Games without a touchdown from either team are a rarity these days, but that’s exactly what happened when the Baltimore Ravens went on the road to take on the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. Neither offense impressed for the full 60 minutes but the Ravens were able to move the ball for one more scoring drive than the Chiefs, and escaped Arrowhead with a 9-6 win.

It moves them to 4-1 and first place in the AFC North, however, with much tougher teams looming on the schedule they won’t be happy with their overall performance. Kept out of the end zone throughout and gashed for 179 yards on the ground in the first half alone, it was hardly the type of play you expect from a Super Bowl contender.

For the Chiefs, the game further highlighted a number of issues and looks to, for the time being at least, have given Brady Quinn the chance to see what he can do as the starting quarterback. Still, there were some positives from both teams to go along with the negatives, so let’s take a look at the key performances.

Baltimore  – Three Performances of Note

Kruger Steps Up

While it wasn’t a Nightmare on Elm Street, Paul Kruger (+5.7) was, at times, an absolute monster against the Chiefs. He put together the type of game he looked capable of in limited duty last season, but had yet to show in an increased role this year. Despite seeing just 10 snaps as a pass rusher due to the Chiefs’ run-heavy offensive game plan, the Ravens’ outside linebacker was able to register a hit and four hurries, giving him a Pass Rushing Productivity (PRP) Rating of 30.0. Against the run he wasn’t without fault, particularly in the first half where he struggled at times with the Chief’s tight ends, yet while he was guilty of losing contain a few times he more than made his impact felt. His best play on the game came on 2nd-and -20 with 4:01 left in the first half. Driving tight end Tony Moeki back from the line of scrimmage, he tackled Jamaal Charles for a 2-yard loss, which set up third-and-long for the Chiefs.

Ray Run Over

Kruger being the Ravens best defensive player in the game was surprising, but nowhere nearly as surprising as their worst graded defender. We’ve seen Ray Lewis (-4.1) struggle in coverage this season, to the point that we highlighted it as a potential area of success for the Chiefs and Dexter McCluster earlier in the week. That didn’t happen, partly because McCluster seemed to have the Ravens’ top corner, Lardarius Webb, covering him whenever he was on the field, and partly because the Chiefs didn’t trust quarterbacks Matt Cassel and Quinn enough to attempt more than 18 passes in the game. Much more concerning for the Ravens was the fact that he was dominated by the Chiefs’ blockers in the running game. He got a big hit on a tackle for loss on 1st-and-10 with 6:44 left in the game, but it came on a play where he was left unblocked. When the Chiefs got to him he was left trying to run around blocks as opposed to going through them. It’s not something that can be said very often, but Lewis was a liability for the Ravens on Sunday and with much better teams than the Chiefs coming up on the schedule, it’s definitely something to keep an eye on.

Osemele Takes a Backwards Step

While it was far from a vintage performance from anyone on the Ravens’ offensive line, with Ramon Harewood (+0.7) earning the highest grade for any player on the line, nobody came close to the poor performance of rookie Kelechi Osemele (-5.7). After two stellar performances in Weeks 1 and 3 to start the year, the right tackle has turned in his two worst performances in back-to-back weeks. There was precious little in terms of positives for Osemele to take away from this game, however to his credit he did show up late with some crucial run blocks on the drive that sealed the Ravens’ victory around the two-minute warning. As a pass blocker he allowed two sacks and five hurries on quarterback Joe Flacco while adding in two false start penalties for good measure. The team looked like they had found an answer to their right tackle problem early in the season, but if the rookie puts in any more performances like this then those questions will start to re-surface.

Kansas City – Three Performances of Note

Game of Two Halves

While his overall rushing stat line (30 carries for 140 yards) looks impressive, Charles (+0.7) wore down in a big way in the second half as the Ravens did a much better job of containing the Chiefs’ ground attack. As a team they ran for 179 yards on 34 carries in the first half but managed just 35 yards on 16 carries in the second half, which works out at a drop of 3.2 yards per carry from one half to the next. Usually a team runs the ball to that level to wear down an opponent, but it was the Chiefs who tired this time. That left a Chiefs’ offense that had no faith in its quarterback and what looked like no Plan B in the second half against a Ravens team that wasn’t at its best on this occasion.

Complete Pass Rush

Chiefs fans have waited for the defense to get production from both pass rushers in the one game and that wait was rewarded by both Tamba Hali (+3.3) and Justin Houston (+5.6) as the duo combined for 13 total pressures. Houston, our most productive pass rusher among 3-4 outside linebackers going into the game, outperformed his teammate again on Sunday, generating two sacks and six hurries on his way to a PRP Rating of 28.9. Hali matched him in sacks and added another three hurries of his own. His second sack came in controversial fashion on 2nd-and-10 with 3:42 remaining in the game. Blowing by Osemele on the outside he was able to get his hands on Flacco, which caused the official to blow the play dead seconds before Flacco fumbled. It’s the right call if he believes the quarterback was in the grasp, but it’s a call that could have turned the game nonetheless.

Matt Cassel

With an apparent concussion to starting quarterback Cassel (-1.1), it looks like Chiefs fans will get their wish to see Quinn (+0.9) attempt to drive the offense towards the end zone. But while Chiefs fans have been quick to look to Quinn as their saviour (or at least a better option) it’s worth pointing out that Cassel wasn’t necessarily as awful as his stat line shows. While his fumble at the goal line on with 11:54 left in the third quarter was inexcusable (likewise his delay of game penalty at the end of the first half) neither interception was the result of a poor throw or decision. The first came from a pass deflection from cornerback Cary Williams, while the second was the result of a dropped pass by Dwayne Bowe. We’re not saying he was good by any stretch, but is a switch to Quinn really going to fix the problem? Time will tell.

Game Notes

– Coming into the game completing 39% of his passes beyond 20 yards, both of Flacco’s deep passes fell incomplete.

– Sticking with the Ravens passing game, the team combined to drop four passes on Sunday – twice as many in this game that they had in their four prior games.

– Jamaal Charles’ yards per carry dropped from 6.3 in the first half to 1.5 in the second half.

Game Ball

While he wasn’t flawless, Paul Kruger stepped his play up in a big way and played a big role in the team stopping a Chiefs running game that gashed them in the first half.