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T
hey still can’t beat the Kansas City Chiefs, but the Baltimore Ravens don’t need to fear their current nemesis should they meet again in the playoffs, according to Isaiah Likely. The dynamic tight end made a bold statement about the Chiefs after enjoying a breakout game in a losing cause at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Week 1.
Speaking after the Ravens were beaten 27-20 on Thursday, September 5, Likely told reporters, “This is probably the worst game we’re gonna play all year. So if this is the best that they got, I mean, good luck in the postseason,” per Oh No He Didn’t (h/t Ravens Vault co-host Sarah Ellison).
These were strangely defiant words from Likely since the Ravens had failed to avenge their defeat to the Chiefs in last season’s AFC Championship Game. Yet, Likely knows how close he and his teammates came to changing the narrative against the back-to-back Super Bowl champions.
It was Likley’s apparent second touchdown being ruled out because his toe was on the back line of the end zone that preserved a narrow win for the Chiefs. The Ravens were able to hang with the NFL’s best largely because of how often Likely dissected Kansas City’s coverage schemes.
He snagged nine receptions for 111 yards, including a spectacular 49-yard catch and run for a touchdown. In the process, Likely showcased to a national audience the hybrid traits and move skills that have him primed to take over as the go-to target for Ravens’ quarterback Lamar Jackson.
As well as he played, though, not everybody was impressed with Likely’s bullish post-game comments.
Isaiah Likely’s Chiefs Jab Might Be Misjudged
Likely earned the right to be brazen about his team after the way he toyed with the champs on the road, but dismissal of the Chiefs might be misjudged. Particularly this early in the new season.
As Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis put it, “that’s not the best KC’s got, but was enough to beat you tonight which is all they care about both these teams will only get better talking wild after a Week 1 loss is dumb.”
There’s a fine line between confident and foolhardy. It’s a line Likely was walking during his interview.
The last thing the Ravens need to be doing is providing bulletin board material to an opponent that’s had their number in recent years. Chiefs’ safety Justin Reid was quick to answer back.
Reid responded to Likely’s comments on an episode of “Up & Adams.” The veteran defensive back pointed out, “I hope that’s the worst game, it’s the first game of the season, and I hope it’s the worst game that anyone plays because if you’re peaking right now, then that’s bad news come the playoff time.”
He went on to explain how the Chiefs are going to improve: “We’re gonna get ‘Hollywood’ Brown back here in a couple of weeks, we want to continue to tighten on the defensive side of the ball, and that Patrick Mahomes, Xavier Worthy connection is just going to get more and more special as we keep going. Not to mention, that out of all the star power that happened, Travis Kelce, he didn’t even have to be Travis Kelce the whole game.”
Those are strong arguments for why the Chiefs can get even better, but Likely is a compelling reason why the Ravens will also improve.
Ravens Have New Star in the Passing Game
Keeping Likely under wraps was a riddle the Chiefs never solved. He routinely burned coverage, both inside the numbers and on the perimeter.
Likely’s memorable six-pointer that counted was made possible by a juke move reminiscent of a play from Jackson’s younger days, per ESPN’s SportsCenter.
The score and the stats made this the kind of game the Ravens envisaged for Likely in a more roving role sure to be a nightmare for defenses.
Offensive coordinator Todd Monken must continue to keep Likely on the field and involved. So far that’s meant a heavy dose of two-tight end sets.
Citing Next Gen Stats, Ravens.com Editorial Director Ryan Mink noted “the Ravens featured 12 personnel (one RB, two TEs) on 52.7% of plays last night vs. the Chiefs, a higher mark than in any game last season.”
This is a good start, but Monken needs more than a personnel grouping to take full advantage of Likely’s talents. No. 80 is an explosive wide receiver trapped inside the imposing frame of a 6-foot-4, 247-pound tight end.
Likely was supposed to be a supporting act for fellow tight end Mark Andrews, but the fourth-round pick in the 2022 NFL draft is beginning to usurp the All-Pro as Jackson’s favorite weapon.
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