Halftime from Lambeau: Chiefs’ offense sputters, but defense offers a starter surprise

Here are some takeaways from the first half of Thursday night’s Chiefs preseason game at the Green Bay Packers where KC trails 20-10.

Unexpected starter

It’s the fourth preseason game, so it was a reasonable expectation that the Chiefs would sit all of their starters.

That mostly held up ... except for one guy: Reggie Ragland.

Ragland, who’s been starting at middle linebacker, played outside linebacker during the Chiefs’ first two defensive series. He recorded a tackle on the first series, and nearly had a sack on the second.

Throughout the preseason, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has rotated his linebackers through all three positions in an effort to make them as versatile as possible.

Ragland starting and playing in the fourth preseason game could just be another opportunity to get reps at SAM linebacker — a position that’s one of the thinner spots on the Chiefs’ defense.

Jeremiah Attaochu, usually the backup SAM linebacker, started at defensive end opposite of Rob McCray. He collected a sack of quarterback Tim Boyle.

Hyde out?

Though he came in as the second-team running back, Carlos Hyde’s stock with the team has fallen in recent weeks.

Against the Packers, Hyde came out as the starting running back, and he took the majority of the reps at the position. He had eight carries for 29 yards in the first half.

Rookie Marcus Marshall was the second running back in the game, while neither Darwin Thompson nor Darrel Williams saw any game action. That likely solidifies their positions as the No. 2 and No. 3 backs behind starter Damien Williams.

Shumur starts

Quarterback Kyle Shurmur got the first crack at making his case for earning a practice squad spot. He finished his half completing 14 of 20 attempts for 143 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

He opened up by leading a 17-play, 80-yard scoring drive that ended in a 28-yard field goal when he got sacked as Pace Murphy failed to hold his block.

From there, Shurmur’s night went downhill, hurt by inconsistent play from the Chiefs’ offensive line — which started LT Dino Boyd, LG Jeff Allen, C Nick Allegretti, RG Ryan Hunter and RT Pace Murphy.

He was sacked another time, this time by Tray Matthews. He fumbled the ball as he was hit, but WR Rashard Davis picked it up on the bounce for a 13-yard gain.

Later, Shurmur was pressured as he threw an interception that Ty Summers returned for a 74-yard pick-six.

The drive after that also didn’t end well for the offense when Marshall fumbled the ball away.

Shurmur’s final drive of the half ended with his lone touchdown strike as he hit Jody Forston for a 2-yard score three plays after Jordan Lucas intercepted backup quarterback DeShone Kizer at the 7-yard-line.

This story was originally published August 29, 2019 at 8:30 PM.