Kansas City Chiefs beat 49ers in preseason opener: What we learned Saturday evening
.JPG "Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes passes against the San Francisco 49ers during the first half of Saturday’s NFL preseason game in Santa Clara, Calif.")
The Chiefs put their first preseason action of 2021 in the books Saturday night, beating the San Francisco 49ers 19-16 on the road..
Nothing the Chiefs did was perfect, of course. That’s the nature of NFL games in the preseason.
Starters tend to see little action, going no more than two series, or just one, in some cases. Called plays were scaled back, but the Chiefs’ coaches used this exhibition game, and will use the two more to follow, as part of their evaluation process, watchful of how well play-calls are executed and whether players are following their specific individual assignments.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid came away impressed with the overall effort.
“The defense did some good things,” Reid said after the game. “The offense got the touchdown early; I thought that was good. Then, the way we finished was good all the way around.”
An example of execution Saturday evening: Reserve quarterback Shane Buechele flawlessly led the Chiefs on a game-winning drive highlighted by a one-handed catch from tight end Jody Fortson with less than two minutes on the clock.
“We do those situations in practice, a two-minute situation, and so I felt prepared,” said Buechele, who scored on a 1-yard run. “I was ready, and my teammates did a great job of just helping me drive down the field, and happily we got a touchdown. So, it was good.”
Here are some things that stood out in Saturday’s game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., as preseason football returned after a year away because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
O-LINE DRAWS FIRST BLOOD
The Chiefs’ revamped offensive line got one series together with quarterback Patrick Mahomes ... and made the most of it on the very first play.
Playing against mostly backup Niners defenders, the entire front five — consisting of left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., left guard Joe Thuney, rookie center Creed Humphrey, rookie right guard Trey Smith and rookie left tackle Lucas Niang — manhandled their assignments on a run play.
The blocking was so great that running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire had a massive hole waiting for him on the left-side A-gap between the guard and center. With space blown wide-open, Edwards-Helaire easily gained 10 yards for a first down before being brought down.
Brown said the play helped establish a tempo the offensive line wanted to set.
“That’s definitely something we’re priding ourselves on, is to really just setting a tone,” Brown said. “And up front, Coach (Andy) Heck has emphasized that. Me, I’ve emphasized that. Joe Thuney and all the other guys, as well. So, that’s really just been the mindset being able to set the tone, especially in the run game when they call our number.”
The drive ended three plays later when Mahomes’ pass intended for wide receiver Mecole Hardman fell incomplete. Mahomes finished the drive attempting two passes, completing one (to tight end Travis Kelce for 4 yards).
Mahomes’ night officially ended when Chad Henne entered the game on the Chiefs’ second offensive possession.
Of note, star San Francisco defenders Nick Bosa, Arik Armstead, Fred Warner, Dee Ford and Jason Verrett, among others, didn’t suit up for Saturday’s game.
SACKS ALWAYS MATTER
Yes, it’s preseason.
But nothing says execution like sacks, and the Chiefs had seven of them.
Defensive lineman Chris Jones, defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton, defensive end Tim Ward, linebacker Omari Cobb, defensive lineman Austin Edwards and linebacker Darius Harris each notched a sack.
Jones lined up mostly at right defensive end, with Frank Clark (hamstring) not playing. When Clark returns to the lineup, Jones is likely to line up over the opposing team’s right tackle, as he’s done throughout training camp.
Second-year defensive end Mike Danna lined up at left defensive end with Jones on the right side.
TIME TO SHINE
Wide receiver Daurice Fountain, who joined the Chiefs after a successful tryout in rookie minicamp, led the offense with four catches for 38 yards on six targets. Fountain has flashed in training camp while working mostly with the backups, and he took advantage of his repetitions Saturday night.
“We wanted to get a look at him today and we had him targeted a few times,” Reid said of Fountain. “I thought he did a nice job. He high-pointed the ball well. He’s been doing that in camp. He’s been doing a nice job there, so it was good to get him involved.”
Running back Jerick McKinnon paced the Chiefs’ offense with 40 total yards (19 rushing) against his former team.
Undrafted rookie linebacker Riley Cole led the defense with five tackles.
RETURNER ROTATION
Mecole Hardman and Byron Pringle are the assumed top options at the Chiefs’ kick- and punt-return spots, but they didn’t see much action in punt or kickoff formations.
Instead, the Chiefs rolled with cornerback Mike Hughes and wide receivers Darius Shepherd and Gehrig Dieter at punt returner. McKinnon, Fountain and Hughes split time as the Chiefs’ kick returner.
Shepherd led the team with two returns for 29 yards, averaging 14.5 yards per attempt. Hughes had a 40-yard kickoff return.
MISTAKES HAPPEN
The Chiefs’ backup defense did its best to make Niners quarterback Trey Lance, who took over after starter Jimmy Garoppolo’s one series, look like a rookie.
But Lance showed why he was the third overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft with an incredible play on his second series. Starting at the Niners’ own 20-yard line, the rookie rolled left away from the Chiefs’ defensive pressure and looked down the field. The Chiefs appeared to be in a Cover 2 scheme.
Lance spotted wide receiver Trent Sherfield, who worked his way across the field with Mike Hughes trailing. Sherfield then broke free on the outside of rookie safety Devon Key, who was playing more inside and bit on what Reid called a “double-move play.”
By this time, Lance had anticipated Sherfield’s break and launched the pass, which Sherfield caught in Chiefs territory. Sherfield then easily won a footrace against Key, whose hips were turned on Sherfield’s break, and Hughes for an 80-yard touchdown.
Lance finished the game completing 5 of 14 pass attempts for 128 yards and a touchdown with an interception against the Chiefs’ backup defense.
“He’s a good player,” Reid said of Lance. “He looked very poised, composed and he had a nice play on the firecracker there.”
NOT SUITED UP
The Chiefs were without wide receiver Antonio Callaway (bone bruise), linebacker Willie Gay Jr. (recently returned from concussion protocol), defensive end Frank Clark (hamstring), defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi (hip flexor), guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif (hand), tackle Mike Remmers (back) and defensive end Taco Charlton (hamstring).
INJURIES
Reid said linebacker Darius Harris suffered a dislocated finger, wide receiver Marcus Kemp suffered a shoulder injury, linebacker Riley Cole suffered a right ankle injury and running back Elijah McGuire suffered a left ankle injury.
UP NEXT
The Chiefs are off Sunday before returning Monday to St. Joseph for the first of three final practices of training camp at Missouri Western.
This story was originally published August 14, 2021 at 10:42 PM.
