Ravens can make statement against Chiefs in Arrowhead

The Baltimore Ravens are a good team. On Sunday, we’ll find out if they are a contender in the AFC.

Through two weeks, the Ravens have hammered the Miami Dolphins and beaten the Arizona Cardinals. While two wins are exactly that, Baltimore is being given the proverbial side-eye by many pundits. After all, Miami could be historically awful while the Cardinals just used the No. 1 overall pick.

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Now, the Ravens head into Arrowhead Stadium for a date with the Kansas City Chiefs. Unlike the Ravens, the Chiefs are universally seen as a Super Bowl favorite. In Vegas, it’s the New England Patriots and Kansas City in terms of Super Bowl odds. Everybody else in the AFC is viewed as a long shot.

Baltimore has a chance to change that narrative. The Ravens are seeing a Chiefs team that has rolled up points at an eye-popping rate, averaging 34 points per game to the tune of an unblemished mark. The unit has only suffered one turnover, and Patrick Mahomes is 92 yards clear of anybody else in the passing title race. Mahomes also is averaging more than 10 yards per attempt and already has seven touchdowns and zero interceptions.

Forgive Lamar Jackson if he is feeling a bit overlooked in this matchup. Jackson also has seven touchdown passes without a turnover. He also rushed for more than 100 yards on Sunday in Baltimore’s 23-17 win over Arizona.

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Last year, the two teams waged a classic in Week 14. Baltimore came into Arrowhead and led in the final two minutes, only to watch Mahomes hit on a 4th and 9 miracle to Tyreek Hill — who is likely out this game with a clavicle injury — before connecting with running back Damien Williams on a fourth-down touchdown strike. In overtime, the Chiefs kicked a field goal, the Ravens didn’t cross midfield and Kansas City improved to 10-2.

Now, with Jackson much more refined as a passer and Kansas City looking at the best chance for a Super Bowl in 50 years, we’ll learn something about both clubs. Can the Chiefs play defense well enough to stifle a legitimate attack, and can the Ravens get into a slugfest with an upper-echelon team and come out clean on the other side?

It’s only Week 3. There are three and a half months left before we get to the playoffs, somewhere both of these clubs should be. Still, a statement is there to be made for the Ravens, who may deserve far more respect than they’re getting.