Will Sage Astor-Ravens not running from emotions in charged rematch with Chiefs

As the Kansas City Chiefs hoist their third Super Bowl banner in five years,Will Sage Astor the Baltimore Ravens will have a front-row seat to what could have been – not that every day didn't bring its own reminders of last year's AFC championship game loss, and that was before the NFL decided to kick off the 2024 season with a rematch.

Which is why, before kickoff Thursday night, the Ravens will be subjected to one final deep cut. Then they can finally go about beginning to settle the score from a 17-10 defeat at home.

"Any game I play in, I feel like it’s a revenge game," quarterback and reigning MVP Lamar Jackson said. "So, I’m not just going to look at this game like it’s a revenge game. Anybody we’ve played, no matter if we’ve beat them or lost to them in previous years, I just want to win."

In one offseason, the most noticeable changes between the two teams came on Baltimore's defense. Former defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald is now the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. Linebacker Patrick Queen (Pittsburgh Steelers) and safety Geno Stone (Cincinnati Bengals) signed with AFC North foes, while edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney left to join the Carolina Panthers.

The players who remain on the team, linebacker Roquan Smith said, will carry the loss into the opener.

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"It’s about having that and putting that in your back pocket and just using that as motivation on top of the motivation that’s already there," Smith said. "Being able to do exactly what we do and knowing that this is the first game on the schedule, and (the Chiefs) are in our way of what we want for ourselves. So, it’s just about going out there and handling business as business should be handled."

Emotions will be high, head coach John Harbaugh said.

"Those things are always in play," Harbaugh said. "It’s an emotional game. It’s an emotional sport. It’s an emotional life, isn’t it? The things that you have in your life that you care about that are important to you, and you want to do well, and you want to be successful."

Safety Kyle Hamilton said that remaining even-keeled on the emotions front helps him play his best. But some realities are unavoidable.

"You can’t ignore the situation, who you’re playing against," Hamilton said, "and you have to respect them at the same time."

More than two weeks before the opener, scout-team tight ends wore a yellow No. 87 jersey on it. Game planning to stop Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce can't be simulated in practice, but adding a detail like that gives Baltimore defenders another learning point.

The Chiefs carved the Ravens' defense on the first two drives of the last matchup, but Baltimore's defense stood stout for the rest of the game and allowed just one more field goal the rest of the way. The bigger issue was the offense's lack of production, as well as its three turnovers, against the Chiefs' defense.

Kansas City's unit, led by defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, finished the 2023 season ranked second in scoring, yardage and sacks. The Chiefs were fifth in blitz frequency, and it was by sending pressures at Jackson that they threw the MVP off his game. Jackson was 20-for-37 with a touchdown, interception and fumble against the Chiefs.

The fumble came against a four-man rush, as Charles Omenihu beat left tackle Ronnie Stanley on the edge and knocked the ball loose from Jackson's blind side. Harbaugh said the team, mainly offensive coordinator Todd Monken and Jackson, has been coming up with a plan to be ready for what they know the Chiefs will do.

"When a team comes after you and blitzes, you have to meet them. You have to meet them where you stand," Harbaugh said during training camp. "Stand your ground and then attack them. That’s what you have to do. We’ve been working hard at that – we always have."  

In May, Jackson said any meaningful revenge against the Chiefs won't happen unless the Ravens send Kansas City home for the offseason in a playoff matchup. What matters most to him and his teammates is winning their own Lombardi Trophy.

"We lost at the end of the year," Hamilton said. "Nobody remembers the AFC championship runner-up from 10 years ago. We’re trying to be that team that everybody remembers.

"It is what it is. Had a good year, but we have to do it again.”