Why ‘1-2’ means more than just wins/losses for Chiefs’ Mahomes, Ravens’ Jackson
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Mahomes and Jackson hold top two career win rates among active NFL quarterbacks.
- Ravens and Chiefs rank 1-2 in points and total offense since 2018 quarterback changes.
- Early season struggles highlight quarterback decision-making and defensive tactics.
This figure — 1-2 — has plenty of meaning entering Sunday’s game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead.
It’s the record held by the Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens entering the NFL’s Week 4, an unexpected development for teams with Super Bowl aspirations.
But 1-2 also works as a ranking, as in first and second. Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson are the NFL’s top two in career winning percentage among active quarterbacks. Mahomes’ .789 percentage (90-25) is No. 1, followed by Jackson’s .732 (71-26).
Also, since they took over as their respective team’s starting quarterback in 2018, the Chiefs and Ravens rank 1-2 in points and total offense per game.
Their starts this season look wildly different. Jackson leads the NFL with a 141.8 passer rating and nine touchdown throws. Mahomes is 22nd at 83.4 and three touchdowns. But Jackson has been sacked 12 times and the Ravens have failed to close out games against the Bills and Lions.
The Chiefs’ Mahomes-led offense, meanwhile, has largely struggled throughout the first three games. That seemed to change in the second half of last weekend’s victory at the New York Giants. Mahomes said once he started making the right decisions, the Chiefs operated as designed.
“That’s the most important thing, just making the throws whenever they are there,” he said. “Getting the ball out of my hand and letting guys make plays happen. I did that in the second half ...
“It just proves that if you make the throws that the offense can be productive and can have the progress that we want, I’ve just got to go out and make the plays happen.”
Here’s what else to watch when the Chiefs and Ravens square off at 3:25 p.m. Sunday on CBS (Channel 5).
Chiefs player to watch: linebacker Leo Chenal
A year ago, Chenal was assigned the spy role defending Jackson. And although Jackson put up solid numbers, the Chiefs got the victory.
A spy — a defensive player whose job is mostly to keep an eye on the quarterback and prevent him from ad-libbing a running play — can also be a victory for the offense.
“The longer the play develops and the more the quarterback ends up stepping up, that scheme prevents you from the quarterback being able to run,” Ravens defensive coordinator Todd Monken said. “But the advantage of that for us is if they’re not rushing, it’s one less rusher, and if they’re not in coverage, it’s one less cover guy.
“So there’s give and take to every coverage and every scheme, and they made a couple plays on it, but the Chiefs have done that as well.”
Ravens player to watch: running back Derrick Henry
Yes, he’s lost a fumble in each game this season, and two of them — in losses to the Bills and Detroit Lions — came in the fourth quarter.
But Henry hasn’t made a habit of fumbling throughout his career, so this is an unusual stretch. In his first nine full NFL seasons, Henry lost 10 fumbles, and just one last year.
“I’m still mad at myself,” Henry said. “I’m my own worst critic.”
The Chiefs have tended to bring out the best in Henry. His Tennessee Titans teams defeated the Chiefs in three straight regular-season games in 2016, 2019 and 2021, and the Titans split playoff outcomes with KC after the 2017 and 2017 seasons.
In those games, Henry has averaged 103 rushing yards and scored a total of nine touchdowns. And he didn’t lose a fumble in any of them.
Special teams player to watch: Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker
Once again, the spotlight falls on Butker, who is struggling by his own standards.
In 2023, Butker logged a combined 73 field goal and extra point attempts and missed a total of two. Through three games, he’s seven-for-nine on field goals and three-for-five on extra points.
“It’s just small, little things. It’s technical,” Chiefs special teams coordinator and assistant head coach Dave Toub said.
This story was originally published September 26, 2025 at 10:09 AM.