Lamar Jackson shows nerves of steel with gutsy, fourth-down call to beat Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs

By Ben Morse, CNN

“Lamar! Do you want to go for this?” Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh could be seen shouting from the sideline.

With just 1:05 left and leading Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs by just a point, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was left with a crucial fourth down in his team’s half.

And rather than making the decision himself, Harbaugh decided to consult his MVP-winning quarterback for his opinion.

It proved to be the correct decision, as the 24-year-old Jackson darted his way between defenders, successfully getting the required distance to seal the 36-35 victory on Sunday night.

After the game, Harbaugh admitted there probably wasn’t any doubt that his team was going to go for it in the clutch situation.

“No there wasn’t,” Harbaugh told the media. “Maybe I wanted to be sure myself. I knew he was going to say yes. But we were going for it, definitely.”

The dramatic finale capped a remarkable comeback victory for Jackson and the Ravens, who overcame two first-quarter interceptions to beat the high-flying Chiefs.

It was something of a momentous victory for Jackson himself, finally beating Mahomes and the Chiefs at the fourth time of asking. The pair of young quarterbacks have had some epic encounters before, but Sunday night might have been the best of them all

Over the course of the 60 minutes of game time, the teams produced moments of jaw-dropping skill — a 42-yard touchdown pass from Jackson while he was in midair and a stunning, weaving touchdown run from the Chiefs’ Travis Kelce.

But it was Jackson and Harbaugh’s gutsy, fourth-quarter decision which got the team over the line, earning them their first victory of the season and consigning the Chiefs to their first defeat of the season.

And Jackson said it felt good to be able to finally beat Mahomes and the Chiefs.

“It feels good to get that monkey off of our back,” Jackson told the media.

“We’ve got to move on to Detroit now. We didn’t win the Super Bowl yet; it’s just one game. We’ve got to just keep staying focused.”

Paying tribute

Ahead of the Ravens’ Sunday night clash with the Chiefs, the team paid tribute to the late Michael K. Williams, who died earlier this month.

The actor was best known known for his role as Omar Little on HBO’s “The Wire,” which was based in Baltimore.

Williams’ character became known for his famous whistle — a sign of “impending trouble” in the show.

And as the Ravens players prepared to enter the field of play, the whistle was played throughout the stadium to the delight of the fans.

“Heard the sound of Omar whistling ‘Farmer In The Dell’ from the stadium while walking across the Ostend Street bridge to the Ravens opener and thought I’d lost my sh*t. It’s the little things that are gonna get me, I guess. But Michael gonna last,” David Simon, the creator of “The Wire,” wrote on Twitter.

Injuries to quarterbacks

Sunday also proved to be a brutal day in terms of injuries to quarterbacks.

Four starting quarterbacks suffered injuries over the course of the day and were forced out of their respective games as a result.

The Miami Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa was carted off with a rib injury in the first quarter and replaced by Jacoby Brissett.

And the Dolphins felt Tagovailoa’s departure keenly as they were totally smothered 35-0 by division rivals the Buffalo Bills.

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Chicago Bears quarterback Andy Dalton suffered a knee injury late in the second quarter and was replaced by rookie first rounder Justin Fields. Fields was able to manage the ship well enough as his team beat the Cincinnati Bengals 20-17.

Houston Texans’ Tyrod Taylor had to be replaced by rookie Davis Mills after suffering a hamstring injury scrambling for a touchdown in the second quarter; the Texans went on to lose 31-21 to the Cleveland Browns.

And finally, the Indianapolis Colts’ Carson Wentz left in the fourth quarter of the team’s 27-24 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in what was described as a “pretty bad” ankle roll by Colts coach Frank Reich.

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Jacob Lev contributed to this report.