Five Ravens Matchups to Watch vs. Chiefs

The Baltimore Ravens' AFC clash might come down to one or more key battles between singular players or entire units.

Sep 5, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers (4) is tackled by Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie (22) at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Ravens' crucial matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs could ultimately be decided by battles between specific position groups or individual players outperforming their counterparts on the other side of the ball.

WR Zay Flowers vs. CB Trent McDuffie

After getting off to a scorching hot start through the first two weeks of the season, the Ravens' Pro Bowl wideout was only targeted three times and caught two of them for 13 receiving yards in their Week 3 loss to the Detroit Lions. The Ravens will likely want to get him involved early after not logging his first catch until the second half last week most targets that come his way will most likely come with the Chiefs' First Team All Pro tight in coverage. McDuffie can follow Flowers anywhere on the field as he excels playing both on the perimeter as well as the slot. This matchup could loom large on critical passing downs if it winds up being a close game.

Ravens Offensive Line vs. DT Chris Jones

Sep 5, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones (95) sacks Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) causing a fumble during the first half at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

The Chiefs' six-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle is public enemy No. 1 for the Ravens' entire offense in this game, but especially for the starting blocking unit. Jones is a certified game wrecker capable of taking over and coming up with huge stops in the form of sacks, pressures and tackles for loss. While he's an interior defensive lineman by trade, he could line up anywhere he or defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo believes there might be a potential weakness to exploit, which makes limiting his impact the responsibility of the entire offensive line and not just one particular side or the interior exclusively.

DB Kyle Hamilton vs. TE Travis Kelce

Sep 5, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) runs with the ball against Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey (44) at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

While the Ravens haven't given up a lot of yardage to opposing tight ends through three games, they've allowed far too many drive-extending conversions to the position. Even if the Chiefs' future Hall of Famer isn't what he once was and is clearly in decline, his rapport with Patrick Mahomes remains strong and will be a factor on any passing play when they're both on the field. Hamilton is the only player on the Ravens roster who matches up well against Kelce, as most linebackers still aren't able to stick with him in coverage and he has a physical advantage over most defensive backs. The two of them have had a couple of highly competitive battles over the past three years in the regular and postseason.

Ravens Defensive Line vs. Chiefs IOL

Sep 5, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs guard Trey Smith (65) at the line of scrimmage against the Baltimore Ravens during the game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

After getting bullied and bulldozed in the ground game by a young, inexperienced interior offensive line last week in last week's embarrassing primetime loss, the Ravens' depleted defensive line will be facing a pair of Pro Bowlers in this game, with center Creed Humphrey and guard Trey Smith. They signed veteran Brent Urban to the 53-man roster, elevated a pair of massive nose tackles in Josh Tupou and C.J. Okoye, will have Travis Jones available after he missed a day of practice with a knee injury and are expected to increase the playing time of veteran nose tackle John Jenkins who actually had a nice game last week. If that collection of experienced beef can clog up the middle and stop the bleeding on the ground for the Ravens' 30th-ranked run defense, they'd succeed in making Kansas City's offense one-dimensional.

CB Nate Wiggins vs. WR Xavier Worthy

Sep 5, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy (1) scores a touchdown against Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey (44) during the second half at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

The two fastest players from the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine will likely see a lot of each other in this game, as Worthy will be making his return to action since suffering a dislocated shoulder in the Chiefs' season-opener due to a collision with Kelce over the middle. Meanwhile, Wiggins is off to a strong start to what many pundits believed would be a breakout season heading into it. Kansas City has two other receivers who possess field-stretching vertical speed in former Raven first-rounder Marquise 'Hollywood' Brown and fourth-year pro Tyquan Thornton, but Worthy is the most dangerous of the bunch when healthy. The Chiefs will try to get him going and in single coverage on deep crossers, where Wiggins has the best chance of any Ravens corner to keep up with the speedster on such plays.

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