It may not have been the prettiest win the Ravens have had – especially not as double digit favorites at home – but it was still a win and impressive in many ways. The 38-24 final in the Ravens win over the Chiefs doesn’t even sound like a score from the Ravens in recent years, but eager fans will take it.

Offensive Game Ball: Joe Flacco. To open his second season, Flacco set career highs in touchdowns, passing yards and passing attempts. He topped 300 yards for the first time in his career as well. Despite a few overthrown balls and a brutal interception that really had the Ravens spinning, Flacco managed the game well and showed that he is no Trent Dilfer. The Raven said they were going to test this offense’s limits, and they did it perfectly today. Flacco never looked overmatched and the offense fired on just about all cylinders.

Welcome-Back Ball: Todd Heap. Between injuries and blocking assignments in recent years, most Ravens fans had forgotten why Heap made it to a pair of Pro Bowls and was once considered among the league’s most dangerous tight ends. Today, they remembered what it’s like to see a tight end simply dominate a defense. Heap had five catches for more than 70 yards and a momentum-changing touchdown. Defenses beware: the Mormon is stormin’ again.

Lame Ball: Kelly Washington. The Ravens most recent addition to the receiving corps made three catches for 43 yards and helped Heap, Derrick Mason and Mark Clayton all do their jobs better. But the first down dances were too much, too soon. Washington embodied this team’s smug attitude after his first catch, which is part of why the Ravens wound up fighting through the fourth quarter for this win.

Ugly Ball: Special Teams. Kick-off coverage was the unit’s only saving grace. Sam Koch had a punt blocked in the Ravens endzone for a touchdown. Steven Hauschka missed a field goal and his other kicking attempts were far from pretty. And returner Chris Carr simply was not a factor. All three (Koch, Hauschka and Carr) can and should do much better. The Ravens didn’t work hard to develop their offense to see the special teams slip away.

Defensive Game Ball: Kelly Gregg. After a season on the sidelines, Gregg made his presence known. His six tackles tied for the team lead and the Chiefs struggled to contain him. Even when he didn’t make the play, Gregg was always a part of keeping the pressure on Brody Croyle and company. You can be sure Haloti Ngata and Ray Lewis are happy to have Gregg back.

Hide Your Hankies Ball: John Harbaugh. With no disrespect to Coach Harbaugh, who has had a brilliant short career with the Ravens so far: someone else on this team needs to be in charge of instant replay challenges. Maybe he’s getting bad advice from the booth, maybe he just trusts his eyes (Dave Trembley?), but Harbaugh has yet to master the art of the red flag.

Prove Me Wrong Ball: Willis McGahee. It’s doubtful he reads this blog, but no one has been harder on McGahee during his tenure with the Ravens than me. McGahee has taken his bump to back-up with an impressive show of his character. He looked in shape physically and mentally, and his impact on the victory cannot be overstated. Not only did McGahee run effectively (after getting in rhythm), but he caught a few balls and blocked well. The Ravens first touchdown came on play in which McGahee made his cut block, found his feet, and still had managed to get open and find the endzone. Bravo.

Understated Ball: Offensive Line. The Chiefs may not have the league’s best defense or its best pass rush, but a solid effort should not be overlooked. The Ravens offensive line man-handled the Chiefs all game, giving the Ravens back plenty of holes and Flacco hours to pass (as Ian Eagle said at one point, “Flacco could balance his checkbook back there.”) More impressive, perhaps, was that the line never let up mid-play. Flacco eluded tacklers in the backfield when he had to, but not without help from his lineman, who were happy to turn back and take another shot at the defense.

Full Time Ball: Ray Rice. Taking over the starting duties for the Ravens at tailback this season, most critics have predicted that Rice has the skills to be successful, but lacks the endurance to be a full-time back. Rice proved this afternoon that, with the help of McGahee and Le’Ron McClain, he’s more than capable. He also proved that he doesn’t need 25 carries a game to make an impact – 19 carries for 108 is perfectly fine.

Pay Attention Ball: Rich Gannon. Gannon is generally one of CBS’ better color commentators, but something was off today. Perhaps it was his pairing with Ian Eagle, who seems to do the play-by-play for every Ravens game, or maybe he just needs some more time. Gannon was flat out wrong in some of his commentary (Chiefs fumble at the goal line, fumble by Croyle at game’s end), but also seemed out of touch with the pace of the game.