Chiefs complete perfect preseason with 24-17 victory over Rams

At the end of day, the Chiefs’ 24-17 victory over the St. Louis Rams in their final preseason game won’t mean much in the grand scheme of things.

The Chiefs sat 28 players Thursday, including all but two — tackle Paul Fanaika and inside linebacker Ramik Wilson — who started the third preseason game a week ago against Tennessee.

Then again, the Chiefs, 4-0, finished the preseason undefeated for only the fourth time in franchise history. The last two times they did that — 1966 and 1969 — the Chiefs made the Super Bowl. Their only other perfect preseason was in 1960, the first year of the Dallas Texans’ franchise.

“We’re in America, so you play to win, whether it’s ping-pong or a hot-dog eating contest,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “You play to win, so that’s how you go about this business. … Rather have it this way than the other way, but it is the preseason, we understand that.”

But don’t say Thursday’s game didn’t mean anything to the 40-plus or so players who did play in front of 37,616 at the Edward Jones Dome in what was possibly the final Governor’s Cup game, depending on how the league’s expansion into Southern California shakes out.

Many of them were fighting for jobs or, at the very least, auditioning for one of the other 31 NFL teams.

“Yeah, what’s unique about this game is you want to continue to evaluate, you want to see those guys that have a chance to earn a roster spot,” Chiefs general manager John Dorsey said. “You want to make that sure they’re doing absolutely everything they can to help this organization as well. So that’s why it’s so critical, because there’s four or five spots up for grabs here.”

So in that context, the way those players performed during the first half — when they battled the Rams, who played 12 first-string players for at least part of the first quarter, to a 17-17 tie — has to be considered encouraging.

“That’s a great experience for them,” Reid said. “We did OK … had a nice turnover and then were able to punch it in. That was a positive.”

And once again, No. 2 quarterback Chase Daniel led the charge. One errant throw — a pick-six — aside, Daniel continued his efficient preseason by completing 16 of 20 passes for 117 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

Daniel did it by completing passes to seven different receivers, led by running back Spencer Ware, who caught four passes for 25 yards and also punched in a short touchdown on the ground.

What’s more, Daniel’s touchdown pass — a 15-yard strike to Chris Conley on a skinny post — made Conley the fifth different Chiefs receiver to catch a touchdown pass this preseason, joining Jeremy Maclin, Fred Williams, Da’Ron Brown and Frankie Hammond.

Not bad, especially after their receiving corps failed to record a single touchdown reception in the 2014 regular season.

But it was a closely contested half, even though the Chiefs got out to a strong start. On the Rams’ first drive, quarterback Nick Foles threw a short strike to tight end Jared Cook over the middle, who let the pass go through his hands. Safety Daniel Sorensen intercepted it, and he returned the ball to the Rams’ 8.

It marked the first of five times in the half that the Chiefs’ defense turned the Rams’ offense away on third down. Two plays later, Ware scored from the 1 and the Chiefs led 7-0.

But the Rams’ starters responded quickly. After receiver Tavon Austin broke a 43-yard catch-and-run — he started on the left side of the field and cut across the grain, eluding multiple defenders along the way — Isaiah Pead did most of the heavy lifting, rushing five straight times before he punched the ball in from the 1, tying the score at 7-7.

Foles left the game with about six minutes left in the first quarter. But the Rams didn’t need their first-team offense to score next, as safety Cody Davis jumped a Daniel pass — he broke on it well before the ball came out — and returned it 24 yards for a touchdown.

“He got me — I didn’t even see him come down (on the route),” Daniel said of Davis. “I literally was like ‘This is a 10-yard completion, look at this,’ and all of a sudden, the dude was going the other way. So obviously, the competitor in me — you never want that to happen. Ever. Especially when you’re backed up like that.

“No excuses, you can’t make the throw. I’ve got to see him.”

Daniel came right back, however — “I was a little mad,” he said with a laugh — going six for six on a 12-play, 80-yard scoring drive that was capped by the touchdown to Conley, the rookie who finished the half with three catches for 38 yards.

“That’s sort of a play that a quarterback can put on a certain route vs. a certain look, and the receiver sort of gives me an eye that he got it,” Daniel said. “I’ll tell you what, Chris looked like a veteran out there running it. He’s a big body. He knew exactly what to do, exactly what I was thinking. It was sweet. It was awesome.”

On the Rams’ ensuing drive, the Chiefs forced a turnover on downs when outside linebacker Frank Zombo, inside linebacker James-Michael Johnson and nose tackle Hebron Fangupo teamed up to stuff Pead on fourth and 1 just across midfield.

The Chiefs put together a nine-play, 47-yard drive that ended with a 23-yard Cairo Santos field goal, giving the Chiefs a 17-14 lead with four minutes, two seconds left in the half.

After a three-and-out, the Chiefs had another opportunity to pad their lead. But Ware fumbled after the Chiefs were spared a turnover when Daniel absorbed a massive shot and floated a ball that was tipped at least twice and should have picked.

The Chiefs defense held, but the Rams tied the score when kicker Greg Zuerlein — nicknamed “The Leg” — booted a 57-yard field goal.

In the second half, the Chiefs’ third-teamers took over. And they showed some promise, too.

Quarterback Aaron Murray completed 11 of 15 passes for 86 yards and a touchdown, and the recipient of a 12-yard touchdown toss — running back Darrin Reaves —showed how much he wanted to make the team by powering through four Rams and absorbing a big blow at the end.

“I knew I was going to have room — Aaron put it on me quick,” said Reaves, who led the Chiefs with eight catches for 42 yards. “I saw a guy coming, I tried to make him miss. Another guy came, I tried to evade him. I was just trying to get it in any way I can ... I knew I was going to have to lay it all on the line, like every guy that played in the game tonight.

“For guys that play in the fourth preseason game, it’s kind of like the last stamp on your resume. You try to show your ability and potential so that you can make a squad anywhere in the NFL, whether it be on the squad you’re on now or the other 31 teams.”

With the Chiefs forced to pare their roster from 75 to 53 by 3 p.m. Saturday, it’s safe to say the players like Reaves — who also got on the field in the first half — were the ones with the most to gain.

And after their overall performance against some of the Rams’ starters, Dorsey knows the Chiefs have some tough decisions before their season opener against the Houston Texans on Sept. 13.

“Well, what we’ve said all along is that it’s going to take a process, it just doesn’t happen overnight,” he said. “When we came in here we had a larger plan — and that was to slowly build this thing.

“Right now, we’re at a level all across the roster where guys can compete and this year there’s going to be some guys who unfortunately won’t make this roster but will play for other teams in the National Football League.”

Missed field goals: None.

This story was originally published September 3, 2015 at 10:03 PM with the headline "Chiefs complete perfect preseason with 24-17 victory over Rams."