The Kansas City Chiefs end their preseason slate with a tie against the defending Super Bowl Champions, the Seattle Seahawks. Though some starters got good minutes, the game was about the young players facing roster cuts on Sunday.
At least the Chiefs didn’t lose their final preseason game. They worked hard to secure a 9-9 tie with Seattle, with rookie Garrett Nussmeier playing the entire game. The LSU graduate did a solid job quarterbacking the offense, though he made a key mistake early in Seattle territory with an ill-advised pass that fell into the hands of Trevon Diggs.
On the night, Nussmeier, who will make the final 53-man roster, completed 22 of 34 passes for 198 yards, but was betrayed by his offensive line, which missed assignments and committed numerous penalties that also wiped out a first-half touchdown run by fellow rookie Emmitt Johnson.
It was another good night for the run game, as Johnson, Bernard Smith and Emari Demarcado combined for 149 rushing yards. I’m not sure this team can carry four running backs, but each has made a case for the roster.
Defensively, with mostly the starting unit on the first series, rookie Mansoor Delane, L’Jarius Sneed, who played a lot in the first half, and safety Chris Roland-Wallace made a strong impression.
R Mason Thomas had a monster sack in the second quarter, and he nearly blocked a punt that could have changed the outcome of the game. Peter Woods also made a few good plays, and he continues to show that he can contribute early this season.
It was good to see Guard Trey Smith and receivers Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice on the field. Smith has been out for a couple of weeks with a hip injury, but he should be ready for the regular season. As for Worthy and Rice, neither caught a pass, but they got their feet wet.
With their absence, Andrew Armstrong played significant minutes. He led the team with five receptions and 54 receiving yards. However, he missed a pass in the flat after lifting his head to look at the defender. That glance caused him to drop a perfect pass from Nussmeier that would have been an easy touchdown.
Overall, the main goal of watching this game live at the stadium was to end the preseason without any significant injuries. That was accomplished, as Head Coach Andy Reid ran a vanilla preseason on both sides of the ball.
Instead, he wanted to give players some playing time and work on the fixes out of the media’s view. With just 16 days until the Denver Broncos come to Kansas City for the opener, Reid certainly did things differently this preseason than he did last summer, when he played his starters much more.
Friday night, he learned a few things about his football team as he and General Manager Brett Veach have to trim the roster by 5:00 Sunday afternoon. Filling the 53-man roster won’t be easy, and maneuvering cap space, including potential surprise cuts or trades, will have to be part of the equation.
Either way, I think the Chiefs did some good things in their preseason games, and though the depth might not be ready for prime-time moments, the experience they gained with increased reps in August should pay dividends in October or November.
