Xavier Worthy made a splash, but he was most important without the ball
It's impossible to not be entranced with the Chiefs rookie's speed, but what he does to open the field up will be more crucial as the year moves on.
Xavier Worthy’s NFL debut went about as well as one could ask for.
The Chiefs were able to win by the skin of their teeth toe against the Ravens on opening night, with a photo-finish victory that was in part due to them leaving a lot of meat on the bone on offense. Between a few drops, an inexplicable pick by Mahomes, and a really questionable punt late in the game, Kansas City showed that they have plenty to clean up on the offensive side of the ball. That’s the bad news.
The good news? Those types of errors would have tanked the offense last year, when they weren’t able to make big plays to offset the bad ones. Last night, against a very good Ravens defense, the Chiefs showed that this year’s offense has more ability to compensate for self-inflicted errors than it did last year. And that was without presumptive WR1 (maybe WR2 given how Rashee Rice looked) Hollywood Brown (whose absence was definitely felt). How did they do it? Well, a lot of it started with Worthy, in more ways than you might think.
The speedy rookie will make the most headlines for scoring a pair of touchdowns, both of which came from over 20 yards out. In one of the most incredible stats I’ve seen coming out of the game, those two 20+ yard touchdowns already brought Worthy halfway to matching what the entire team had in 2023.
That sort of stat is going to draw a lot of attention, and it should. The ability to make big plays is part of what allows an offense to overcome its own mistakes (and the bad situations those mistakes lead to). Last year, the offense was hardly ever able to make those big plays, and it showed up in the stalled drives and low (for a Mahomes-led offense) point totals.
Against the Ravens? They were able to hit multiple big plays, including this vital TD to Worthy that extended the lead back to two scores in the 4th quarter.
Big plays win games, and this was one of the first nails in the coffin of a desperate Ravens team that just can’t seem to figure the Chiefs out. And in the box score, one would argue that it was Worthy’s biggest play of the night.
Of course, the reality is that this was a blown coverage by the Ravens that left Worthy “good lord almighty” wide open. Yes, you want a player who can take advantage (and dipping around the CB’s attempt to jar his timing was nice). But this play isn’t necessarily reflective of the impact Worthy had on the game, regardless of how it looks on the stats sheet.
Rather, it was Worthy’s presence (and the fear of the big plays that he is capable of making) that had the largest effect on the Ravens defensive Thursday night. And of course, that effect stems from his ability to turn good plays into great ones with his extraordinary speed and acceleration. Let’s talk about Worthy’s game-breaking speed and, more importantly, what that does to open up the entire field for the rest of the team. Because if Week 1 was any indication, Worthy’s presence alone is going to make life easier on the rest of the Chiefs’ roster in 2024. Even when he doesn’t get the ball.