Chiefs vs. Ravens: Postgame Grades, Notes and Quotes for Baltimore
The Baltimore Ravens looked to take on the role of playoff spoiler when they hosted the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 15.
Winners of seven straight and holding an 8-5 record, Kansas City entered this week in a three-way tie for one of the AFC's two wild-card spots. The 4-9 Ravens were looking to dash those playoff hopes, but a mini-meltdown in the first quarter proved too much to overcome.
Penalties, a turnover returned for a touchdown and a failed fake punt helped the Chiefs jump out to a 21-7 lead early in the second quarter. That ultimately was what decided the game, as Kansas City would coast the rest of the way, while Baltimore fought valiantly to get back in the game.
Though the Ravens made it a competitive game and never gave in, they just didn't have enough firepower to come back from a 14-point deficit. Kansas City hung on to win 34-14.
Postgame Grades
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| Position | Grade |
| QB | B- |
| RB | C- |
| WR | B- |
| TE | D |
| OL | B- |
| DL | C |
| LB | B+ |
| DB | B |
| Special Teams | B |
| Coaching | C |
Overall, Jimmy Clausen had a decent showing while making his second start of the year for Baltimore.
He finished the game with two passing scores and consistently made big throws against a good Chiefs defense. However, Clausen's pick-six in the fourth quarter killed off any hope of a rally. He threw another late pick while trying to lead the Ravens back.
Because Baltimore was playing from behind essentially the entire game, the running backs didn't get a lot of chances to make plays. Buck Allen had his worst game as the starting running back with just 18 yards on seven carries and no catches.
Allen's fumble returned for a touchdown in the first quarter led to his not seeing the field much after the first quarter. That paved the way for Terrance West (seven carries, 35 yards) to have a solid outing.
Kamar Aiken and Jeremy Butler were the only two pass-catchers who did anything of note. They combined for 10 catches for 181 yards and a touchdown.
The offensive line did well against a solid Chiefs front seven that thrives off rushing the passer. Baltimore allowed just two sacks and five QB hits.
Against Kansas City's defense, that's a good outing. The line also did well on the ground paving the way for the Ravens to average 4.7 yards per rush, one of the highest marks they've had this season.
As for the defense, it actually performed well, despite Kansas City scoring 34 points. Many of the Chiefs' scores came off turnovers that either were returned for a score or gave their offense a short field to work with against the Ravens.
Kansas City finished the game with just 277 yards of total offense, as Baltimore's defense did a good job of keeping the Chiefs contained for much of the game. However, the front seven did have one of its worst games this season while allowing the Chiefs to run for 113 yards.
The front seven did do a good job of pressuring Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith and not letting him find any rhythm. The Ravens sacked Smith three times and hit him another four times.
The secondary also played well and helped limit the Chiefs to just 164 yards of passing offense. That came with starting corner Jimmy Smith missing most of the game with an injured thigh.
Jimmy Clausen Starts Again
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With Joe Flacco out for the season, the Ravens have already started two different quarterbacks in his absence.
Veteran journeyman Matt Schaub got the first two starts and went 1-1. Though he was able to keep the offense moving, Schaub's frequent turnovers and poor play kept him from locking the spot down.
Schaub also suffered a chest injury in Week 13 against the Miami Dolphins that led to his sitting out last week versus the Seattle Seahawks. Jimmy Clausen, who had just been signed to the team in November, got the start against Seattle.
Despite leading his offense to just two field goals in a 35-6 loss to the Seahawks, Clausen got another start this week against the Chiefs, even though Schaub was healthy enough to play.
Overall, Clausen did well and was a big reason why the Ravens were within striking distance in the fourth quarter.
Head coach John Harbaugh echoed those sentiments after the game.
"I thought Jimmy played really well. ... He made a lot of plays with his feet, with his arm," Harbaugh said, via CSN's Bo Smolka.
That is, until Clausen threw a pick-six to Chiefs rookie corner Marcus Peters that sealed the win for Kansas City.
Despite that critical error, Clausen played well enough that he should get another start next week against the Pittsburgh Steelers. We know what Schaub is, and frankly, Clausen has looked better this season.
Turnovers, Penalties, Bad Gambles Prove Costly
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With all of the Ravens' injuries and poor play at too many positions this season, they cannot afford to shoot themselves in the foot and expect to win any more games.
