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.