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4 winners and 4 losers from the Chiefs’ loss to the Ravens

After an ugly loss in Baltimore, let’s take a look at the Chiefs who stood out — in both good and bad ways.

Kansas City Chiefs v Baltimore Ravens Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images

In a back-and-forth game — where each team did what they do best — it usually comes down to a couple of plays.

In Week 1, the Kansas City Chiefs took advantage when the Cleveland Browns made crucial mistakes in the second half. In Week 2, the Baltimore Ravens were able to do the same in the second half against the Chiefs. Two uncharacteristic turnovers took points off of the board, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Here are a few Chiefs that stood out in a Sunday Night Football heartbreaker.

Winners

Kansas City Chiefs v Baltimore Ravens Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images

Travis Kelce: The man is a legend. Stat lines like this one — seven catches for 109 yards and a touchdown — are nearly an every-week occurrence for Kelce, but that 46-yard catch-and-run for a score will be on his Hall of Fame film roll. Good things happen when Mahomes and Kelce go to work.

Tyrann Mathieu: His third snap was a pick-six — and he added another interception in the first quarter. Don’t let the two big penalties taint Mathieu’s game; both were very questionable calls. When the game was on the line, The Landlord nearly had another interception in the end zone, then broke up the two-point conversion to keep it a one-point game.

Byron Pringle: The Ravens took away Tyreek Hill, and the Chiefs finally got some production out of their secondary targets. Pringle had a 40-yard touchdown and another big catch in the Chiefs’ final drive to help put them into position for a go-ahead score. With those two plays, Pringle was second on the team in receiving — which is both good for him and bad for the Chiefs offense.

Jody Fortson: It was a tiny glimpse — and didn’t really affect the outcome — but it was good to see Fortson get his first career reception this week. He also forced a holding penalty on a play where he would have blocked a punt. If he starts piecing plays like that together on offense and special teams, Fortson might get a longer look.

Losers

Kansas City Chiefs v Baltimore Ravens Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images

The Chiefs’ run defense: It’s difficult to narrow this down without further review. But it appears to be an issue that spans at least the whole front seven — and probably some of the guys behind them. The Ravens had over 240 yards on the ground; the Chiefs had no answers for Lamar Jackson and company. After giving up 7.5 yards per play, the film room will not be fun for these guys.

The Chiefs’ pass rushers: There was only one sack recorded in this entire game — and it was from Daniel Sorensen. Chris Jones, Frank Clark and Jarran Reed combined for five tackles and no sacks — and the only impact play was Clark’s lone tackle for a loss. The defensive game plan might have included more efforts to contain Jackson — but that clearly didn’t work, either. In the second half, the Chiefs needed big plays from these three. It didn’t happen.

Creed Humphrey: This wasn’t the rookie’s night. He and Mahomes had their first bad snap of his career — and he missed a couple of blocks that really cost the Chiefs. Perhaps it’s unfair to put this on him, but he had a chance at Jason Oweh when he got to Mahomes for the pressure that forced an interception. Oweh also beat Humphrey on the play where Oweh forced and recovering a fumble. Which brings us to...

Clyde Edwards-Helaire: It was a really tough night for the second-year running back. No receptions, just 3.5 yards per carry and a catastrophic fumble with under two minutes to play. With a lead In the fourth quarter, the Chiefs gave the ball to Edwards-Helaire on each of their last two drives, giving him a chance to chew up yards and close out a win. Instead, the Ravens had a chance to close out the Chiefs.

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