Chiefs Fall To Packers 34-14 In Preseason Finale

The preseason is finally over and not a moment too soon. Green Bay ran away with the ‘Backup Bowl’ 34-14 in a game in which both teams sat almost all of their regular starters.

Taking anything from this game is going to be very difficult because of how little effort the Chiefs seemed to be putting into trying to win this game. To say this was a ‘game’ would be a disgrace. It was more of a fancy scrimmage than anything else.

There were a few individual highlights and lowlights.

– Tyler Bray rebounded from another early interception to throw a touchdown pass, complete a beautiful 45-yard deep ball to A.J. Jenkins, and lead a solid two minute drill drive.

– Frankie Hammond Jr. solidified his spot on the roster with a couple of nice catches and an excellent kickoff return.

– Phillip Gaines struggled all night with penalties and coverage. I’m not looking forward to what his PFF grade is going to look like.

– Donald Stephenson allowed a sack and committed two penalties, which may have made him the worst offensive lineman of the night. …A night in which only backups played.

– Cyrus Gray earned a spot on the team tonight with some good runs and quality special teams play. Though a nod should be given to Joe McKnight for his quality performance.

– Jaye Howard and Vance Walker were both very good on the defensive line again. They should both provide some solid depth to the Chiefs defensive line.

– Josh Mauga seemed to always be around the ball tonight and did an excellent job against the run. He may have earned a chance to be the second linebacker next to Derrick Johnson to start the season. Though it should be noted Nico Johnson appeared to have a decent game himself.

In the end, what matters most are the individual performances and not the team performances from the preseason. There was no game planning or trying to put players in a position to exploit matchups. What matters is what the team looks like on week one of the regular season and not week four of the preseason. There’s not need to panic or worry about the Chiefs just yet.

Now if they lose to Tennessee at home on September 7th then that’s a different story.