Takeaways from the Kansas City Chiefs preseason game against the Lions

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs lost a nail-biter in their second preseason game of the year against the Detroit Lions 24-23.

The Lions kicked a 43-yard game-winning field goal as time expired.

The outcome of preseason games is meaningless, but what players put on film is everything.

Here are some takeaways from the game:

Offense shows spark and red zone issues again

The Chiefs starting offense has had three drives across two preseason games and has failed to come up with a touchdown. No need to fret since it’s preseason, but the same red zone issues plagued the Chiefs last season; a season that ended with a second consecutive Super Bowl.

The offense showed the typical elements of explosion though with each drive ending with a field goal.

Patrick Mahomes has already developed his connection with Xavier Worthy finding him for a 39-yard gain on the third play of the game on third down. That was the only Mahomes pass Worthy caught of his four targets from Mahomes.

He later caught a 22-yard touchdown pass from Carson Wentz in the second quarter as Wentz led a drive that was short thanks to a Lions kickoff return fumble.

Rashee Rice also was a focal point as he recorded four catches for 35 yards.

Mahomes also dazzled fans with his behind-the-back pass to Travis Kelce. On the broadcast, he said it was unplanned and out of spite because Kelce ran the wrong route.

Mahomes ended up throwing for 93 yards on 8 of 14 passing on two drives.

Regardless, another reason why Mahomes is one of the greatest quarterbacks ever and why offensive concerns for the Chiefs can be patched up with him as the leader.

Offensive line depth is troubling

Injuries have left several Chiefs key players on the sideline this preseason. OT Wanya Morris, who is competing for the left tackle position with rookie Kingsley Suamataia, has missed both games with a knee injury and RT Jawaan Taylor missed the Lions game with a shoulder injury.

Suamataia has looked solid in his playing time but right tackle Lucas Niang has not looked as good in his time.

Niang gave up several quarterback pressures in the Lions game but made up for it with his blitz pick-up.

Rookie interior lineman Hunter Nourzad and C.J. Hanson have looked shaky in their time of swapping between guard and center. Left guard Mike Caliendo has been starting for injured guard Joe Thuney (pectoral) and has also been a suitable spot starter.

A starting lineup of Suamataia, Caliendo, Creed Humphrey, Trey Smith, and Niang is not a terrible lineup but it is a far cry from the consistency that the team has had on the line during their SB runs of the past few seasons.

Guys need to get healthy quickly and develop even quicker.

Defensive depth remains stout

The starting defense shut out the Lions’ backups led by QB Nate Sudfeld in the first quarter.

Defensive end George Karlaftis got a hit on Sudfeld on the first defensive play, Joshua Williams and Chamarri Conner looked strong at cornerback and nickel corner respectively, and rookie Jaden Hicks looks poised to start at safety for the injured Justin Reid (quad).

Some young players like DE Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Conner, Hicks, CB Nazeeh Johnson, and LB Leo Chenal got extended time on the field playing into the third quarter for a few of them.

CB Chris Roland-Wallace led the team with nine tackles in his extended time.

LB Cam Jones, a special teams stalwart as a rookie last season, was one of the leading tacklers with eight. Jones forced the kickoff return fumble in the first quarter.

CB Keith Taylor caught an interception in the second quarter.

While the defensive players down on the depth chart gave up some late scores, they had a goal-line stand late in the fourth quarter ending with a fumble recovery from DE Truman Jones.

The cornerback battle for CB2 may not be all the way sewn up yet but Williams may have the edge because of his length and form. If not him, it will be a steady rotation of Johnson, CB Jaylen Watson (out with a shoulder injury), and Conner.

Special teams continue to impress

Kicker Harrison Butker is still as consistent as he’s always been after signing his new contract. He hit three field goals on the day, his longest being 56 yards.

Butker also had good ball placement on the new kickoff.

Punter Matt Ariaza has proven himself to be a weapon as he had four of his six punts land inside of the 20-yard line with two punts going 61 yards and his last punt of the day going 53 yards.

The left-footed punter won the position battle over BYU product Ryan Rehkow going into training camp and is flipping the field like he did in college at San Diego State.

Rugby star turned running Louis Rees-Zammit saw few snaps on offense but showcased his skills as a kicker. His first kicks went to the corner of the endzone just inside the end zone forcing a return in the new NFL kickoff. His second kick forced a touchback.

Standouts

Carson Steele

The Ball State and UCLA product has firmly entrenched himself on the 53-man roster.

Listed as a fullback, Steele broke through in the first preseason game with a touchdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

He didn’t score against the Lions but his versatility was on full display.

The undrafted rookie notched three carries for eight yards, caught two passes, blocked for RB Deneric Prince in the I-formation as well as blocking on passing downs, and returned a kick on special teams.

His physical running style already has coaches and fans taking notice.

Head coach Andy Reid likes to carry a fullback on the roster but didn’t last season. Steele’s preseason performances should make it easy for him to be on Kansas City’s roster this season.

Xavier Worthy

The speedster caught his first touchdown as a Chief, albeit in the preseason. Worthy recorded four touches on the first three drives of the game and could have made it two touchdowns if he shed another blocker on an end-around run that resulted in 11 yards.

With Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown’s status in doubt with his injury, the Chiefs have been looking to the rookie to step up.

He is doing good on that so far.

Kadarius Toney

A receiver that stood out for the wrong reasons.

Toney only saw a few moments of action in the third quarter and it could not have started on a worse note.

On his first snap of the game in the second quarter, Toney committed two penalties on the same play.

Toney covered tight end Irv Smith Jr. and committed a holding penalty while trying to block cornerback Khalil Dorsey on the perimeter for Prince.

Wentz overthrew Toney on an over route two plays later. Toney recorded one catch for -4 yards on a screen play where he was tackled immediately.

The former first-round pick has yet to find his rhythm and impress during the preseason with the Chiefs as he also missed practice time with an ankle injury.

With Skyy Moore, Nikko Remigio and Justyn Ross outshining him in practice and in preseason games, the future for Toney as a Chief looks dim with one game to go.

The Chiefs host the Chicago Bears on Thursday at 7:20 p.m.

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