What seemed like the most unlikely catch by Ravens receiver Isaiah Likely turned out to be incomplete.
The receiver made an impressive leaping catch with what was initially called a touchdown but was eventually ruled out of bounds by a mere toe in what ended up as a heartbreaking 27-20 loss to the Chiefs on Thursday night at Arrowhead Stadium.
For a brief moment, it looked as though Lamar Jackson and the Ravens had pulled off the win, as the Ravens quarterback ducked and dodged his way around the pocket before tossing up a prayer to Likely, who managed to leap into the air at the end of the end zone to make the catch.
It was initially ruled a touchdown, but after the officials reviewed the catch, they saw that Likely’s toe was out of bounds causing the catch to be waived off and the game declared over.
“I thought it was a touchdown,” Jackson said after the loss. “Still think it was a touchdown.”
Mahomes said that final play was “nerve racking.”
“… It looked good from my angle on the sideline,” Mahomes said. “But then the first view you could see his cleat. … You have to wear white cleats next time. That’s my advice for him.”
The near miracle play came two plays after Jackson tried to find Likely for a touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone, but instead, Likely landed hard on the side of his body, causing him to be on the ground for several minutes.
He was helped off the field, coming back for the final play.
After the play, Ravens coach John Harbaugh even signaled for his team to try a winning 2-point conversion, though it never got the chance.
“I thought our guys (overcame) setbacks at times, and fought like crazy to overcome. It looked like we had an opportunity there to tie the game up and try to win,” Harbaugh said. “Didn’t happen at the end, but our guys fought.”
Andy Reid called the game “a fight down to the end.”
“When they say it’s a game of inches, might be shorter than that,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said.
— with AP
