Here are six quick-hit observations from the Ravens’ 30-7 trouncing of the Chiefs in Sunday’s Wildcard Round.

1. Baltimore’s defense once again comes to play.
What’s the quickest way to quiet a hostile crowd? How about giving them nothing to celebrate. Outside of Jamaal Charles’ 41-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, the Chiefs could do nothing offensively. The talk coming into this game was how KC could take advantage of Baltimore’s secondary but all the Ravens did was shut down the Chiefs’ vertical passing game (did anyone tell Dwayne Bowe what time the game started?) and force five turnovers. Matt Cassel’s protection wasn’t great but it’s not like he had anywhere to go with the ball either. Every time he looked downfield, a Baltimore defender was blanketing one of his outside receivers. How dominant was the Ravens defense on Sunday? They held the Chiefs to eight first downs and only 53 yards passing. Unreal.

Bonus observations:

– What a hit by Ed Reed on Dexter McCluster in the second quarter to force a punt after the Chiefs had reached midfield. That hurt me on my couch.

– The Ravens’ defenders have to stop trying to lateral the ball back to teammates after interceptions. I know sometimes they wind up getting more yards and it makes for a nice highlight, but Haruki Nakamura almost cost his team points by foolishly trying to flip the ball back to a teammate after a pick on the first drive of the second half. Talk about a momentum killer.

2. This loss isn’t on the Chiefs’ defense.
Kansas City may have given up 30 points but it’s hard for a defense to stop any offense when it’s on the field for the entire game. By the time the Ravens put together that 10-minute scoring drive in the fourth quarter, the Chiefs’ defense was gassed. KC’s offense couldn’t sustain drives and even worse, they turned the ball over five times. In the second quarter, the Chiefs did a nice job by forcing a three-and-out following a turnover. In the first half, they also did well taking away the Ravens’ vertical passing game because Joe Flacco really didn’t have anyone to throw to down field. But as the game wore on and as they got more tired, the Ravens were able to methodically drive up the field and take time off the clock. Romeo Crennel’s unit did all it could but in the end, it needed more help from Charlie Weis’ offense.

3. Speaking of which…Weis’ announcement hurt the Chiefs offensively.
In two games since news broke that offensive coordinator Charlie Weis was leaving Kansas City for the same position at the University of Florida, the Chiefs scored a total of 17 points in back-to-back home losses. Even though Todd Haley and the players said otherwise, the news proved to be a distraction. It had to be. No matter if your team won the Super Bowl or lost in the first round, your playcaller was gone. All the credit in the world goes to the Ravens for completely taking away the Chiefs’ vertical passing game and forcing five turnovers. But it makes you wonder whether or not Kansas City’s offense would have had more success had everything been status quo with their offense heading into the playoffs. Obviously Weis isn’t the reason the Chiefs lost, but his offense certainly didn’t help their cause.

4. Flacco has developed into a highly effective signal caller.
Joe Flacco has been impressive from the moment he was drafted in the first round in 2008. But in his third season, he’s really starting to become something special. He fumbled twice and took a couple of sacks, but he also completed 25-of-34 passes for 265 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions on Sunday. The two fumbles hurt (one he lost and the other was recovered but cost the Ravens a chance for six points instead of three), but for the most part he didn’t do anything to hurt his team. The Chiefs did a great job of taking away his deep options in the first half but instead of getting frustrated because he couldn’t take shots downfield, he took what Kansas City gave him. Countless times he found Todd Heap and Ray Rice underneath and kept drives alive by throwing for first downs. And speaking of which, how good was Heap? Every time the Ravens faced a third-and-whatever, Heap was there to make a first down grab. After years of struggling with nagging injuries, he still proves to be a solid playmaker.

5. Chiefs were hosed on a couple of calls.
I try not to make a big deal about the refs because calls usually have a way of evening out for teams over the course of a season. But the penalty Tamba Hali received for unnecessary roughness when he hit Flacco below the waist was questionable. Hali technically hit Flacco in his knee, which is enough to throw the flag, I understand. But Flacco should win an Oscar for the way he crumpled to the turf in pain. I need to see another replay, but it almost looked like Hali was blocked into Flacco, too. Also in the fourth, the illegal contact penalty on safety Eric Berry that moved the ball to the KC 12-yard-line was questionable as well. First of all, I don’t know if the ball was technically catchable and it looked like there was contact on both sides. That’s one where the refs just have to let the players play. Of course, the refs weren’t the reason the Chiefs lost this game. The Chiefs were the reason the Chiefs lost this game. When you turn the ball over five times and only gain eight first downs, you deserve to lose.

6. What’s next?
While KC heads home after yet another postseason loss (they haven’t won a playoff game since January of ‘94), the Ravens will play the Steelers for the third time this season. In the first game, the Ravens rallied late in the fourth to win 17-14 in Week 4 and then coughed up a potential victory in Week 13 when the Steelers rallied to win 13-10 in Baltimore. These two teams know how to get after each other and it’s sure to be a great game.