Following the Kansas City Chiefs‘ Super Bowl win, star defensive lineman Chris Jones gave some major props to the Baltimore Ravens while kind of shading the San Francisco 49ers in the process.
During a postgame interview with Michael Robinson of NFL Network, Jones had high praise for the Ravens team that the Chiefs defeated in the AFC Championship Game.
“I think we faced the best team in the league in (the) Baltimore Ravens, hands down,” Jones said (via Jonas Shaffer of The Baltimore Banner).
Record wise, Jones is right.
The Ravens went 13-4 on the season, finishing with the best mark in the NFL and earning a first-round bye. They hammered the Houston Texans in the Divisional Round of the playoffs and were favored to beat the Chiefs for a spot in the Super Bowl.
However, Kansas City suffocated Baltimore’s offense in a 17-10 victory.
The Ravens certainly looked like the best club in football at times, like when they dominated the 49ers on the road on Christmas and then when they routed the Miami Dolphins by a score of 56-19.
When it counted most, though, Baltimore came up very short, as the squad made some rather silly miscues in its rather listless loss to Kansas City in late January.
But apparently, Jones thought the Ravens were a tougher opponent than the Niners, who pushed the Chiefs to overtime and actually held a 22-19 lead in the extra session until Patrick Mahomes led Kansas City on a touchdown drive for the 25-22 victory.
Jones logged four tackles and a couple of quarterback hits in the Super Bowl win.
Baltimore has made a habit of disappointing in the playoffs. It made some progress this season, making it to its first AFC Championship Game with Lamar Jackson under center, but many felt that the Ravens should have beaten the Chiefs.
We’ll see if Baltimore can finally get over the hump in 2024.
Until then, the Chiefs remain the kings of the NFL.
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