Ravens’ Marlon Humphrey showers Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs with Alabama compariso
The Kansas City Chiefs are 3.5-point underdogs in Sunday’s AFC Championship battle with MVP frontrunner Lamar Jackson and the top-seeded Baltimore Ravens. Don’t worry about John Harbaugh’s team taking the defending Super Bowl champions lightly, though. Despite a mediocre regular season highlighted by widespread struggles of the most maligned receiving corps in football, Marlon Humphrey and his teammates know just how dangerous Patrick Mahomes and company really are.
Speaking with reporters on Thursday, the veteran cornerback compared Kansas City to the Alabama Crimson Tide for the teams’ shared ability to overcome obstacles en route to winning championships.
“I feel like the Chiefs over the years are like the [NFL] version of Alabama,’ Humphrey said, per Luke Jones of Baltimore Positive. “It’s like every year in and year out, you’re like, ‘Oh, they’re not looking that good. They’re not this.’ They’re still that team. They’re still the team to beat.”
City’s defense is the best its been during the Andy Reid era, but the team’s offense ranked a disappointing eighth in DVOA.
The Ravens, meanwhile, finished the season 13-4 by dominating on both sides of the ball. The offen ranked fourth in DVOA while their defense topped the league, making Baltimore easily the most efficient team in football.
After easily dispatching of the Miami Dolphins in the wild card round before beating Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills on the road last week, the Chiefs are on a playoff path similar to the one Alabama experienced last season during Nick Saban’s swan song. The Tide fell to Texas in Week 2 and labored against some SEC opponents, but improved as the season went on before stamping their ticket to the College Football Playoff by beating top-ranked and previously undefeated Georgia in the SEC Championship Game.
Will Kansas City follow in Alabama’s footsteps by beating favored Baltimore on the road with the AFC title on the line, not unlike the Crimson Tide downing the Bulldogs in Atlanta? Or will the Ravens play the role of Michigan in the CFP Semifinal, ending Kansas City’s run on the doorstep of the Super Bowl?
Leave a Reply