It was cold and windy at Arrowhead Stadium Sunday and the Chiefs looked like they felt every bit of it. The Ravens defense – ranked second in the NFL – punished Trent Green and the Chiefs offense in a 20-10 victory. It was the first time the Ravens beat the Chiefs in three tries and the first time a visiting team won at Arrowhead in December since 1996.
Baltimore’s defense forced Green into obvious passing downs and disrupted his rhythm every time. Green finished the game 15-of-27 for 178 yards and a touchdown, but his first half numbers were even worse. He threw two interceptions in the game’s first 30 minutes, including one on the Raven’s 6 that stalled an excellent scoring opportunity.
“They’re a penetrating defense that causes negative plays,” said Green. “All of a sudden, it’s second and long, third and long, and it’s hard to get out of.”
Green also lost a fumble and was sacked four times. Ed Reed picked off both Green interceptions.
“I was just doing my job. We were just communicating, being where we’re supposed to be. The ball just came my way,” said Reed.
Kansas City’s defense held its end of the bargain, but it only took two plays to break their backs. Steve McNair connected with Mark Clayton on an 87-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter that stretched Baltimore’s lead to 13-0. Later in the fourth, McNair hit Demetrius Williams for 33-yards that kept the final scoring drive alive. Jamal Lewis finished off the Ravens scoring with a 1-yard touchdown plunge.
The Chiefs opened the game with an excellent chance to get on the board first. Dante Hall returned the opening kickoff to the Chiefs 49. Kansas City drive all the way down to the 22, but Lawrence Tynes missed a 32-yard field goal. That missed field goal was all the Ravens confidence needed.
Kansas City did finally reach the end zone when Green threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Hall with 1:20 left in the game. Baltimore recovered the onsides kick to seal the game.
San Diego clinched the AFC West with a win over 48-20 win over Denver. The Chiefs are 7-6 and battling for a wild card spot.
