By NICK ATHAN
FOXSportsKansasCity.com
Jan. 9, 2011
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Midway through the second quarter Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium, the Chiefs seemed to have the Ravens' number. But that supremacy was short-lived. Backed by a veteran roster, Baltimore eventually exploited Kansas City's inexperience in route to a 30-7 victory in the wild-card round of the AFC playoffs.
Jamaal Charles' 41-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter had given the Chiefs (10-7) a 7-3 lead, and the Kansas City offense was hitting Baltimore's heralded defense right in the mouth. The Ravens were reeling, and the Chiefs had all the momentum.
And while the Chiefs' energetic defense shut down the Ravens' high-powered rushing attack, Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco was hounded for three first-half sacks and a forced fumble.
But trailing in a hostile road environment, Flacco and the Ravens (13-4) never panicked.
With 19 seconds left in the first half, the steady quarterback hit running back Ray Rice for a 9-yard touchdown that gave the Ravens a 10-7 halftime lead. That single play seemed to take the wind out of the Chiefs.
After that score, Kansas City was never the same. In the second half, the Ravens outscored the Chiefs 20-0. Kansas City abandoned its running game after halftime and put the game into the hands of quarterback Matt Cassel.
Unlike his counterpart, Cassel succumbed to the Ravens' constant pressure. He was sacked three times, threw a trio of interceptions and never had any time in the pocket to survey the field.
But after the game, Cassel didn't make any excuses.
"We all know that in playoff football you can't turn the ball over and it starts with me," Cassel said.� "I forced a few balls in there and it did not turn out well. As leader of the team and a leader of the offense, I can't do that."
It didn't help that Pro Bowl wide receiver Dwayne Bowe didn't catch a single pass. Nor did the Chiefs get the ball into the hands of Charles often enough. He was limited to just nine rushing attempts. But the most telling factors were that the Ravens held the Chiefs to just 40 offensive plays and had a 41:44 to 18:16 edge in time of possession.
Part of the failures of the Chiefs' offense had to do with the Ravens' defense, but Cassel didn't handle the pressure well. On the flip side, Flacco was calm under pressure and never changed his demeanor.
On the team's first drive of the fourth quarter, with Baltimore leading 23-7, Flacco guided the Ravens on a 15-play, 80-yard scoring drive that kept the Chiefs defense on the field for more than 10 minutes.
It was a devastating drive that showed the difference between the experienced Ravens and a Chiefs team that wasn't able to deal with the pressure of playing its first playoff game at home in seven years.
Under Flacco, the Ravens are 4-2 in road playoff games. The Chiefs, who own an NFL-record seven consecutive playoff losses, are going to have to learn from this defeat.
And though it might take some time for the young Chiefs to get over the devastating loss, they should take pride in winning the AFC West for the first time in seven years. And this loss should motivate Cassel and the Chiefs to work even harder to get back to the postseason.
"We'll take a few weeks, we'll go back and re-evaluate the film from the year, and see what we can work on to get better for next year," Cassel said.
The Ravens, meanwhile, clearly are getting older on defense. On Sunday, they played as if their window of opportunity to get to the Super Bowl soon may be closing.
If Baltimore gets there, it may not be because of the defense or rushing game. Instead, it could be because of the play of the Ravens' unflappable quarterback.
