Four Takeaways From the Chiefs' 38-10 Win Over the Cardinals
To begin their 2023 preseason slate, the Kansas City Chiefs dug themselves into a hole against the New Orleans Saints before orchestrating a comeback but still losing in the end. On Saturday night versus the Arizona Cardinals, things took a much different turn.
Jumping out to a 7-0 lead that sat at 17-7 at the half, Kansas City's starters got some good work in before passing the torch to their backups and not seeing a big slip in production. A two-score third quarter helped pad the lead and at the end of the night, it was the Chiefs that emerged victorious with a big-time 38-10 win. Andy Reid's group is now 1-1 this preseason with one more outing to go.
Here are four takeaways from Saturday's game.
1. The first-stringers got off to a much better start
After the Chiefs' offense and defense struggled out of the gate against the Saints last week, many clamored for a much better performance this time around. With some sound play on both sides of the ball in the first quarter, that's exactly what happened. Kansas City delivered.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes targeted 10 different receivers and completed a pass to nine of them. Multiple players stood out for good reasons on offense by breaking off chunk plays. On defense, Steve Spagnuolo's coverage was significantly better than last week. Veteran Cardinals signal-caller Colt McCoy tallied just 25 yards on seven first-quarter pass attempts. Arizona punted twice in the first frame and once on its first possession of the second, which was a testament to an improved — but still not perfect — showing from the opposition. This step in the right direction was exactly what the Chiefs needed after a slow start a week ago.
2. Kansas City's new tackle duo is making a good first impression
When the Chiefs let Orlando Brown Jr. and Andrew Wylie walk out the door during the offseason, there were serious questions about what the bookend protectors of Mahomes would look like. The Donovan Smith-Jawaan Taylor duo entered training camp and the preseason without having shown anything outside of practice reps but two weeks and a handful of snaps into the preseason, both have played quite well.
Smith, who played through injuries last season, is back to being a mauler. Despite now being on the wrong side of 30, he's also moving well. On the opposite side of the line, Taylor's fluidity and first step are even better than expected. They both kept Mahomes squeaky clean in Arizona and if that's a sign of things to come, Kansas City's experiment could be deemed a success in the regular season. It's early, although a good start is better than an alarming one.
3. A rookie standout on each side of the ball
Kansas City's rookie class has been a subject of discussion all offseason, and the first week of the preseason saw multiple members of the group ascend with their play. This week was no different, and two players separated themselves. On offense, wide receiver Rashee Rice was masterful after an early drop. Hauling in seven passes for 85 yards in the first half, the second-round pick was used in a variety of ways and showed off his prowess both before, during and after the catch. Rice was featured in the Chiefs' offensive game plan, and he capitalized more often than not.
On the other side, fourth-round defensive back Chamarri Conner continued to make the most of his opportunities. Being used as a free blitzer, slot option, front-line rusher and safety during Saturday's game, the Virginia Tech product showed versatility similar to starting cornerback L'Jarius Sneed. As Sneed continues to deal with swelling in his knee, Conner is stepping up to the plate and emerging as someone who could be more than just a special teams piece if he keeps up the good work. General manager Brett Veach may have found another Day 3 chess piece.
4. All of the Chiefs' quarterbacks impressed
The Chiefs' offense had a ton of success at multiple positions on Saturday, but no group played better than the quarterbacks. After Mahomes's 10-for-15 performance, Shane Buechele completed all 10 of his passes and also ran for a touchdown. Backup Blaine Gabbert entered following him, going 7-for-8 for 120 yards and a pair of scores while posting a perfect 158.3 passer rating in the process. Chris Oladokun, coming off an up-and-down week against the Saints, extended multiple plays and led a scoring drive in the fourth quarter. On a night that saw so many pass-catchers get good reps in, their field generals were stellar in sharing the love.
