Lamar Jackson is the single greatest first-half quarterback against the spread in the last 20 years.
He’s 51-30-2 all-time and was 13-5 a year ago.
Meanwhile, striking early in a season opener has been the hallmark of the John Harbaugh era. The Ravens scored first in all 16 season openers under him heading into Thursday night’s clash against the Chiefs.
So, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise the Ravens getting one point in the first half was a popular bet with 60% of all tickets on it.
Unfortunately, in what turned out to be a thrilling finish, it ended in heartbreak when Baltimore had to settle for three. What made it particularly painful was that the Ravens had a walk-in touchdown except Jackson's pass to an open Justice Hill was batten down by Kansas City linebacker Leo Chenal. Instead of at least tying the game the Ravens entered halftime down 13-10.
Things started perfectly for the Ravens as they once again opened the season scoring first on a five-yard Derrick Henry touchdown plunge. It was the finishing touch to an 11-play, 70-yard drive to kick off the 2024 campaign.
Unfortunately, it was all downhill after that.
The Chiefs struck back in a flash – literally, as Xavier Worthy showed off the blazing speed that made him Kansas City’s first-round pick on a 21-yard sprint into the end zone. Worthy set a new Combine record with a 4.21 40-yard dash. He wasted no time showing that speed will translate to the NFL by scoring on his very first NFL touch.
Kansas City took the lead just over a minute into the second quarter, cashing in on Chris Jones’ strip-sack of Jackson at Baltimore’s 14-yard line. They managed to limit the damage to a Harrison Butker 32-yard field goal, but the disastrous quarter continued when they failed to convert on fourth-and-three from midfield.
Baltimore could have gotten the ball back after forcing the Chiefs into a 3rd-and-12. However, they couldn't get off the field after Patrick Mahomes went full Patrick Mahomes, evading the rush to fire a 23-yard strike to Travis Kelce to move the chains. However, they once again managed to limit the damage to a field goal to make it 16-10.
Jackson and company got the ball back with just under six minutes to go in the half, needing a touchdown to cover. They looked prime to put points on the board – albeit not the kind bettors needed – when Justin Tucker lined up for a 53-yard field goal. However, the most accurate kicker of all time missed wide-left.
It looked like fait accompli the Ravens would fail to cover…except they got new life when Roquan Smith picked Mahomes off on the very next play. Jackson got Baltimore within Kansas City's 10-yard line, but they weren't able to punch it in, resulting in a gut-punch loss for the public.
