Kansas City Chiefs Linebacker Justin Houston Stretching With Teammates. Photo Credit: Mike Morbeck – Under Creative Commons License
For the Kansas City Chiefs 3rd preseason game, they traveled up to CenturyLink Field for a showdown with the Seattle Seahawks. The old AFC West rivalry that was prevalent from 1977-2001 seemed to rekindle itself during the third preseason game for each team.
Takeaways From Chiefs 3rd Preseason Game
Kansas City’s offense started off well yet again, but following a knee injury to starting tailback Spencer Ware, the team stalled and settled for a Sam Ficken field goal. The Chiefs were out of sorts for a while and the defending NFC West Champions took full advantage by scoring 13 unanswered points.
De’Anthony Thomas reminded the rest of his Chiefs teammates that they are the reigning champions of their division too when he took a kickoff back 95 yards for six. Then the undrafted free agent Marcus Kemp had a huge hit on the ensuing kickoff that was reminiscent of a certain Denver Broncos historic play. The Chiefs looked to be jolted back to reality and held the ‘Hawks to just a field goal for the rest of the half.
Unfortunately, the return of Earl Thomas has the “Legion of Boom” back up and running as the Chiefs had zero plays go over ten yards in the first thirty minutes.
Of course, some of the credit for the lack of big plays can be given to the Chiefs themselves. Key players for the Chiefs offense did not look sharp as tight end Travis Kelce and wide receiver Tyreek Hill both dropped passes that would have resulted in big plays had they been brought in. In addition to the drops, there was just poor football on the field that August evening in Washington. A mind boggling 27 penalties were enforced on Friday and a few more that had been declined.
Offense
Andy Reid and the offense clearly have a few things to polish up and hopefully, the final preseason game against the Titans of Tennessee will give them the opportunity to do so. The biggest adjustment that must be made is preparing rookie running back Kareem Hunt for the starting role. The injury suffered by Ware is season ending and propels Hunt into the lineup.
Alex Smith‘s numbers looked rough but he looked solid, as he usually does. His targets just weren’t helping him out. The offense never recovered from the Ware injury and they looked deflated the rest of the game.
Defense
The defense followed suit and even though there were a few big plays made, they seemed outmatched and out-manned throughout the contest. There was a time when it seemed like the only player on the Chiefs defense that wasn’t afraid to come up and smack somebody was safety Daniel Sorensen. His tenacity and motor are why he is such a fan favorite in the Chiefs Kingdom.
There were way too many yards allowed but the old adage of “bend but do not break” that has seemed to consume the Chiefs defense was in effect. They were solid on third down and only allowed the Seahawks to convert on 4 of 13 attempts.
Overall Takeaways
The Chiefs have to improve in order to become legitimate contenders this season. They have a Super Bowl caliber defense but the offense has a few screws that need to be tightened up before the season opening showdown with Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. You guys have heard of them, right?