Arrowhead Pride
That’s a wrap on the preseason.
The Kansas City Chiefs started fast against the Chicago Bears on Friday night. When quarterback Patrick Mahomes and company were on the field**, the offense was firing on all cylinders. Once the starters were on the sidelines in the second half, things shifted a bit. In the end, the Bears found a way to chip their way back and score the game-winning touchdown with seconds remaining, defeating the Chiefs 29-27.
The most important thing is that the team escaped healthy — and will be ready to take on the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 1.
Here are five other things we learned.
In my opinion, the Chiefs have seven wide receivers who are locks to make this roster: Xavier Worthy, Rashee Rice, Hollywood Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Jalen Royals, Tyquan Thornton and Nikko Remigio. That doesn’t include Jason Brownlee, who did everything he could to make this team. In any other season, he’d be on the 53. In 2025, Kansas City will have to hope it can sneak him onto the practice squad.
What’s even more impressive about this receiving group is that you could easily see every one of them playing an important role on offense or special teams this year.
There are no depth chart fillers to be found here.
Friday night was the best performance of left guard Kingsley Suamataia’s young career. He wasn’t a liability on passing downs and was legitimately good at clearing the way on running plays. He looked athletic. He also seemed to understand the concepts of leverage, hand placement and maintaining blocks.
In the same vein, right tackle Jawaan Taylor held his own. The other three linemen (Trey Smith, Creed Humphrey, and Josh Simmons) played lights out. This version of the offensive line gave Mahomes all the time he needed to survey the field and make plays.
This was our first real look at the veteran who joined the team in March. He’s been working his way back from offseason knee surgery.
Fulton came in part of the way through the first half. Despite having one pass interference call — which I’m sure he wishes he could have back — he looked aggressive and healthy. He was flying all over the field — and for a stretch, seemed to make every play on defense. He showcased good athleticism and a willingness to tackle.
In short, he was just the sort of cornerback that Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo covets. With Trent McDuffie, Jaylen Watson and Kristian Fulton as the team’s top three corners, you have to feel pretty good about where the secondary stands.
The Chiefs are going to move this young safety all over the place this season. Hicks is going to play deep, in the...
