There were flashes of competent play-making by the Ravens, but as the game progressed it appeared the Chiefs were trifling with them.

What ya gonna do? This Ravens team has been more than decimated by key injuries (“decimated” from the original Latin means losing one out of ten of your troops—for the Ravens it’s more like three out of five!).  But at some point you have to call out the younger players for making the same mistakes over and over.

A completely unnecessary and irrelevant roughing call on DT Timmy Jernigan against Alex Smith possibly cost the Ravens the game.

Or at least a chance to hang in the game until the end…

At least WR Kamar Aiken made yet another case against his doubters that he belongs in the conversation for the #3 wide receiver spot on the Ravens 2016 roster. Aiken had a nice day. And the other “Aiken”, Kailen Clay the punt returner, certainly improved his stock with the Ravens with a fine outing.

One thing’s for sure— the Ravens should never EVER wear gold pants again. That uniform color change was a disgrace to the Ravens tradition.

The Chiefs capitalized on an abundance of miscues by the Baltimore Ravens in a 34-14 victory that earned Kansas City a place in the NFL record book.

Tyvon Branch returned a fumble 73 yards for a touchdown and Marcus Peters scored on a 90-yard interception return for the Chiefs, who also scored touchdowns following a drive-extending penalty by Baltimore and a failed fake punt.

With the victory, the Chiefs (9-5) became the first team in NFL history to follow a five-game skid with eight successive wins in the same season. Kansas City also kept itself in the thick of the AFC playoff picture.

The Chiefs picked off two passes and recovered a fumble, didn’t give the ball away and now own a plus-15 turnover differential. Kansas City believes that if it wins the turnover battle, it will win the game.

“I certainly do feel like that’s the mindset, yeah,” quarterback Alex Smith said. “To have the three turnovers — and technically, almost a fourth with when they went for the fake — to be able to capitalize on those, it changed that game.”

Smith went 21 for 25 for 171 yards and a touchdown. Charcandrick West ran for 76 yards and a score.

Baltimore (4-10) lost its third straight and fell to 2-5 at home. It’s the first time in their 20-year history that the Ravens have lost five home games.

“For us, the story of the game, basically, is turnovers,” coach John Harbaugh said.

Starting his second straight game for Baltimore, Jimmy Clausen completed 26 of 45 passes for a career-high 281 yards, two TDs and two interceptions. His favorite target was Kamar Aiken, who caught eight passes for 128 yards — including a desperation 52-yard TD at the end of the first half.

But Clausen’s first interception was the final blow to the Ravens’ upset bid. With Baltimore at the KC 16, Peters stepped in front of Daniel Brown, picked off the pass and took it down the left sideline for a 34-14 lead with 4:36 left.

“The biggest thing is taking care of the ball,” Clausen said. “Whether it’s the fumble, or the two interceptions that I had, you’re not going to win games turning the ball over.”

The three giveaways left Baltimore with a minus-15 differential for the season.

On Kansas City’s opening series, Smith came up short on a third-down run but was hit by Timmy Jernigan while out of bounds. That extended a drive that ended with a season-best, 38-yard touchdown run by West.

Baltimore pulled even with a 1-yard TD pass from Clausen to Kyle Juszczyk. On their next possession, the Ravens got to the KC 30 before Javorius Allenfumbled when hit by Derrick Johnson, and Branch went the distance for the go-ahead score.

“My hat’s off to our guys. They take advantage of opportunities,” coach Andy Reid said. “They’ve done that really all year.”

Late in the first quarter, Baltimore’s Sam Koch ran up the middle on a fake punt. He gained 7 yards but needed 9, which provided KC with the ball at the Baltimore 24. Three plays later, Jeremy Maclin caught a 13-yard touchdown pass.

“Anybody wants to criticize for going for it and being aggressive, have at it,” Harbaugh said. “I’m not apologizing.”

The Ravens lost CB Jimmy Smith to a thigh injury in the first quarter. … The Chiefs had no significant injuries to report.

