The Kansas City Chiefs wrapped the preseason with a solid performance against the Green Bay Packers. There’s not much we can glean from this matchup about the starting lineup because they didn’t get many snaps. This was mostly an opportunity for depth players and those competing for starting jobs to showcase their talents one last time. The offense caught fire in the second and third quarters, with Shane Buechele really hitting his stride.
So what else did we learn about the Chiefs in their final action of the 2022 NFL preseason?
Final Score: Chiefs 17, Packers 10
The depth players for Kansas City accomplished exactly what they set out to do in preseason Week 3. That’s to put some good snaps on tape and make their evaluations as tough as possible on Brett Veach. There was some good back-and-forth in this game, but it really showcased the growth of the Chiefs’ second-string, third-string and fourth-string players. They couldn’t close things out in preseason Week 1, but they were able to do so in preseason Week 3.
Weekly Awards
- Chiefs Wire Game Ball: QB Shane Buechele
- Harrison Butker Rookie of the Game: RB Isiah Pacheco
- Casey Wiegmann Veteran of the Game: DT Tershawn Wharton
- Jamaal Charles Offensive Player of the Game: TE Matt Bushman
- Bobby Bell Defensive Player of the Game: LB Darius Harris
- Morten Andersen Special Teams Player of the Game: WR Skyy Moore & WR Corey Coleman
- Otis Taylor Play of the Game: Choir huddle to honor Len Dawson.
- Wesley Roesch Stat of the Game: Chiefs were just 3-for-10 on third down.
Quick-hitting observations and analysis
- I predicted one snap for Patrick Mahomes to come out in a sugar huddle to honor Len Dawson and that’s exactly what the team did. Mahomes later revealed during the broadcast that it was Clark Hunt and Andy Reid who came up with the idea.
- The starting defense came out firing on all cylinders and hitting. George Karlaftis and Leo Chenal earned starts and looked like they belonged with the starters. Jaylen Watson was also the third cornerback in the team’s nickel defense with Rashad Fenton out.
- After a week off in preseason Week 2, Chad Henne looked a little bit rusty out there. He completed just 4-of-7 passes for 23 yards on the night.
- Ronald Jones and Isiah Pacheco both got a lot of opportunities in the ground game on Thursday night. Jones finished the night with 8 carries for 43 yards. Pacheco finished the night with 10 carries for 52 yards.
- Chiefs QB Shane Buechele at one point held a near-perfect passer rating (158.3), completing 7-of-8 passes for 116 yards and two touchdowns. He had a long pass of 54 yards. In the fourth quarter that all dropped considerably, but not necessarily to the fault of Buechele. He’s certainly made a case for the 53-man roster.
- Matt Bushman capitalized on opportunities in preseason Week 3 with Blake Bell injured and the team short on tight end depth. He finished the game with three catches on three targets for 73 yards and two touchdowns. Unfortunately, he finished the night with an injury himself.
- I came away impressed by a few defenders in this one including, but not limited to Tershawn Wharton, Jaylen Watson, Bryan Cook, Deon Bush, Darius Harris and Joshua Kaindoh. On the other hand, Khalen Saunders, Joshua Williams and Jermaine Carter probably had their weakest games of the preseason.
- I don’t know how you get him on the roster, but Corey Coleman had a 45-yard kickoff return and averaged 15 yards per return on three punts returns. He looked to be really comfortable fielding punts and kicks, which is more than can be said about his rookie counterparts this preseason.
Up next:
53-man roster cuts come on Tuesday, Aug. 30. The team will need to trim the roster from 80 players down to 53. The following day they’ll be able to create their 16-man practice squad. They’ll then turn their attention entirely to Week 1 of the regular season where they go on the road to face the Arizona Cardinals.
