An inside look at Sunday night’s AFC Championship game between the Ravens and Chiefs at M&T Bank Stadium.
Marquee matchup
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce vs. Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton
You could make the case that this matchup is what the Ravens were anticipating when using the No. 14 pick in the 2022 draft on Hamilton.
The Chiefs’ passing attack is more Kelce-reliant than ever, because so many of the other receivers struggle with drops. Patrick Mahomes-Kelce is the most prolific quarterback-receiving duo in NFL playoff history (16 touchdowns).
No surprise then that the offense looked the best it has all season last week with Kelce emerging from a funk to score two touchdowns.
The do-it-all Hamilton lines up all over the defense — most frequently in the slot — and has allowed just 37 catches for 258 yards and one touchdown this season, per Pro Football Focus.
His size-speed combination has held many top tight ends in check.
The Ravens also have the coverage linebackers — Patrick Queen and Roquan Smith — to carry Kelce to a deeper-playing Hamilton.
Dunleavy’s decision
The one unknown about the Chiefs during this six-year run was whether they could win a true road playoff game.
After 15 straight at home or a neutral site (Super Bowl), they beat the Bills in front of snowball-throwing Buffalonians last week.
The Ravens’ defense offers a stiffer test, but who in their right mind is picking against the comeback king Mahomes?
He is 8-1 when trailing by seven or more points in the playoffs over the past five seasons. The rest of the NFL is 11-53.
Chiefs 27, Ravens 23
4 Downs
Just for kicks: If the game comes down to a last-second field goal, odds are it will be converted, and the pain that the Bills are feeling after Tyler Bass’ miss will be avoided.
The Ravens’ Justin Tucker (90.2 percent since 2012) and the Chiefs’ Harrison Butker (89.4 percent since 2017) are the two most accurate regular-season kickers in NFL history.
Those numbers drop a bit in the playoffs for both Tucker (81) and Butker (87.1).
“I think he’s really changed the kicking game and pushed it forward which is great,” Butker said of Tucker. “So now all of us young kickers, we have someone to look to and say, ‘You know, it is possible to make these 65-yard field goals and make these big game-winning kicks.’
“It is cool to see a kicker who is kind of an artist — he dances after. He just does a lot of stuff that is very different than most other kickers.”
Rookie receivers: The Ravens’ Zay Flowers (77 catches for 858 yards and five touchdowns) and Chiefs’ Rashee Rice (79-938-7) were two of four rookie wideouts who reached at least 70 catches and 800 yards.
Flowers (drafted No. 23 overall) and Rice (No. 55) were the third and seventh receivers picked, respectively.
“We always believe that tape is the king,” Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said. “You watch Zay play football … he made catches. He made people miss. Then you want to say, ‘How do you think this is going to translate to the NFL?’
“We just felt like he had all the other intangibles, in terms of mindset and attitude, and smart and competitive.”
Rice was the primary difference-maker in the Chiefs’ wild-card win.
“He’s doing it in elements of weather, and he’s doing it in elements of playoff games,” Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said. “That, to me, is what’s really neat to see him grow as a rookie.”
Rich get richer? The Ravens are on the verge of adding two three-time Pro Bowlers to the lineup.
Tight end Mark Andrews, who hasn’t played since Nov. 16 because of an ankle injury, was activated from injured reserve after practicing all week.
Cornerback Marlon Humphrey, who has missed eight games including the playoff-opener after a bye week (calf), is listed as questionable but shared a sense of optimism on his availability.
If the Ravens add Andrews, they still need to find spots to utilize backup Isaiah Likely, who has scored six touchdowns in the last six games.
Jackson called Andrews his “bread and butter,” and their time-tested connection speaks to it.
But the Ravens think highly of Likely.
“He is technically a backup,” Hamilton said, “but I feel like he is a top ‘whatever you want to say’ tight end in our league.”
Perfection on the line: Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is 5-0 against opposing head coaches who previously worked as his assistants, including 3-0 against the Bills’ Sean McDermott.
This is the first Reid-Harbaugh playoff matchup, but Reid holds a 5-2 edge during the regular season.
Harbaugh was the Eagles’ special teams coordinator (1998-2006) and defensive backs coach (2007) under Reid before he was hired by the Ravens in 2008.
He got the job, in part, because Reid had great respect for Harbaugh’s father Jack — a college coach from 1967-2009 almost without interruption.
“When I met John, I’m going, ‘Man, if you’re half as good as your dad, you’re on,’ ” Reid said, “so it didn’t take very long. He’s got a great mentor, obviously.”
