Chiefs starters build lead before Lions kick game winner as time expires

Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice flash in Chiefs 24-23 preseason loss to the Detroit Lions.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes completed a behind-the-back pass to tight end Travis Kelce, and it was just that kind of easy-going day for the first stringers. Head coach Andy Reid mentioned earlier this week that Mahomes would play out the first half, but he seemed to have seen enough after his QB led two field goal drives and going eight of 14 for 93 yards. 

“I'm glad he completed it (the behind-the-back pass). Yeah, that was a good thing,” head coach Andy Reid said. “I heard he blamed it on Kelce (running the wrong route) but that's alright. He does it in practice every day so I'm alright as long as it's a completion … They do it in basketball every game. Several times in every game so I mean, it's not that big of a deal.”

When backup quarterback Carson Wentz entered the game, Reid elected to keep many starters in there and it paid off almost immediately. After special teams stalwart Cam Jones caused a fumble on a kickoff, running back Carson Steele recovered it following Mahomes’ exit. Three plays later, Wentz found first-round wide receiver Xavier Worthy streaking into the endzone as the speedster hauled it in for his first professional score. 

Another positive development was left tackle Kingsley Suamataia getting many more snaps than he did a week ago. The rookie out of BYU is pretty much written in Sharpie as Mahomes blind-side protector and it looked like he belonged out there. 

“I think he did alright,” Reid said. “It looked like Pat (Mahomes) had time. I'll go back and look at it but it didn't jump out that there was a problem there, so I think that's a plus.”

Wentz played out the rest of the first half and had the Chiefs up 16-12 heading into halftime. Third-string quarterback Chris Oladokun had a second consecutive good showing as well, going six for seven for 99 yards, including a 64-yard catch-and-run touchdown to fourth-year wide receiver Cornell Powell. 

While the Chiefs had a lead as big as 10 points, the Detroit Lions clawed back and kicked a game-winning field goal as time expired to make Kansas City 0-2 in the preseason. With just under three minutes to go in the game, fourth-string quarterback Ian Book was strip-sacked, giving the Detroit Lions the ball inside the Chiefs own 10. While the Chiefs got the ball right back after defensive end Truman Jones recovered a bad handoff, Book could not burn out the clock on the ensuing drive before the Lions drove down the field to give them a 24-23 victory. 

Detroit’s offense did what they wanted for most of the day. They outgained Kansas City 459 to 276 all without the likes of quarterback Jared Goff, running back Jahmyr Gibbs and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. The reason why the Chiefs were able to keep it so close is because they caused three turnovers. It is just the preseason, so there is no way of really knowing, but Kansas City’s second and third teams do not appear to be as deep as last year. 

Although preseason results do not matter, there were plenty of good indicators that the Chiefs are just about ready for the season. With Marquise Brown out for four to six weeks, the presumed starters are Rashee Rice, Worthy and Justin Watson and all three left their marks on this game. Worthy nearly led the team in receiving, catching three balls for 62 yards to go along with his touchdown. He also had one carry for 11 yards. Rice picked up right where he left off from last season, creating yards after the catch, going for four catches for 35 yards. Watson also found some open space and caught a 20-yard pass from Mahomes. 

“It was super important (to get them involved). I mean obviously, you saw that we were kind of majoring in that early trying to get him (Worthy) some routes where he can go out there and win and then getting Rashee (Rice) involved a little bit,” Mahomes said. “You got to find that right balance because you want to not put him in too much Harm's Way but you want him to go out there and get some confidence going and so I was glad to get both those guys going early. Obviously, you want to score touchdowns. I thought we did a good (job). Drive’s kind of stalled out there in the red zone but hopefully when you game plan a little bit you can get those ones into the end zone and it was good to see Carson hit him (Worthy) on that on that route.”

After Steele stole the show at running back last week, the second-year man out of Tulsa, Deneric Prince took his turn this week. In total, he had 54 yards from scrimmage on just seven carries and one catch, including a 41-yarder where he burned down the sideline. He surprisingly did not return any kicks in this game, though. 

“He (Prince) had a nice run there which I thought was good,” Reid said. “That was a positive and he got enough carries today where you can go back and evaluate him, and we'll look at it and see but it was good to see him put some back-to-back to back downs together.”

Steele might not have lit up the box score, only rushing for eight yards on three carries, but he did show signs of making the team. Not only did he recover a fumble on special teams, but he also had one of the better kickoff returns on the day, taking his one opportunity back for 36 yards. He also caught two balls, but they went for negative yards. Reid said earlier this week that being valuable on special teams is vital for Steele.  

2022 second-round wide receiver Skyy Moore was the most elusive returner on the day, taking two back for a total of 71 yards, including one that was 43. His place on the roster remains puzzling, however, because for the second straight exhibition game, he did not record a single target. Roster bubble wide receiver Nikko Remigio also had a good kick return for 31 yards to go along with his two catches for 16 yards on offense. Fellow receivers Mecole Hardman and Justyn Ross each went zero catches on two targets. 

With defensive ends Gorge Karlaftis, Mike Danna, Felix Anudike-Uzomah and Malik Herring locking down the top four spots on the depth chart, Truman Jones is trying to convince the Chiefs to keep a fifth. Jones made his presence known against Detroit, registering a fumble recovery, a half sack and a big tackle for loss in the backfield. Herring had two quarterback hits while Karlaftis had one, as did Anudike-Uzomah, who also batted down a pass. 

Safety out of USC, Christian Ronald-Wallace led the team in tackles with nine and also came up with a pass breakup. Defensive tackle Neil Farrel had a half-sack and cornerback Keith Taylor came up with the Chiefs' lone interception when he picked off Lions’ quarterback Nate Sudfeld. Rookie safety Jaden Hicks stood out once again as well, coming up with six tackles and a broke-up a pass. 

Kansas City punter Matt Araiza pinned four of his six kicks inside the 20 and a long of 61 yards. Kicker Harrison Butker went three for three on the day, including a 56-yarder. 

Next up the Chiefs have the Chicago Bears at home to close out the preseason. If the Chiefs follow the same protocol as last year, you will not see any of the starters. Kickoff is Thursday, August 22nd at 7:20 p.m. CDT.