To anyone who says “football is a game of inches” is a tired, hyperbolic metaphor, I offer you the 2024 NFL season opener as a rebuttal — and then rest my case and call for summary judgment.
I’ll win.
Yes, there were way more inches exchanged in the first 59 minutes and 55 seconds between the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and the team they defeated in last year’s AFC Championship, the Baltimore Ravens.
In fact, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson managed 9,828 inches of offense through the air and another 4,392 inches on the ground. (That’s 273 yards of passing and 122 rushing, for those of you with a Common Core math education.)
I won’t bother on the conversions for Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes (291 yards on 20 of 28 passing, with one touchdown and one interception) or the top receivers for each team (Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely got 111 yards on nine catches, while Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice managed 103 yards on seven catches.)
All of this led to an entertaining back-and-forth which stood at 27-20, the Chiefs leading, with two minutes left. After a key stop, the Ravens had the ball at their own 13 and proceeded to drive 77 yards to the Chiefs 10 with just 18 seconds left.
Jackson had three chances to win the game. On the the first two, he missed open receivers.
First down saw Jackson rushed by the Chiefs and making a hasty fade throw to an open Likely in the left corner of the end zone; while Likely was open, the pass was over his head.
Second down was an even bigger missed opportunity for the Ravens. It’s unclear who got mixed up, but Jackson threw behind a wide open Zay Flowers in the middle of the end zone.
This feels to me like Lamar Jackson thought Zay Flowers was going to sit and he didn’t pic.twitter.com/MLmcsgKgJB
— Tyler Forness (@TheRealForno) September 6, 2024
But then, on the last play of the game, Jackson connected with Likely in the back of the end zone — touchdown!
TOUCHDOWN BALTIMORE #RAVENS.
OH MY GOD.
WHAT A 2-MINUTE DRIVE BY LAMAR JACKSON & ISAIAH LIKELY.
THEY WILL NOW GO FOR 2 & TRY TO WIN.
ELECTRIC SEASON OPENING GAME. FOOTBALL IS SO BACK.
OR IS IT AN INCOMPLETE?
pic.twitter.com/P1gsR8ohSn— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) September 6, 2024
It looked like he had both feet down and was in control of the ball. Ravens coach John Harbaugh was signaling for a two-point conversion from the sideline, looking to avoid overtime — although they could have easily tied the game with an extra point kick.
But then the booth took a look at it — and despite those 9,828 inches Lamar Jackson had through the air for the first 59 minutes and 55 seconds, it was one inch (or less) that ended the game:
out by an inch ????#Kickoff2024 pic.twitter.com/TUeV7bxF6z
— NFL (@NFL) September 6, 2024
Wow. pic.twitter.com/OxlknyB3gx
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 6, 2024
Out of bounds, incomplete, game over. Even Lamar Jackson was in disbelief:
Lamar Jackson on the ending: “I thought it was a touchdown. I still think it was a touchdown.”
pic.twitter.com/BZ54yjMuKZ https://t.co/JCCf6Lpx3Z
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 6, 2024
‘
Keep in mind, too, that a two-point conversion was pretty likely to succeed in this situation. Ravens running back Derrick Henry had been clutch in short-yardage situations all night, and the threat of Jackson running a play action to Henry and then throwing it or simply keeping it himself and running it in meant they couldn’t just stuff the line. As last-second conversions go, that’s a pretty good situation to be in.
Now, of course, one can blame any number of factors for this loss. Kansas City wide receiver Xavier Worthy scored one of his two touchdowns on a play where the Ravens clearly blew coverage, and Jackson’s two missed throws to open receivers on the final drive didn’t help either.
Xavier Worthy is really a Kansas City Chief ????
????: #Kickoff2024 on NBC/Peacock
????: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/6fVsiolvAX— NFL (@NFL) September 6, 2024
And then there was the matter of clock management on the final drive; the Ravens were aiming to leave the Chiefs no time for a comeback, but with no timeouts of their own, they ended up leaving themselves short on time, something Barstool Sports impresario Dave Portnoy noted.
That clock management by Ravens is gonna haunt my dreams
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) September 6, 2024
That being said, the Ravens still put themselves in a position to win — and for a second, if only a second, it looked like they had.
But in the game of inches, they simply went one inch too far. Case closed.