It is officially dress rehearsal week in NFL preseason football. The third week of the preseason is typically the most meaningful, especially for the Chiefs, because starters receive the most playing time.
Ultimately, the performances by the respective players and units in Kansas City will be much more important than the final outcome of the game. However, you still want to see some progress in certain areas and from certain players. There were certainly a few things from last week’s loss that the team can improve upon.
Here’s a look at what we want to see from the Chiefs during Week 3 of preseason play:
Please no injuries
The Kansas City Chiefs suffered several injuries during preseason Week 2, which left me begging the football gods for no more during the course of the game.
Marcus Kemp suffered a season-ending knee injury. Breeland Speaks is still having his knee injury evaluated. Deon Yelder has an ankle sprain that will keep him out at least this week but possibly the remainder of the preseason. Tyrann Mathieu suffered a shoulder injury and though it’s described as minor, I don’t expect him to play this week.
The starters are scheduled to play more minutes in this preseason game than they have in any of the others. That means they’ll spend a greater amount of time exposed to injury than they have before in 2019.
Just last night, Panthers starting QB Cam Newton suffered an ankle injury when he was sacked by a defender. The play looked routine, but it now has his status for the season opener in question.
It’s a contact sport and injuries happen, but let us get to the meaningful football games first. Keep your fingers crossed that the Chiefs don’t run into the injury bug for the second consecutive week.
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Rhythm on offense
The weather delay from last week’s game had the Chiefs offense in a bit of a funk. Maybe that is just a convenient excuse, but that’s what I’m rolling with for the time being. Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes admitted it — the offense wasn’t in-sync during preseason Week 2.
The starting offense came out and stalled a few times. Mahomes missed on a few easy throws and didn’t rely on his usual improvisation during a preseason game. Then the other units also had some lapses where they looked out of sync. There were some fumbles and focus drops from receivers. It just wasn’t clean football from the Chiefs.
If the team can somehow use this week to recalibrate the offense, that would be beneficial heading into the season. They put a lot of practice minutes into the details this week. They also tossed players a curveball, practicing in the mornings each day of the week when they were originally scheduled for afternoon practices. Hopefully, that will have kept the players on their toes and expecting the unexpected.
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Debuts
One player is scheduled to make a highly-anticipated Chiefs debut. Free agent acquisition Morris Claiborne is set to suit up for the Chiefs for the first time. Fans will be interested to find out the type of impact he might have for this defense.
Will he play with the starters right away? Will they mix him in with the second-team defense? Claiborne is suspended for the first four games of the 2019 season, so the Chiefs will have to manage his minutes carefully. It’s a balancing act between getting him prepared and knowing he won’t be available for a fourth of the season.
There are two returning players making their 2019 season debuts this weekend. Jeff Allen and De’Anthony Thomas both played for the Chiefs during the 2018 season but were free agents up until last week. Both players know the playbook and I wouldn’t be shocked to see both get significant minutes over the course of the next two weeks.
It’s always fun to see new players suit up, but these players are expected to make the roster and make an impact. That makes their debuts a bit more meaningful.
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Rewarded progress
There have been a lot of Chiefs players that have impressed through two preseason games. For two weeks in a row, Darwin Thompson and Mecole Hardman have made an impact. It’s about time that the Chiefs started rewarding them for their progress.
That means I’d like to see touches with the first-team offense for both of those players. If they feel others have stood out on the offense or defensive side too, I’m all for those players getting looks with the starters. See what they’re capable of accomplishing in that unit now and give fans a little taste of what is to come in the future.
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