Final:

	1	2	3	4	T
KC	14	10	0	10	34
BAL	7	7	0	0	14

Scoring Summary

 

FIRST QUARTER		KC	BAL
	TD 9:13 Charcandrick West 38 Yd Run (Cairo Santos Kick) 10 plays, 89 yards, 5:47	7	0
	TD 6:30 Kyle Juszczyk 1 Yd pass from Jimmy Clausen (Justin Tucker Kick) 6 plays, 45 yards, 2:43	7	7
	FUMBLE TD 2:49 Tyvon Branch 73 Yd Fumble Return (Cairo Santos Kick) 5 plays, 36 yards, 2:07	14	7
SECOND QUARTER		KC	BAL
	TD 14:56 Jeremy Maclin 13 Yd pass from Alex Smith (Cairo Santos Kick) 3 plays, 24 yards, 1:21	21	7
	FG 0:50 Cairo Santos 53 Yd Field Goal 8 plays, 29 yards, 3:16	24	7
	TD 0:00 Kamar Aiken 48 Yd pass from Jimmy Clausen (Justin Tucker Kick) 5 plays, 72 yards, 0:50	24	14
FOURTH QUARTER		KC	BAL
	FG 6:45 Cairo Santos 32 Yd Field Goal 14 plays, 81 yards, 8:41	27	14
	TD 4:36 Marcus Peters 90 Yd Interception Return (Cairo Santos Kick) 7 plays, 62 yards, 2:09	34	14

Matchup
1st Downs	15	19
Passing 1st downs	9	13
Rushing 1st downs	5	4
1st downs from penalties	1	2
3rd down efficiency	5-13	4-13
4th down efficiency	0-0	1-3
Total Plays	56	67
Total Yards	277	366
Total Drives	10	12
Yards per Play	4.9	5.5
Passing	164	273
Comp-Att	21-25	26-45
Yards per pass	5.9	5.8
Interceptions thrown	0	2
Sacks-Yards Lost	3-7	2-8
Rushing	113	93
Rushing Attempts	28	20
Yards per rush	4.0	4.7
Red Zone (Made-Att)	1-2	1-2
Penalties	6-55	7-63
Turnovers	0	3
Fumbles lost	0	1
Interceptions thrown	0	2
Defensive / Special Teams TDs	2	0
Possession	32:19	27:41

Baltimore Passing

	C/ATT	YDS	TD	INT	SACKS
Jimmy Clausen	26/45	281	2	2	2-8
TEAM	26/45	273	2	2	2-8

 

Baltimore Rushing

	CAR	YDS	TD	LONG
Terrance West	7	35	0	12
Jimmy Clausen	5	30	0	8
Javorius Allen	4	18	0	9
Sam Koch	1	7	0	7
Terrence Magee	2	5	0	4
Chris Givens	1	-2	0	-2
TEAM	20	93	0	12

Baltimore Receiving

	REC	YDS	TD	LONG	TGTS
Kamar Aiken	8	128	1	48	12
Jeremy Butler	3	60	0	41	5
Maxx Williams	5	31	0	13	6
Kyle Juszczyk	5	26	1	11	6
Chris Givens	1	17	0	17	5
Terrance West	2	11	0	8	2
Chris Matthews	1	6	0	6	4
Terrence Magee	1	2	0	2	1
Daniel Brown	0	0	0	0	3
Javorius Allen	0	0	0	0	1
TEAM	26	281	2	48	45

Kansas City Passing

	C/ATT	YDS	TD	INT	SACKS
Alex Smith	21/25	171	1	0	3-7
TEAM	21/25	164	1	0	3-7

Kansas City Rushing

	CAR	YDS	TD	LONG
Charcandrick West	16	76	1	38
Alex Smith	4	17	0	8
Knile Davis	5	14	0	6
Albert Wilson	1	8	0	8
Chase Daniel	2	-2	0	-1
TEAM	28	113	1	38

Kansas City Receiving

	REC	YDS	TD	LONG	TGTS
Travis Kelce	6	73	0	29	7
Jeremy Maclin	7	50	1	13	10
Albert Wilson	4	27	0	11	4
Jason Avant	2	12	0	6	2
Charcandrick West	2	9	0	12	2
TEAM	21	171	1	29	25

Baltimore Defensive

	TOT	SOLO	SACKS	TFL
C.J. Mosley	9	4	0	2
Kendrick Lewis	7	5	0	1
Daryl Smith	7	4	0	1
Timmy Jernigan	6	3	0	0
Za’Darius Smith	4	3	2	2
Shareece Wright	4	3	0	0
Brandon Williams	4	3	0	2
Courtney Upshaw	4	1	0	0
Lardarius Webb	3	3	0	0
Will Hill	3	3	0	0
Elvis Dumervil	2	2	0	1
Zachary Orr	2	1	0	0
Brent Urban	1	1	1	1
Anthony Levine	1	1	0	0
Kyle Juszczyk	1	1	0	0
Jumal Rolle	1	1	0	0
Brynden Trawick	1	1	0	0
Terrence Brooks	1	1	0	0
Maxx Williams	1	1	0	0
Lawrence Guy	1	0	0	0
Carl Davis	1	0	0	0
TEAM	64	42	3	10

Losses like this one sting a little less when Ravens fans realize they’re getting closer and closer to picking in the Top 5 in 2016.