Takeaways from Chiefs' thrilling, season-opening win over Ravens

The defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs survived to knock off the Baltimore Ravens, 27-20, in a matchup that went down to the wire.

Here are five takeaways from the thrilling kickoff to the 2024 NFL season:

Late misses came back to haunt Lamar Jackson

Behind a leaky offensive line, Jackson nearly single-handedly kept the Ravens' chances to win alive. But, several misses down the stretch ultimately made the difference.

Over the final 18 seconds of regulation, Jackson missed two wide-open targets in the end zone on back-to-back plays before finally connecting with tight end Isaiah Likely for what looked to be a touchdown with five ticks remaining. But the replay official ruled correctly that Likely's toe had landed out of bounds, thus ending the game.

Jackson had an outstanding game, finishing 26-of-41 for 273 yards and a touchdown while adding 122 rushing yards off 16 carries. However, instead of gaining a measure of revenge in a rematch of last year's AFC Championship Game, he and the Ravens leave Kansas City 0-1, wondering what could have been.

Patrick Mahomes and Rashee Rice were clicking

After connecting for 105 completions, 1,200 yards and eight touchdowns a year ago between the regular season and playoffs, the combo of Mahomes and Rice picked up where it left off on Thursday night.

Mahomes had another ho-hum outing, finishing 20-of-28 for 281 yards (10.4 YPA) with a touchdown and an interception while passing Hall of Famer Len Dawson to become the Chiefs all-time leading passer. But, it was clear he was looking in Rice's direction more than not, targeting him nine times, five more than tight end Travis Kelce (four), who finished second on the team.

Rice proved dependable, hauling in seven passes for 103 yards, averaging 14.7 yards per catch. He surpassed the century mark for only the third time in a regular-season game.

Chiefs defense dominated in the trenches

The Chiefs had the Ravens offensive line off-balance from the opening snap, playing a massive role in the win.

The unit silenced Baltimore's rushing attack, holding Derrick Henry to 46 yards (3.5 YPA) on 13 carries while making life difficult for Jackson. Kansas City forced the former MVP to scramble on 19.5 percent of his dropbacks, the third-highest rate over the last four seasons, per Next Gen Stats .

Illegal formation calls plagued Ravens, but will they be the last victim?

Officials flagged the Ravens for four illegal formation penalties, including three on the team's opening drive, in what looks to be the start of an NFL crackdown on offensive linemen who line up too far off the line. According to the NFL rulebook , "No player may take a position that is neither clearly on, nor clearly off the line of scrimmage" unless directly behind the quarterback, which is a description that makes calling the infraction sound more like a judgment decision.

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh seemed to think the calls were one-sided, and even NFL analyst and former defensive back Darius Butler believed the Chiefs, particularly right tackle Jawaan Taylor, were also guilty .

Xavier Worthy could be a massive weapon for the Chiefs

Worthy found the end zone twice on Thursday, off only three touches. He showed his versatility, notching a score on the ground, speeding past the Ravens' defense from 21 yards out, before delivering a 35-yard touchdown reception on a blown coverage to seal the win.

The 2024 first-round pick couldn't have had a better debut, and there's no doubt that head coach Andy Reid will be looking to cook up even more opportunities for the big-play threat.