Ravens LB Roquan Smith Escapes Penalty For Obvious Cheap Shot At Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes
That's how you kick off an NFL season.
Patrick Mahomes' Kansas City Chiefs played a nail-biter against Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens.
This game included missed calls by officials, star-making performances, and a final score decided by inches. The back-to-back Super Bowl champions defeated Baltimore, 27-20, in the AFC Championship Game rematch. And it's clear these guys still hate each other.
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - SEPTEMBER 05: Quarterback Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs warms up before playing the Baltimore Ravens during the first quarter at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on September 05, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MO - SEPTEMBER 05: Roquan Smith #0 of the Baltimore Ravens gives a speech in the team huddle prior to an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on September 5, 2024 in Kansas City, MO. (Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)
The officiating was a major headache, namely one major missed call against the Ravens D early in the fourth quarter.
Early in the fourth, linebacker Roquan Smith delivered a hard hit against Patrick Mahomes as the Chiefs quarterback ran out of bounds, but the referees missed it.
Roquan ruffled up the Chiefs' side with the hit, even receiving a hard shove from a player on the sidelines.
Smith called it a "flop" job by Mahomes after the game.
"[Mahomes] flopped, that’s why they didn’t call it. Great no call," Smith said, via reporter Justin Churchill. "But whoever 88 is better watch himself. He did a little slick push. Whoever he is, I’ll see him when I see him."
NFL fans were outraged by the lack of a penalty call on Roquan.
Ravens safety Marcus Williams also hit Mahomes with an out-of-bounds hit in the fourth, though a penalty by the Chiefs offense offset the penalty.
Kansas City took the missed call like champs.
They answered on the ensuing hit by Roquan with a 21-yard touchdown to the crazy-quick Xavier Worthy. It was a great night to be a fantasy manager stashing Worthy.
"It's a game of inches; that's what they say," Mahomes said in the postgame interview. "He's a playmaker … he's got a long way to go, he's going to be great."
Mahomes also made a miraculous grab in the fourth, throwing a deflected pass at the line of scrimmage that he caught himself.
With less than a minute of play, the Ravens marched down the field, facing a 27-20 deficit.
Taking several shots in the end zone, Lamar Jackson missed a wide-open Zay Flowers, capable of tying the game.
Jackson threw a pass to tight end Isaiah Likely in the back of the end zone with no time left in regulation.
Likely made contact out of bounds with the tip of his right toe, and Baltimore's hope for the win was shattered.
It was a thrilling start to the 2024 season.
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