dearly. Smith feels the throws that Jackson missed could have been easily pulled off by Mahomes.
It is not just about Jackson’s throws though. The Ravens as a team need to look deep into several factors, like a disorganized defense and offensive mistakes, like the illegal formation penalties.
While the Chiefs Kingdom continues to chase a three-peat, the Ravens still have a lot of work to do if they want to dethrone the juggernaut.