Unfortunately, that is what Baltimore chose to do for much of this game, and the Chiefs took advantage of seemingly every mistake the Ravens made.
Three examples of this occurred in the first quarter alone. On Kansas City's first offensive possession, quarterback Alex Smith attempted to scramble on a 3rd-and-long play but ended up going out of bounds short of the marker.
However, a late hit by Ravens defensive lineman Timmy Jernigan drew a personal-foul penalty that extended the drive instead of forcing a Chiefs punt. The offense would continue to march down the field before eventually scoring a touchdown and extra point to take a 7-0 lead.
After the Ravens answered with their own score and got the ball back, it looked like they would take the lead as they drove into Kansas City territory with the game tied at 7-7. However, running back Buck Allen fumbled the ball, and Chiefs safety Tyvon Branch picked it up and took it to the house for six and a 14-7 Chiefs lead after the extra-point attempt.
On the ensuing Ravens possession, the offense would go three-and-out deep in Baltimore territory. But instead of punting the ball away, the Ravens ran a fake punt that Kansas City sniffed out.
Punter Sam Koch attempted to keep the ball and run for the first down, but the Chiefs tackled him about two yards short. Three plays later, Smith hit receiver Jeremy Maclin for a 13-yard touchdown to give the Chiefs a two-score lead entering the second quarter.
Head coach John Harbaugh said it best on the fake punt call, via CSN's Bo Smolka: "It was risky, gutsy, whatever you want to call it. But it wasn't a good call because it didn't work."
From there, Kansas City would coast for much of the next three quarters before the Ravens looked poised to cut the lead to single digits in the final minutes.
With Baltimore down 27-14 in the red zone, Clausen threw an interception to Chiefs corner Marcus Peters, who took it back 90 yards for the touchdown to give Kansas City a 35-14 lead. While the score suggests this game was a blowout, if Baltimore simply doesn't make those critical gaffes, this well could have been a game the Ravens won.
But this team simply isn't good enough to make this many mistakes and beat anyone, let alone a good Chiefs team.
"You don't win football games when you turn the ball over," Harbaugh told Smolka after the game. "If any team this year should understand that, it's the Baltimore Ravens."
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Jimmy Smith Leaves with Thigh Injury
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The MASH unit that is the 2015 Ravens continued to grow this week after they lost another key player to injury.
This time, it was starting cornerback Jimmy Smith. He was knocked out of this game after one drive thanks to a thigh injury, and the team quickly announced he would not return.
As Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun noted, that forced the Ravens to shift their secondary into a configuration not seen this season. Jumal Rolle, who was just called up from the practice squad this week, served as the outside corner with Lardarius Webb in the slot and Shareece Wright on the other side.
You read that correctly: Baltimore used a practice-squad player (Rolle) and a corner who was on the street until Baltimore signed him in October (Wright) as the starting boundary corners in this game due to injuries.
It's been that kind of year in Baltimore. The good news is even without Smith, the Ravens secondary played well and limited the Chiefs to just 164 passing yards.
As big of a weakness as the secondary has been the past two years, seeing the unit continue to improve has been one of the few bright spots of this season.
The Rise of Kamar Aiken and Jeremy Butler Continues
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With so many injuries plaguing the Ravens offense this season, that has paved the way for several unknown players to emerge and show they can be impact players.
Two of the biggest risers have been wide receivers Kamar Aiken and Jeremy Butler. Aiken has taken over the No. 1 receiver role with Steve Smith Sr. and Breshad Perriman being out, and he's showing he's someone this offense can count on.
Against the Chiefs, Aiken had a monster game that kept the Ravens afloat when it looked like they were sinking. His biggest play came at the end of the first half when he hauled in a 48-yard touchdown on a Hail Mary.
He finished the game with 128 yards on eight catches—both career highs. Aiken continues to look like a receiver this offense can rely on now and for the foreseeable future.
As for Butler, his emergence has been more prevalent over the past month. His production has been relegated to just one or two big plays per game, but his big-play ability is exactly what this offense needs.
The second-year man out of UT-Chattanooga finished this game with three grabs for 60 yards. He's now caught 14 passes for 175 yards over his last three games, as he's looking more and more like a viable pass-catcher.
Butler's latest performance led injured Ravens running back Justin Forsett to tweet that Butler "will be a star in this league." It's far too early to tell if that will happen, but Butler is showing a lot of potential.
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