Four Takeaways From the Chiefs' 9-9 Tie With the Seahawks

For one last time until 2027, the Kansas City Chiefs had an opportunity to get the monkey off their back and secure a preseason victory. Even in an exhibition-style environment, taking on the reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks was no easy feat.

To usher in the weekend, head coach Andy Reid's team took a narrow 6-3 lead into the halftime break thanks to an excellent rushing attack. Over the final two quarters of play, things remained remarkably close until the final whistle. In the end, Jason Myers missed his field goal attempt for the win, giving the hosts a hard-fought but underwhelming 9-9 tie.

In unspectacular fashion, Kansas City did technically snap its losing streak. With the action in the rearview mirror, here are four takeaways from Friday's game.

Kansas City's running back depth continued to shine

Coming into the preseason, KC knew exactly what it had with star free agent pickup Kenneth Walker III. That, paired with his recent foot/ankle injury, rendered it useless to put him on the field much at all this preseason. Despite Reid getting many other starters in for a handful of snaps on Friday, Walker was among the inactives, letting the likes of rookie Emmett Johnson and veterans Brashard Smith and Emari Demercado shine.

The first two quarters, in particular, managed to stand out. Johnson toted the ball seven times for 39 yards, with Demercado not being too far behind him with eight carries and 37 yards of his own. Smith got the bulk of the work in the third quarter, breaking off multiple chunk rushes and continuing to make an impact after his impressive 57-yard kickoff return in the first frame. Each of the halfbacks stood out in positive ways.

Following the Chiefs' preseason-opening defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Rams, I wrote that the running back room was better top-to-bottom than 2025's group. Every passing game has just doubled and tripled down on that.

Did Chiefs Kingdom jump the gun on crowning Garrett Nussmeier?

When the Chiefs traded for Justin Fields, they assumed they were landing a suitable backup for Patrick Mahomes as he recovered from a torn ACL and LCL in his knee. Fields was perfectly fine in his preseason stint, completing 13 of 16 passes for 105 yards and a 94.0 rating across two games. Despite posting worse numbers through a couple of weeks, though, it was seventh-round rookie Garrett Nussmeier who stole the show with an inspired debut and some nice plays just days later.

Reid gave Nussmeier the entire game on Friday due to Mahomes sitting, Fields being prepped for Week 1 and Chris Oladokun being in concussion protocol. The LSU product executed some third-down plays with excellent improvisation, albeit with an ugly interception and a first-half-ending intentional grounding penalty mixed in. His inexperience showed in an opportunity that will ultimately pay off in the long run.

Barring anything downright shocking, there won't be any moving on from Fields or moving him down the depth chart in 2026. Still, a tumultuous last week of August shouldn't dim Nussmeier's light for the future.

Potentially concerning observations about the cornerback room

It's been said before, and it'll be uttered again in future preseasons: Kansas City frequently hints at its plans without having to acknowledge such. Playing time is one thing, but playing situation is a different ballgame. At the cornerback position, the latter applies to a slot role that's in an interesting place entering Week 1.

Early on tonight, it was veteran L'Jarius Sneed who opened his preseason slate as the Chiefs' designated nickel man. He's a player defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is quite fond of, so it shouldn't be a surprise that he may be in the mix for the first-string gig. With that said, the perceived fall of offseason signing Kader Kohou is alarming.

Kohou had a quiet training camp and missed time this preseason due to injury. He played moderately late into the Seahawks game alongside several players who could be cut in the next 48 hours. It's conceivable that Spagnuolo and Co. merely wanted to get the former Miami Dolphin some additional reps, although the context is something to note. Could part of the unofficial depth chart turn out to be true?

The real fun begins now

With the preseason in the books, general manager Brett Veach has his work cut out for him. Kansas City's 90-man offseason roster can only carry on as constructed until Sunday evening, when all 32 NFL teams must have their groups down to an initial 53. There are some tough calls ahead and not much time left to make them, which creates a pressure-packed environment at One Arrowhead Drive.

The cutoff for the Chiefs and the rest of the league is 6 p.m. ET on Sunday. Most of the roster is easy to predict, but there are some end-of-depth-chart decisions that could be left up to elements like blocking on offense, tackling on defense and versatility on special teams. Once the 53 is settled on, all eyes shift to Week 1 of the regular season.

Real Chiefs football will be here before anyone knows it.

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