Ravens vs. Chiefs AFC Championship Game: What to know, betting odds, how to watch

28 Jan 2024

The Athletic

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Ravens vs Chiefs AFC Championship Game What to know betting odds how to
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Baltimore owns the teams' only postseason meeting, a 30-7 win in 2011.

The Athletic has live coverage of Ravens vs. Chiefs in the AFC Championship game.

The Kansas City Chiefs are playing in their sixth straight AFC Championship Game as they aim to win their third Super Bowl in the past five seasons. To reach that goal, they’ll have to defeat the Baltimore Ravens, who led the NFL in point differential by scoring over 200 points more than their opponents this regular season.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes, leading the Chiefs’ campaign, is coming off an impressive performance in a divisional-round win over the Buffalo Bills. Mahomes finished with a passer rating of 131.6 after completing 73.9 percent of his passes for 215 yards and two touchdowns.

He’s continued to rely on tight end Travis Kelce, who’s had at least five catches in his last 12 playoff games and is seven catches from passing Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice for the most in postseason history.

Mahomes and Kansas City have also benefited from the emergence of rookie wide receiver Rashee Rice, who has 12 catches for 177 yards this postseason.

The Chiefs boast a defense that gave up the second-fewest yards per game in the regular season (289.8).

That defense will be tested by the Ravens’ offense, which is led by quarterback and MVP finalist Lamar Jackson. Jackson showed why he was a favorite to win the award in Baltimore’s divisional-round win against the Houston Texans. He threw two touchdown passes, while rushing for another two scores and 100 yards last Saturday. Jackson passed for a career-high 3,678 yards in 2023 and led all quarterbacks with 821 rushing yards.

One of the key reasons for his career passing numbers has been rookie receiver Zay Flowers, who set franchise rookie records with 77 catches for 858 yards.

Tight end Isaiah Likely has stepped up as well, nabbing a touchdown reception in five of his last six games. Likely saw his role increase after the Ravens lost tight end Mark Andrews to leg and ankle injuries in Week 11. Andrews has been activated ahead of this AFC Championship Game and is expected to play.