Chiefs against Ravens on Monday night: ‘special opportunity’ for early season showdown
There are games that prompt immediate circling on calendars when the NFL releases its regular-season schedule.
Sure, teams around the league have a business-like approach to matchups and often regurgitate the sports cliché of taking matters on a game-by-game, week-by-week basis.
But there’s no doubt Monday night’s showdown between the Chiefs and Ravens has plenty of attention, not just from the outside but from within.
“You do recognize the special games,” Ravens coach John Hargaugh said Thursday during a teleconference. “You can’t help it. I mean, the chance to play the defending champs, go against a team that is talented and well-coached, play as hard as this team does, that’s a special opportunity.”
Significant moment, indeed, because what’s not to like about Week 3’s stakes between two of the NFL’s powerhouse teams?
The Chief and Raven enter the contest with identical 2-0 records and the two teams combined for a 26-6 mark in 2019. The Ravens with a 14-2 record earned the No. 1 seed in the postseason last season, while the Chiefs at 12-4 secured the No. 2 seed.
Since the 2006 season, a total of 17 games have boasted the scenario of 2-0 opponents squaring off in Week 3, and the winning team went on to enjoy postseason success during that span.
The Chiefs became the third team last season to emerge victorious against another 2-0 team in a Week 3 matchup, coincidentally against the Ravens, and then went on to win the Super Bowl. The other two teams to accomplish the feat are the New England Patriots (Super Bowl LI in 2016) and Indianapolis Colts (Super Bowl XLI in 2006).
On the personnel side of the contest, there’s Chiefs coach Andy Reid facing one of his former assistants in Harbaugh — and that pairing leans in Reid’s favor.
Reid is 12-6 in his career against former staffers, including 4-1 when squaring off with Harbaugh, who has lost four straight against his mentor — three against Reid as Kansas City’s head coach, and one when Reid coached in Philadelphia.
Then there’s the marquee matchup between electrifying quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes, 25, and Lamar Jackson, 23, even if both players won’t be on the field at the same time.
For the first time in NFL history, Monday night’s game features two former league MVPs under the age of 26: Mahomes won the award in 2018, Jackson in 2019.
“All these new quarterback that are in this league, these young kids, man, how great is that for the National Football League?” Reid said Thursday. “These two are two of the best.
“Here, you have an opportunity to watch them compete against each other. They’re good friends on top of all that and they’re going to get in there and play, and their teammates are going to back them on everything.’‘
All that’s left to do between now and kickoff is enjoy the hype for one of the more highly anticipated games when the regular-season schedule was released.
Get the popcorn ready, then sit back and enjoy the battle as the Chiefs and Ravens vie for early AFC domination in a contest that isn’t just another game.
“We’re going against a great opponent who we respect very much,” Harbaugh said.
The Ravens head coach’s sentiments are echoed in Kansas City.
“They’ve got really good football coaches and really good players, so that normally means you’re going to have a good team,” Reid said. “And they do it the right way. We look forward to the challenge is what we do.
“I mean, all of us in the business, that’s why we’re in it. We respect them. We know they’re a good football team.”
This story was originally published September 25, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Chiefs against Ravens on Monday night: ‘special opportunity’ for early season showdown."
