The Baltimore Ravens had everything to prove in Week 1. NFL schedule makers tasked Baltimore with heading to Kansas City on banner raising night in an epic rematch of last year's AFC Championship game. This game was Baltimore's chance to exorcise some demons from last season and get the 2024 campaign off to a good start.

Unfortunately, they could not get the job done and lost 27-20 to the seemingly unbeatable Kansas City Chiefs.

The Ravens played a great game and it never felt like the Chiefs were running away with a blowout victory. However, the Ravens just could not match the Chiefs for a full 60 minutes.

Let's take a look at who deserves the blame for the Ravens losing their Week 1 season opener against the Chiefs.

An overall lack of support for Lamar Jackson by the Ravens offense

Let's keep it simple. If your name is not Lamar Jackson, Isaiah Likely, Zay Flowers, or Justice Hill, you were part of the problem for the Ravens on offense.

Baltimore's supporting cast just could not consistently deliver against a frustrating Kansas City defense coached by Steve Spagnuolo.

The offensive line got called for multiple illegal formation penalties, which stalled drives throughout the game. This was most troublesome during the first quarter when the Ravens were trying to find their groove in a new season. Blame the officials if you want, but the Ravens should have made adjustments quicker when they realized how closely the refs were going to call the penalty. Thankfully, Justice Hill kept the offense afloat early with multiple third-down conversions off checkdown passes.

It was clear throughout the game that Baltimore's offensive line needs more time to gel. Maybe this problem gets solved in future weeks, but in Week 1 it was a huge problem. This is especially true when facing Chris Jones, who was disruptive throughout the whole game.

We should also highlight that Mark Andrews was a complete non-factor, only managing two catches for 14 yards.

Nelson Agholor seemingly blows assignment on crucial 4th down attempt

Agholor seemed to miss a crucial block on a pivotal fourth-and-three attempt near midfield during the second quarter.

In the above play, you don't have to study it long to understand that it was a brilliantly designed play.

Zay Flowers is crouching below the right tackle and tight end, and judging by safety Justin Reid's actions it is clear that nobody knows he is there.

The Ravens get the look they want on the outside — one Chiefs defender all alone against Flowers and Agholor. Sadly, it seems that Agholor blew his assignment.

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There are two possible ways this could have gone better.

First, Agholor could have blocked the cornerback, allowing Flowers to catch the ball and run up the field uncontested. This seems like the intended outcome considering how quickly Jackson threw the ball to Flowers, and the fact that Flowers was hidden to start the play.

However, it is also possible that Agholor's stick route was by design. Baltimore had that cornerback in a tough situation, where he effectively had to guard two routes as the same time. In theory, Jackson should have been able to make the right read and easily convert.

Either way, this was a huge turning point in the game that went against the Ravens.

Isaiah Likely needs to get both feet down on the game's final play

We had to mention the viral ending to the game.

Ravens fans were filled with hope when their defense stopped the Chiefs and got the ball back just under two minutes to play. It seemed like a comeback was in the cards as Lamar Jackson marched the Ravens offense down the field, orchestrating a near-perfect drive with only one timeout to speak of.

Isaiah Likely was looking like the Week 1 hero at this point. Likely scored a crucial touchdown earlier in the quarter. Jackson targeted Likely multiple times along the sideline throughout the final drive, helping the Ravens move the chains numerous times.

Likely appeared to catch an apparent game-tying score in the back of the end zone on the game's final play. The Ravens tried to rush the offense back out there for a two-point conversion attempt, which could have won the game with a successful conversion.

Sadly, replay showed that likely was out of bounds by mere inches. In fact, the Ravens came one toe away from having a chance to win the game.

Football truly is a game of inches.