The Day After: Notes from the Chiefs vs Bengals

2nd Quarter

A couple plays into the second quarter found the Chiefs going for it on 4th and 1. A nice sight to see, if you can’t make 1 yard in the NFL you need to be playing in Canada. A dump off to Anthony Sherman kept the drive alive. Two plays later, Smith threw a gem to Demetrius Harris for a 5-yard touchdown.

The bendable Chiefs defense showed back up on the Bengals’ next drive, allowing a 32-yard field goal by Jake Elliot. I wonder if he’s related to a certain Chiefs kicker not to be named.

Enter Patrick Mahomes. On the very first play Mahomes handed the ball off to C.J. Spiller for 12 yards. Then Mahomes’s first pass was nearly picked off. The rest of the drive, however, was perfect. A screen pass to Spiller. A slant to Hill followed by an end around to Hill, sprinkled with runs by C.J. Spiller, took the Chiefs down the field. A nice scramble by Mahomes was initially called a touchdown. After replay showed he stepped out at the 3 yard line Mahomes found Demetrius Harris for the short touchdown. Kicken Ficken missed the point after.

AJ McCarron connected on passes of 31 and 25 yards on the Bengals next possession bringing Randy Bullock back out to kick another field goal before the half.

Score: 16 to 9 Chiefs

3rd Quarter

The second half brought the Mahomes back out on offense. A short pass was followed by another good run by Spiller. A 3rd and long pass completed to DeAnthony Thomas for a first down seemed to rejuvenate the offense. Mahomes showed great footwork in the pocket and great awareness all night. The next play was a scramble to the far side for 11 yards.

A few plays later he was forced out of the pocket, which didn’t hold after the 1st stringers came out of the game. On the play he rolled out to his right, keeping an arm length between himself and the defender, and slung it for a first down to Gavin Escobar. While on the run. On the very next play he dumped it off to DeAnthony Thomas for his 2nd touchdown pass of the game. It was a 12 play drive that took just under 6 mins.

Not a minute later McCarron’s pass was knocked away by De’Vante Bausby into the arms of Eric Murray. It was the first turnover this pre-season for the Chiefs defense.

Tyler Bray took the next snap for Kansas City as he threw a dart to Seantavius Jones for an 18 yard touchdown. Ficken made this point after.

The two teams traded possessions before the Bengals were able to sneak far enough into the Chiefs side of the field to kick one more field. Josh Mauga made his presence felt on a few different plays during the drive. Tanoh Kpassagnoh showed off his raw talent as well.