The Kansas City Chiefs went in to Cincinnati to defeat the Bengals by a score of 30-12 in Week 2 of the NFL preseason. The Chiefs had an efficient offense and a mostly stifling defense, as the starters continue to work their way in to game shape and the younger players continued to fight for their roster spots. Let’s take a look at three takeaways from the second preseason game for the Chiefs.
Kansas City Chiefs Preseason Week 2 Takeaways
Patrick Mahomes Continues to Impress
First, lets make it very clear – there is not a quarterback controversy brewing in Kansas City. This is and will continue to be Alex Smith’s team. That being said, Patrick Mahomes has been turning heads throughout camp and the preseason. Tonight, Mahomes got the opportunity to run a little bit with the first team offense and the second teamers coming out of the half, and Mahomes delivered. The rookie quarterback was 10 for 14 with 88 yards passing and two touchdown passes. While those passing numbers may not pop off the screen at first glance, Mahomes was able to showcase his ability to move the ball in the air and on the ground. Mahomes had a nice 14 yard run that was inches away from being a touchdown. After the half, Mahomes showed his ability to allude defenders by stiff-arming a defensive end on a naked bootleg, and delivering a strike on third down to pick up the first. The play set Twitter ablaze and had Chiefs Kingdom drooling while thinking about the future.
The Chiefs Have a (Good) Running Back Problem
Spencer Ware started the game tonight, but only notched one carry before taking the rest of the night off. After Ware’s departure, it became the Kareem Hunt show. Hunt showed all the tools required to be a starting running back in the league – agility, speed, and toughness. Hunt finished the night with eight carries for 40 yards, which included a 25-yard scamper. Hunt’s receiving abilities were also on display, notching three catches for 23 yards.
After Hunt’s time to shine, off-season signee C.J. Spiller got a chance to showcase what he had left in the tank, and Spiller took advantage of his opportunity. Spiller carried the ball six times for 27 yards and added one catch for 16 yards. Spiller showed that he still has enough left to be on someone’s 53-man roster.
The running back performance of the night, however, belonged to Charcandrick West. West is often the forgotten running back on the roster as he has missed a significant amount of time in training camp due to injuries. Tonight, though, West showed that he belonged with seven carries for 113 yards. The highlight of West’s night was a 50 yard run from deep within Chiefs territory.
It is hard to imagine the Chiefs will carry four running backs on the roster, particularly when only Hunt has been involved in special teams this preseason. There is little doubt that Ware and Hunt will make the roster, and it may come down to West and Spiller for the third and potentially final running back roster spot.
It’s Not All Perfect
There was a lot to be excited to about tonight, no doubt. But there were still some issues that could and should be a cause for concern.
The Bengals first string offense was able to convert a couple of third and longs rather easily, attacking the second cornerback. Hopefully Terrance Mitchell can get healthy and lock down the starting spot opposite of All-Pro Marcus Peters.
The Chiefs faced a couple of third and short yardage situations and the offensive line failed to get any sort of push, forcing fourth downs. This was a problem the Chiefs had last year, and could become an issue at some point during the season.
Overall, the Chiefs were impressive in their victory over the Bengals. Next week, the Chiefs face the Seattle Seahawks in the third preseason game, which is often deemed the “dress rehearsal” game. Expect the starters to play into the second half of the game, and have a little bit more of a game plan going in. After next week, it will be time to get ready for when the games actually count.
