The Kansas City Chiefs could have eased Xavier Worthy back in. With a torn labrum still in need of permanent repair, the wide receiver had every excuse to dip his toe in the waters of Week 4 and a Sunday afternoon game against the Baltimore Ravens. Instead, Worthy dove in headfirst and reopened the Chiefs’ playbook in the process.
After watching a fairly stagnant offense for the first three weeks of the season, Chiefs Kingdom saw Patrick Mahomes throw four touchdowns against the Ravens in a dominating win that evened their record at 2-2. At the center of the aggressive passing attack was Worthy, who proved to be the catalyst this offense was missing.
That Worthy was featured early and often was a bit surprising, but the Chiefs’ former first-round choice from 2024 said it was good to test things early. It was a major part of the mental hurdle in front of him. “Once I got tackled the first time, I was good, just needed to test it out. … I’m glad it just happened on the first play, so I could get it going, I didn’t have to play scared,” said Worthy after the game.
Xavier Worthy said it was important to get that first hit out of the way versus the Ravens.
It’s quite possible Worthy could have played a week prior, in a Week 3 win over the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. Worthy was back at practice earlier that week and designated as questionable for the game. However, he was downgraded to out shortly before kickoff, forcing him to miss a third consecutive game (counting Week 1, in which he was injured on the third play of the game).
“When I got hurt, I mean, I was trying to get back in immediately, but I just couldn’t lift my arm,” explained Worthy. “But, I mean, when I got hurt and then when I got back to KC, I was just immediately, I was trying to get back in as fast as possible. But, I mean, the coaches, I mean, they know how I am as a player. I mean, they probably held me back for myself more than anything. I was trying to get back out there at the same time. So, I mean, I never had no worry about me coming back.”
With Worthy back in the huddle, Kansas City’s offense looked three-dimensional for the first time this season. He was a force multiplier from the first snap of the game, and led all Chiefs receivers and rushers with 121 yards from scrimmage. From downfield routes to jet motions to underneath crossers, Worthy was unstoppable no matter what the Ravens tried to do.
Mahomes enjoyed his best game in ages with Worthy’s addition, and he said it best after the game. “He’s just so explosive. I mean, you just see it when you get the football in his hands, man. It just makes the defenses have to adjust,” Mahomes said. “And when they adjust, it’s like he gets so much attention on him, other guys can make plays happen.”
Chiefs Kingdom could see the ripple effects in the box score. Touchdowns went to Isiah Pacheco, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Tyquan Thornton, and Hollywood Brown, while Worthy’s presence stressed Baltimore horizontally and vertically.
Given that Rashee Rice is on the way in three more weeks, the offensive fireworks should remain on display as long as the unit stays healthy. Worthy’s return was everything the Chiefs’ offense needed to return to form, with the Jacksonville Jaguars’ defense next in its sights.
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