Baltimore’s supposedly vaunted defense was shredded by Kansas City’s creative offense, while the Chiefs’ defense virtually handcuffed Lamar Jackson with a swarming multiple-looks all-out containment scheme.

The Chiefs left no doubt: they are a better football team than the Ravens at this juncture.

Patrick Mahomes put on a quarterback show while outperforming Lamar Jackson, and the Kansas City Chiefs deftly played the role of defending Super Bowl champions in a 34-20 thumping of the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night. With Mahomes leading the way, the Chiefs (3-0) emphatically ended the Ravens’ 14-game regular-season winning streak while extending their own run to 12 games (including playoffs).

Mahomes maneuvered in and out of the pocket. Sometimes he just dropped back and fired pinpoint throws downfield. The common thread was that just about everything he did worked against an overmatched Baltimore defense that had allowed only two touchdowns in its first two games.

Mahomes went 31 of 42 for 385 yards and four touchdowns. He was not intercepted, and avoided being sacked. The Chiefs led 27-10 at halftime and held on to defeat Baltimore (2-1) for the third year in a row.

In a duel between Mahomes, the 2018 NFL MVP, and the player who won that honor last year, Jackson was no match for the man whose resume also includes a Super Bowl MVP trophy.

Jackson completed 15 of 28 passes for 97 yards and ran for 83 yards, 30 of them on one carry during the Ravens’ opening possession. The fleet-footed quarterback is 21-4 as Baltimore’s starter, and three of those defeats have come against Mahomes and the Chiefs.

The Chiefs scored touchdowns on their first two possessions — one on a run by Mahomes, the other on a pass — for a 13-3 lead. Following that second score, Ravens rookie Devin Duvernay fielded the kickoff and sprinted down the right sideline for a 93-yard touchdown.

Kansas City followed with a three-and-out, but Baltimore simply could not contain Mahomes for long. After he got the ball back, Mahomes completed passes of 29 and 18 yards before hitting Tyreek Hill for a 20-yard score to cap a 73-yard drive.

A 49-yard touchdown pass from Mahomes to Mecole Hardman put the Chiefs up by 17 at halftime. The only other time Jackson trailed by that much at the break in an NFL game was last year, when the Chiefs held a 23-6 lead.

In this one, Mahomes pumped the brakes in the second half before Baltimore closed to 27-20. That’s when Mahomes showed why he’s the league’s highest-paid player and arguably the NFL’s best quarterback.

During a 13-play, 75-yard drive that produced the game-clinching score, Mahomes converted a third-and-5 with an 18-yard pass and ran for 12 yards on a third-and-10. He flipped a sidearm 12-yard pass to Sammy Watkins to set up a first-and-goal at the 2, from where Mahomes tossed a touchdown to eligible-receiver tackle Eric Fisher with 8:14 remaining.

INJURIES—-Chiefs: CB L’Jarius Sneed was ruled out in the third quarter with a collarbone injury. … DE Alex Okafor (hamstring) was inactive.

Matchup Ravens lay prime-time egg, lose to Chiefs, 34-20 Ravens lay prime-time egg, lose to Chiefs, 34-20
1st Downs 29 16
Passing 1st downs 22 5
Rushing 1st downs 5 8
1st downs from penalties 2 3
3rd down efficiency 10-13 3-9
4th down efficiency 0-2 0-1
Total Plays 73 53
Total Yards 517 228
Total Drives 10 11
Yards per Play 7.1 4.3
Passing 385 70
Comp-Att 31-42 15-28
Yards per pass 9.2 2.2
Interceptions thrown 0 0
Sacks-Yards Lost 0-0 4-27
Rushing 132 158
Rushing Attempts 31 21
Yards per rush 4.3 7.5
Red Zone (Made-Att) 3-3 1-4
Penalties 6-38 6-45
Turnovers 1 1
Fumbles lost 1 1
Interceptions thrown 0 0
Defensive / Special Teams TDs 0 1
Possession 33:56 26:04

The Ravens go on the road to face the Washington Football Team this coming Sunday.

Per Jamison Hensley of ESPN, Jackson didn’t resemble the reigning NFL MVP in a choppy performance, falling to 0-3 against the Chiefs with a career-worst 97 yards passing. It was unlike the Jackson who has dominated the rest of the league with a 22-1 regular-season record.

“…the Ravens looked confused on both sides of the ball, plagued by Jackson’s errant passes, drops by receivers and uncharacteristic mistakes on defense. There are plenty of teams who stumble against the Chiefs, but the Ravens have to figure out why their worst performances repeatedly happen against Kansas City.” — Hensley

Jackson has yet to lead a significant comeback. He’s now 0-5 when trailing by 10 points at any point in the game. He’s also 0-5 when trailing at halftime. Some of this is due to a lack of opportunities. Jackson and the Ravens had led at halftime in 11 straight games, which was one shy of tying an NFL record. But, when faced with a large deficit, he has struggled.

Give the Chiefs’ defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo some credit for that horrible offensive performance by Jackson and the Ravens. Spags had the Ravens’ number as he dialed up all kinds of pressures and coverages to which the Ravens could barely adjust.