Baltimore Ravens star Roquan Smith fired a warning to Kansas City Chiefs player Peyton Hendershot after Thursday's dramatic climax at Arrowhead Stadium.
The reigning back-to-back Super Bowl champion Chiefs staved off a late comeback from Lamar Jackson and the Ravens to kick off the new NFL season, and tempers flared late in the game with Smith drawing ire from the Chiefs sidelines.
The star linebacker pushed Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes out of bounds in the fourth quarter. Although to penalty was called, it prompted an angry reaction from the sideline, including backup tight end Hendershot.
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The score would have put the Ravens within one point of the Chiefs, and head coach John Harbaugh signaled for his players to attempt a two-point conversion to snatch victory. But their excitement was extinguished by a video review, which concluded that Likely's foot landed fractionally out of bounds at the back of the endzone as he completed the catch.
The game was over and the Chiefs moved to 1-0 on the season, and the Ravens' frustrations were apparent as they addressed the media afterward. Smith took aim at Hendershot and Mahomes in his press conference, accusing the quarterback of "flopping".
He continued: "That's why the referees didn't call it and it was a great no-call by the ref. But whoever 88 is – I don't know who he is – he better watch himself. He did a little slick push. I have no idea who he is, but I will see him when I see him."
Likely also brought the fighting talk after the game, sending a blunt message to the Chiefs. He told reporters: "I'd say this is probably the worst game we're going to play all year. If this is the best that they've got, good luck in the postseason."
Despite coming out on the losing side, Harbaugh was proud of his players. He said: "I thought our guys (overcame) setbacks at times, and fought like crazy to overcome. It looked like we had an opportunity there to tie the game up and try to win. Didn’t happen at the end, but our guys fought."
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid knew his team survived a major scare on opening night. He said: "It was a fight down to the end. When they say it's a game of inches, might be shorter than that."
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