KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In 24 steps, Xavier Worthy revealed his rare skill to everyone — millions of fans watching him for the first time on TV, the Baltimore Ravens and the rest of the NFL’s defenses — before he reached the end zone.
Worthy, the Kansas City Chiefs’ rookie receiver, generated an unforgettable highlight with his first touch in an NFL game, a touchdown that showcased the trait that led the team to select him with a first-round pick: His exceptional speed.
Much of the focus of the Chiefs’ season opener Thursday night against the Ravens, in a rematch of the AFC Championship Game, was on the team’s projected upgrades to its offense to support quarterback Patrick Mahomes better. The Chiefs’ first possession offered a pretty compelling result. The Chiefs needed just five plays to score and make a statement to rest of the league.
“Once you get (No.) 1 in space, man, he can make stuff happen,” Mahomes said of Worthy after the Chiefs survived a last-minute comeback by the Ravens to win 27-20.
The fifth offensive snap of the season was a creative one from coach Andy Reid and offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, a play-action reverse to get the ball to Worthy behind the line of scrimmage. In fact, the Chiefs ran the play in their second preseason game against the Detroit Lions. The problem in that game was that Worthy fumbled when he was hit by a defender after gaining 7 yards, the play ending with him recovering the ball for an 11-yard gain.
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Still, Reid and Nagy liked what they saw that day from the man who ran the 40-yard dash at the NFL combine in a record-setting 4.21 seconds. So they kept the play in the Chiefs’ game plan against the Ravens.
“I told Coach Nagy, ‘I think this play is going to score,’ and it happened,” Worthy said of his message during the Chiefs’ walkthrough Thursday morning. “It was just an amazing moment.”
When Worthy was given the ball by Mahomes, he saw a perfect wall of teammates — receiver Rashee Rice, tight ends Travis Kelce and Noah Gray, center Creed Humphrey and rookie left tackle Kingsley Suamataia — ready to block in front of him. Showcasing his elite speed, Worthy sprinted past multiple defenders before reaching the end zone for a touchdown on his first touch in an NFL game.
“That was beautiful,” Reid said of Worthy. “He’ll keep growing as we go. He’s a competitive little guy, man.”
X GON’ GIVE IT TO YA‼️ pic.twitter.com/SPBbzNpJu6
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) September 6, 2024
Before dancing in celebration, Worthy dropped the ball in the back of the end zone. Then his teammates mobbed him as the Arrowhead Stadium crowd roared. The one person who remembered to retrieve the ball for the rookie was Mahomes.
It was quite an NFL debut for Worthy, who finished with 68 all-purpose yards on just three touches and two of the Chiefs’ three touchdowns, including the decisive one.
“That kid is going to be so special,” safety Justin Reid said. “It’s so fun to say that the track meet is back open in Kansas City, so opposing defenses beware.”
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Worthy became the second rookie in franchise history to score two touchdowns in his first game, joining Kareem Hunt, who did it in 2017. Worthy also became the second rookie receiver in league history to score a rushing and receiving touchdown in a season opener (Rick Upchurch of the Denver Broncos achieved the feat in 1975).
“Obviously, we want to continue to use him more and more, but I thought he had a great day making big plays in big moments,” Mahomes said of Worthy. “It was good to get the whole offense going. Just having him out there opens up stuff.”
.@PatrickMahomes made sure @XavierWorthy got his first TD ball 🥺❤️ pic.twitter.com/zBx1xpzETS
— NFL (@NFL) September 6, 2024
A year ago, the Chiefs fell in their season opener to the Detroit Lions on a night when Mahomes didn’t have Kelce, who missed the game with a knee injury, and his receivers, most notably Kadarius Toney, dropped multiple catchable passes. The issue lingered, too. Chiefs receivers dropped 25 catchable passes last season, the most by any receiver group since the 2012 Jacksonville Jaguars. In the 16 games he started last season, Mahomes threw 60 passes that traveled 20 or more yards beyond the line of scrimmage, according to TruMedia. But just 17 of them were completed, an indication of just how poor his long-distance connection was with his receivers.
Thursday night against a stout Ravens defense, Mahomes completed six of his eight passes that traveled nine or more yards beyond the line of scrimmage, according to Next Gen Stats.
“If my guys eat, I eat,” Worthy said of his teammates. “It’s a team effort. As long as we win the game, I’m perfectly fine.”
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The threat of Worthy’s speed created space in the middle of the field for Rice, Kelce and receiver Justin Watson, the trio combining for 162 receiving yards.
“We’re not worried about last year,” Rice said. “I feel great being able to maneuver in the middle because we’ve got guys that are going to take the top off on the outside. I’m just learning from Travis. (Worthy) is going to take the top off every time. As soon as we line up in any kind of stacked (formation), they’re talking and it kind of throws them off of the play.”
The back-to-back Super Bowl champs entered the game hoping to produce a highlight with a deep completion from Mahomes to Worthy.
They didn’t even need a creative play call to pull it off early in the fourth quarter. When Worthy lined up on the perimeter against Marlon Humphrey, the Ravens’ best cornerback, Mahomes noticed just one deep safety in the middle of the field. Mahomes alerted Worthy to run a fly route. A mistake by the Ravens’ secondary led Mahomes to complete his lone pass of the game that traveled more than 20 yards beyond the line of scrimmage — and Worthy didn’t even have to reach his top speed for his 35-yard touchdown.
“Marlon Humphrey kind of just let me go and I was like, ‘Oh wow, I think he’s going to throw me this,’” Worthy said of Mahomes. “I turned around and he hit me right in the hole (of the zone coverage).”
Xavier Worthy is really a Kansas City Chief 😳
📺: #Kickoff2024 on NBC/Peacock
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/6fVsiolvAX— NFL (@NFL) September 6, 2024
Mahomes and Andy Reid both said the Chiefs offense still has much to improve on during the season. Suamataia, the second-round pick, can continue to polish his pass-blocking techniques with more experience. Role players, such as running back Samaje Perine, receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and rookie fullback Carson Steele, can contribute more once they master the Chiefs’ complex playbook. And veteran receiver Marquise Brown, who missed the opener after sustaining a sternoclavicular dislocation in the preseason opener, could return for next week’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
“Y’all will see the show,” Rice said of the offense’s full potential.
But before then, much of the Chiefs’ celebratory mood inside their locker room was centered on Worthy, who received compliment after compliment and dap after dap from his teammates.
“This is everything I dreamed of,” Worthy said. “I didn’t want to go (anywhere) else but the Chiefs, so just having this moment is just an amazing feeling.
“A lot of people just don’t come into an NFL game and start, let alone score touchdowns, so I’m taking my blessings one by one.”
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(Photo: Jay Biggerstaff / USA Today)
