BALTIMORE — A strong first half by Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City offense propelled the Chiefs to a 17-10 victory over the top-seeded Baltimore Ravens in the AFC championship game on Sunday afternoon.
Mahomes put together a nearly flawless first quarter, using quick passes to pick apart the Ravens defense. His top target, Travis Kelce, was on the receiving end of many of those passes.
Mahomes completed 30 of 39 passes for 241 yards and a touchdown. Kelce caught 11 passes for 116 yards, surpassing Jerry Rice for the most career postseason receptions.
The Chiefs (14-6) — who struggled at times most of the regular season — will be heading to Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas and face the San Francisco 49ers, who are the No. 1 seed out of the NFC. This will be a rematch of the Super Bowl LVI, where Kansas City won 31-20.
“I've never doubted, no,” coach Andy Reid said. “That's not how we roll.”
On the other side of the ball, the Kansas City defense cause problems all game for Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore offense.
Jackson was held to a few sensational plays and seemed panicked having to play from behind, as the Ravens (14-5) had trouble moving the ball all game. The former league MVP is now 2-4 as a starter in the postseason and has not failed to reach the Super Bowl after being the top seed in the AFC twice.
Jackson went 20 of 37 for 272 yards and a touchdown pass. One of the few big plays Jackson managed to make, was a pass completion to himself. He managed to race under one of his own tipped passes in the first half for a 13-yard reception.
The Chiefs took an early advantage, as Mahomes completed 11-straight passes to begin the game.
Kansas City marched 86 yards on its first offensive possession to take an early 7-0 lead. During the drive, Kelce caught a 13-yard pass from Mahomes down the middle of the field on fourth-and-2. The two connected again on the final play of the drive, as the star tight end beat All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton for a 19-yard touchdown.
Jackson answered on the Ravens following possession, breaking free for a 21-yard run on a fourth-and-1 from its 34 to extend the drive. Then the star quarterback ducked out of a near-sack by Leo Chenal, retreated a bit farther back and threw a 30-yard laser to Zay Flowers to tie the game up with 4:58 remaining in the open quarter.
Unbothered, Kansas City responded again with a 75-yard drive that consumed 9:02. Running back Isiah Pacheco capped the 16-play march with a 2-yard touchdown run to make it 14-7 midway through the second quarter.
Harrison Butker helped add to the lead with a 52-yard field goal just before halftime to give the Chiefs a 10-point edge at the break.
The teams battled to a stalemate for the majority of the second half, but not without some excitement and controversy.
Trailing by 10 in the third quarter, it looks as though Baltimore would mount a late charge when Flowers caught a 54-yard pass to the Kansas City 10. But after the catch, the rookie wide receiver was flagged for taunting after the play. Which drew a lot of boos from the crowd as the officials seemed to overlook other instances of taunting throughout the game.
Then moments later, Flowers fumbled near the goal line and the Ravens came up empty.
Baltimore finally inched closer to make it 17-10 with a 43-yard field goal from Justin Tucker with 2:34 left in the game.
Baltimore elected to kick it deep and hope for a defensive stop.
And looked as if the gamble would pay off with Kansas City facing a third-and-9. But Mahomes connected on a deep throw with Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who came up with the big catch despite his struggles all season hanging onto the ball.
The 32-yard gain sealed the win.
Kansas City 7 10 0 0 = 17
Baltimore 7 0 0 3 = 10
First Quarter
KC—T. Kelce 19 pass from P. Mahomes (H. Butker kick), 7:41.
BAL—Z. Flowers 30 pass from L. Jackson (J. Tucker kick), 4:58.
Second Quarter
KC—Isaiah Pacheco 2 run (H. Butker kick), 7:41.
KC—H. Butker 52 field goal, 0:04.
Fourth Quarter
BAL—J. Tucker 43 field goal, 2:34.
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KC BAL
First downs 22 16
Total Net Yards 319 336
Rushes-yards 32-89 16-81
Passing 230 255
Punt Returns 2-18 2-21
Kickoff Returns 0-0 0-0
Interceptions Ret. 1-0 0-0
Comp-Att-Int 30-39-0 20-37-1
Sacked-Yards Lost 2-11 4-17
Punts 6-46.5 5-50.2
Fumbles-Lost 2-0 2-2
Penalties-Yards 3-30 8-95
Time of Possession 37:30 22:30
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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING–Kansas City, Pacheco 24-68, Mahomes 6-15, Kelce 1-5, C. Edwards-Helaire 1-1. Baltimore, Jackson 8-54, G. Edwards 3-20, Flowers 2-4, Hill 3-3.
PASSING–Kansas City, Mahomes 30-39-0-241. Baltimore, Jackson 20-37-1-272.
RECEIVING–Kansas City, Kelce 11-116, Rice 8-46, Valdes-Scantling 2-38, Watson 1-16, Pacheco 4-14, Gray 2-8, C. Edwards-Helaire 2-3. Baltimore, Flowers 5-115, Agholor 1-39, Hill 4-34, Beckham Jr. 3-22, G. Edwards 1-16, Likely 2-16, Andrew 2-15, Jackson 1-13, Bateman 1-2.
MISSED FIELD GOALS–None.
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