“The Kevin Durant Special” – NFL Twitter Reacts To Isaiah Likely’s Near-TD To End Thrilling Chiefs-Ravens Opener

I may or may not have Mark Andrews on my fantasy team and may or may not be regretting my decision to not pick up an extra tight end. Isaiah Likely played like a legit superstar in Thursday's NFL kickoff game for the Baltimore Ravens, as Lamar Jackson went with him as his go-to guy over Andrews. Bad for my fantasy team. Good for the Ravens in their quest to avenge their AFC Championship Game loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Alas, electric as Likely's long touchdown catch-and-run was... https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1831892165720502291 ...He was a fraction away from giving Baltimore a late TD, and you better believe John Harbaugh was holding up a peace sign to get a potential winning 2-point conversion play in thereafter. https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1831903705127645310 https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1831903953250136219 https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1831904493967217005 What I immediately thought of when Likely's big toe landed on the back line was Kevin Durant, who shot a would-be go-ahead 3-pointer with his toe on the line in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. One of the bigger Sliding Doors moments in recent NBA history. That was against the Milwaukee Bucks. They went on to win that contest in overtime, and proceeded to win the 2021 NBA Finals from there. Had KD been an inch further back, who knows? Maybe Steve Nash is still coaching in Brooklyn with a championship in tow! Anyway, that's the imagery that almost all of NFL Twitter's minds jumped to. Love me a good cross-sports analogy. This KD-Likely parallel was particularly on the nose, though. https://twitter.com/MarcelasHoward/status/1831904092433891794 https://twitter.com/RTNBA/status/1831904295664689211 https://twitter.com/AndyHermanNFL/status/1831904189745918380 https://twitter.com/velodus/status/1831904249485390011 https://twitter.com/RTNBA/status/1831904369996132755 https://twitter.com/Realrclark25/status/1831904221928812626 ...And so on. You get the picture. Hell of an opening night game, my goodness. People will probably forget that Lamar, a two-time regular-season MVP, missed a wide-open Likely in the back of the end zone two plays earlier, and sailed it wide of Zay Flowers streaking across his face. That sounds a little naughty but you likely know what I mean in football parlance. Oh wait somebody else noticed this! Thank goodness! https://twitter.com/KnicksMemes/status/1831905022269071460 I was literally watching the speech by Al Pacino from Any Given Sunday before the game kicked off. Who knew it'd be so apropos? Somehow, it feels like the Chiefs always get that extra inch. Might have something to do with Patrick Mahomes as their quarterback. Just maybe. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1yWSePMqsk