Kansas City Chiefs: Five takeaways from preseason Week 1 vs Bengals

Football is finally back! Here are the top five takeaways from preseason Week 1 between the Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals.

Alright, Chiefs Kingdom, football is officially back and the Chiefs are looking to build off the success they had. To start of the preseason we have the Bengals of Cincinnati rolling into the Sacred Acre that is Arrowhead Stadium. Preseason isn’t always about the starters but mostly about the depth and taking a look at potential diamonds in the rough. Arrowhead was packed but that shouldn’t come as a surprise.

First-team offense hasn’t missed a beat

Patrick Mahomes was 4-4 for 66 yards. He threw a dart to Travis Kelce to start off the drive and also had a nice throw to Blake Bell, who is vying for the second Tight End spot. My one gripe is Mahomes going for a diving touchdown run. The Chiefs cannot afford to have him get hurt on a play like that in the preseason.

The defense is a work in progress

The preseason is for evaluating players and right now the defense is a work in progress. Frank Clark and Chris Jones didn’t play and you aren’t going to see a lot of looks, especially in the first game.

We won’t really be able to gauge the defense really until the third week when they really start the game planning. The Chiefs are shuffling a lot of players in and out on all levels of the defense so outside of three or four players, there is no telling who is the starter at certain positions.

The offense is still blazing fast

The Chiefs have a lot of speed on the offensive side of the ball. Of course, we know how fast Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins, and even Travis Kelce is but rookie’s Mecole Hardman and Darwin Thompson are no slouches either.

Hardman had a fly sweep touchdown and Thompson’s touchdown showed not only his speed but also his pass-catching ability to pick the ball away from a defender Second-year Wide Receiver Byron Pringle had a monster return where it looked like the hole was about to close but he was able to get through it. All of these players are not only extremely fast but are capable receivers or running backs.

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Depth at tight end is getting clearer

The backup tight end spot was a big question mark going into the offseason with Demetrius Harris taking his talents to Cleveland in free agency. The Chiefs have a couple of candidates in Blake Bell, John Lovett, and Deon Yelder.

Blake Bell was the first one off the bench after Kelce came out of the game with Lovett and Yelder sharing snaps for much of the game after Bell was done. Right now it seems like it is Bell’s job to lose with Yelder or Lovett may be making the roster as the number 3.

Don’t take preseason too seriously

This has to be said, preseason games are essentially practices against other teams. Try not to take things super seriously, especially if this is your first time watching it. You aren’t going to see a lot of fancy stuff on offense or defense, at least until the third game.

Next. Morris Claiborne signing low-risk, high-reward. dark

This is all about evaluating players in real game action, especially those that are looking to make it on the practice squad or on the 53 man roster on Special Teams. Preseason means more to players like Pringle and Yelder than they do to Patrick Mahomes and Frank Clark.

The Chiefs looked great out there Saturday night. This shouldn’t come as a surprise considering what they did last season. The Chiefs roster hasn’t changed much, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Other teams are watching the Chiefs not only for possible tape but also because there are going to be some solid players cut in a couple of weeks.

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Kansas City Chiefs: 5 takeaways from preseason Week 1 vs Bengals

By Casey Adkins | Aug 11, 2019