Flowers showed frustration on the sidelines after the fumble, throwing his helmet and seemingly cutting his finger. The would-be touchdown seemed to make up for a taunting penalty Flowers received earlier on the same drive. The Ravens ended up back in the red zone after his penalty, but Flowers was just short of turning the situation around.
The fumble was one of the takeaways by a Chiefs defense that put pressure on Lamar Jackson and the Ravens. Jackson accounted for two other mistakes, with a strip-sack and a desperation throw into coverage.
Jackson saw the turnovers as the deciding factor in the game.
“They played the game perfectly and they put points on the board,” Jackson said. “I felt like if we wouldn’t have turned the ball over we definitely would have had a shot, we definitely would have come out with the win.”
Baltimore initially seemed ready for an offensive showdown with the defending champions but struggled to maintain drives and possession time.
Jackson credited Kansas City for a game plan that included a high blitz rate on 43.5% of his dropbacks. It was the fourth-highest blitz rate on Jackson this season.
The Ravens’ performance was unexpected for an offense that had been consistently scoring points and leading the league in rushing yards. Jackson expressed pride in his team despite the loss.
“I’m very proud of my team,” Jackson said. “We made it here, but we’ve just got to finish next time, but I’m very proud of my team in all phases.”