BALTIMORE -- Lee Evans bolted into his pattern, immediately gaining separation behind rookie cornerback Jalil Brown.

So, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco lobbed the football to his new deep threat. And the veteran wide receiver caught the pass in stride, gaining 43 yards before being dragged down from behind by Brown.

In a successful debut with his new football team following a trade last week from the Buffalo Bills, Evans caught three passes for 68 yards during the Ravens' 31-13 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Friday night at M&T Bank Stadium.

"It's really just a matter of trying to time things up and being in game situations," said Evans, who caught three touchdown passes for the Bills last year here in the Ravens' overtime win. "For the most part, I felt I played effectively. I think the communication was good, our assignments were good, and it was a decent start. I look forward to building off of it.

"He was able to get the ball out, and I was able to make a couple of plays for him. To get where we want to go and where we have to be, we still have a long way to go. It's a good step in the right direction."

After years of running a fairly pedestrian offense, the Ravens might have finally transformed their attack by adding Evans' 4.39 speed to the equation.

"Lee Evans has been a great addition to our offense since the day he got here," offensive coordinator Cam Cameron said. "We're glad the fans had a chance to see that."

Consider Flacco impressed as well after Evans hauled in a slant for a dozen yards as well as running a precise 13-yard out pattern. All three of his catches were on third downs.

With Evans' addition, Flacco got more of a repertoire in terms of targets to go with former Pro Bowl wide receiver Anquan Boldin.

"Lee did a good job," Flacco said. "He's probably still got training camp legs, but it was exciting to see what he could do already with his ability to separate. He definitely can run by guys and play that kind of game. Seeing him get in there was a good sign for us."

While Evans shined, it wasn't a sterling night for the offense overall.

During the first half, they generated only seven first downs.

Flacco finished the game 12 of 24 for 124 yards for a 65.3 passer rating, misfiring on several passes.

He wasn't sacked, though, after Baltimore surrendered six sacks a week ago in a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

They held their own against Chiefs All-Pro outside linebacker Tamba Hali, who sacked Flacco twice during the playoffs last January.

"I thought the protection was pretty good," Harbaugh said. "The young line stepped up on the right side and really did a pretty good job."

There were false starts by offensive tackle Michael Oher and offensive guard Oniel Cousins, which is a familiar theme.

"They really hung in there against a good defense," Flacco said. "We're just a little bit off on some things. We almost hit a couple big plays. We're not quite there yet, but we still have a couple of weeks to tighten that up. I'm pretty comfortable with where we are."

One play after All-Pro fullback Vonta Leach energized the crowd after a five-yard catch by crushing linebacker Brandon Siler so hard that he knocked off his own helmet, running back Ray Rice dazzled on a 26-yard touchdown run.

Rice started out to his left following Leach before cutting back inside and faking Chiefs cornerback Javier Arenas off his feet and bolted to the end zone. Cousins had a key block on the touchdown that staked the Ravens to a 10-3 lead.

"It was stretch-and-cut play," Rice said. "When the defense got moving, one thing I could see was that the backside cut off and everything just opened up. Our line did a great job blocking, I was really able to get it going."

Leach's hit seemed to energize the Ravens, and an approving fan base.

"A pretty good one, the crowd got excited and I think it got my teammates excited," Leach said. "I think the play with my helmet going off excited the team and the next play we scored, so that's good. That's just the way I play. I'm a physical guy."

The Ravens fell behind 3-0 on a Chiefs field goal after punt returner Lardarius Webb fumbled on a hit from Chiefs rookie linebacker Justin Houston.

Overall, the Ravens fared well defensively with a new starting cornerback tandem in first-round pick Jimmy Smith and Cary Williams. Williams finished with three pass deflections.

The Chiefs went after Smith, but he held up under pressure against imposing Pro Bowl wide receiver Dwayne Bowe.

"I thought that I had good coverage on all the plays," Smith said. "I went against a Pro Bowler and I felt like I had blanket coverage. He just made great catches."

After a 49-yard Billy Cundiff field goal to tie the score, rookie defensive end Pernell McPhee slammed into quarterback Tyler Palko for a forced fumble recovered by Arthur Jones.

However, it was nullified by instant replay and ruled an incompletion due to the tuck rule.

This is the second week in a row where McPhee lost a sack and forced fumble upon further review.

"I'm just trying to keep my mind straight and continue to run to the ball," said McPhee, a fifth-round draft pick from Mississippi State. "Eventually, it'll work out my way. I'm looking forward to trying to get one of them to work out my way next week. It's a lot of frustration because this is my opportunity to show the coaches that I'm worth playing for the Ravens' defense."

The Ravens finished with five sacks.