Ravens Frustrated with Officials After Overturned TD in Loss to Chiefs

 KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Baltimore Ravens were left in disbelief after a last-second touchdown was overturned, leading to a tough 27-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night. Quarterback Lamar Jackson, shaking his head in frustration, was adamant that the play should have stood.

Jackson disagreed with the officials' decision to reverse tight end Isaiah Likely's potential game-tying touchdown. Initially, one official signaled that Likely had both feet inbounds in the back of the end zone, which would have given Baltimore a chance to win with a 2-point conversion. However, after reviewing the play, officials determined that the front of Likely's right foot touched the white out-of-bounds line.

"I thought it was a touchdown," Jackson said after the game. "I still think it's a touchdown."

The loss dropped the Ravens to 1-5 against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, but they came close to staging an incredible comeback. With just five seconds left and the ball on Kansas City's 10-yard line, Jackson scrambled in the pocket before firing a pass to Likely in the back of the end zone as time expired.

Likely made a leaping catch with Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton covering him. The official initially signaled a touchdown, and Likely celebrated by tossing the ball into the air.

"The ref looked at me, I looked at him, and when he signaled touchdown, I thought we had it," Likely said. "I was sure we were about to win the game."

Had the touchdown stood, the Ravens would have trailed 27-26 with no time remaining and planned to go for a 2-point conversion to potentially win. But the officials overturned the call after review.

"The runner's toe hit out of bounds," referee Shawn Hochuli announced. "It's an incomplete pass. The game is over. Kansas City wins."

Chiefs coach Andy Reid admitted he didn’t have a clear view of whether Likely was inbounds but trusted the officials' decision.

"The guys upstairs saw it and knew he was out," Reid said. "We were just waiting for confirmation."

Likely, who had a career night with nine receptions for 111 yards, appeared to injure his shoulder earlier in the game after a hard fall in the corner of the end zone. Despite the injury, he returned to the field and nearly scored the biggest touchdown of his career.

If the Ravens had succeeded in their comeback, it would have snapped the Chiefs' remarkable streak of 23 consecutive wins when leading by 10 or more points entering the fourth quarter.

"At this point, you just have to live with the call," Likely said. "We’ll review the film, see where we can improve, and work to avoid putting ourselves in a position where the game is decided by the refs."

Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith also expressed surprise at the overturned call.

"I didn’t think there was enough evidence to reverse it," Smith said. "But that’s out of our control now. The refs have to deal with that."

The Ravens will now look ahead, hoping to bounce back in their next game after a dramatic, controversial ending to their season opener.