Chiefs hold off Ravens (by a toe) in thrilling season opener

Kansas City rookie first-round pick Xavier Worthy caught a 35-yard touchdown and ran for a 21-yard score as the Chiefs began their quest for a third straight Super Bowl title with a thrilling 27-20 win over the visiting Baltimore Orioles in the NFL’s regular-season opener on Thursday night.Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson appeared to hit tight end Isaiah Likely for a 10-yard touchdown as time expired but, after video review, Likely was ruled to have landed with the tip of his cleat out of bounds. When officials initially ruled the play a touchdown, Baltimore coach John Harbaugh signaled to go for a two-point conversion rather than attempt to send the game to overtime.Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards with a touchdown and an interception, making just enough plays to outlast Jackson and the Ravens in a rematch of last season’s AFC Championship Game.Rashee Rice caught seven passes for 103 yards for the Chiefs while tight end Travis Kelce caught three passes for 34 yards with girlfriend and pop star Taylor Swift in attendance.After each team scored a touchdown on their opening drive of the game and combined for three field goals in the second quarter, the Chiefs took a 20-10 lead on the first drive of the second half on a 1-yard run by Isiah Pacheco.Under pressure for much of the game behind an offensive line with three new starters, Jackson scrambled to his right and hit Likely for a 49-yard touchdown to cut the margin to three on the first play of the fourth quarter.Jackson completed 26 of 41 passes for 273 yards with a touchdown and added 122 yards rushing on 16 carries.On the ensuing drive, Worthy came up with perhaps the biggest play of the game, hauling in a pass from Mahomes on a second-and-10 play from the Baltimore 35 and giving the Chiefs a 27-17 lead with 10:25 to play.A 32-yard field goal by Justin Tucker pulled the Ravens to within seven with 4:54 left in the game. Baltimore got the ball back at the two-minute warning but with no timeouts. On a first-and-10 play with 43 seconds to play, Jackson threw a 38-yard pass to Rashod Bateman to the Kansas City 10 before Likely was ruled out of bounds on the game’s final play.

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