Where many articles have been written about the Chiefs’s dominant preseason victory, we examine the storylines no one else is talking about.
The Kansas City Chiefs’ dominant performance over the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday was a great opportunity for fans of the Chiefs. The Kingdom got to see the boys in red take the field for the first time since January, and after a very busy offseason, it was an opportunity to closely examine this year’s roster.
Since the game, plenty of articles have been written detailing Mecole Hardman’s speed, Darwin Thompson’s strength, Patrick Mahomes‘ MVP form, Tanoh Kpassagnon‘s emergence, and Chase Litton’s impressive performance. However, some major developments within the game have evaded the spotlight.
Before we fully turn the corner to face the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday, here are five aspects of the Bengals win that deserved more attention.
Late Game D-Line
We know Chris Jones is going to get to the quarterback. We know Frank Clark is going to destroy any lineman who decides to stand in front of him. Alex Okafor is good, and with the help of the other two star linemen, he’s going to enjoy
if the Chiefs can manage to get a long-term deal done with Jones, this line is going to be very effective for quite some time—both in getting after the passer and stopping the run. But in case the Jone’s deal doesn’t happen, or (knocking on wood) an injury takes a starter out, the guys behind them must be able to step up. From what those guys did Saturday, there shouldn’t be a lack of confidence.
A lot has been said about Kpassagnon‘s performance, and rightfully so. He looked in control at all points, and he has been a training camp standout. But all throughout the night, Kansas City linemen were putting pressure on the pocket and made the run game completely ineffective. Looking at the box score, Cincinnati only managed 21 rushing yards at an average of 1.8 yards per play.
New Pass Interference Rules
The new PI rules the league came up with this offseason are much better than originally believed. Where this rule has been used throughout the NFL preseason, this game provided the best opportunity to see how it would affect the actual competition
The verdict: it is going to make games longer, but it is going to help keep dirty secondary players and wide receivers alike from getting away with interference. Push offs, hand fighting, and turning receivers will be unacceptable and empower both the offense and the defense. More exciting is the ability to review and challenge offensive picks, or as offenses will call it, rub routes, a method that has gotten out of hand in the NFL.
This never felt like it leaned offensively or defensively either, as borderline calls remained no calls, and defenses and offenses got calls their way. Calls were made very clearly with precise details by the officials after the decisions, with more complex decisions given full length explanations through Twitter with video evidence.
While this new rule produced many skeptics this summer, this game should serve as a clear win for the league here and shows the potential of fixing some wrongs in this league.
Special Teams
Every. Single. Play. Was. A. Success.
Two fumble recoveries on punt team. Electric kickoff and punt returns by Mecole Hardman, Byron Pringle, and Tremon Smith. No major mistakes besides a couple penalties by Marcus Kemp. The Chiefs special teams units could do no wrong.
Dave Toub has to be extremely proud of what his players did on Saturday night. They flew to the ball on kickoffs and punt coverage, played through the whistle and maintained blocks on returns, accelerated into seams and fought for that extra two or three yards as the ball carrier. Impressive work all around.
If Patrick Mahomes does not hit 5,000 yards, it will not have anything to do with regression, but because these special teams will make the field shorter.
Discipline
According to ESPN, Kansas City committed 137 regular season fouls for 1,152 yards, averaging out to 72 yards per game. In the playoffs, every Chiefs fan will remember the five words that separated the Chiefs from the Super Bowl, “Offsides. Defense. Number Fifty-Five.”
In the 2018-19 season, Kansas City ranked worst among all teams in penalties and penalty yards, which was a major contributor to the failure of the defense. With the changing of the guard at defensive coordinator and the overall Super Bowl or bust atmosphere surrounding Arrowhead, discipline had to be a very high priority for the 2019-20 season.
Based off what was done Saturday night, they just might have gotten it figured out. The starters did not commit a single foul. As a matter of fact, Kansas City did not commit ANY fouls until deep into the first half with Kyle Schurmur’s delay of game penalty and not another penalty until nearly midway through the second quarter.
If the starters can keep disciplined through the regular season, even committing only 10% fewer penalties, that’s over 115 yards saved and countless defensive opportunities opened up.
Mitch Holthus
I know, this isn’t about the players on the field, but can we take a second and appreciate Mitch Holtus and his radio broadcasting talent? His voice is iconic and tends to accompany some of the most memorable moments in recent Chief’s history.
Despite it being a preseason game, Holthus still brought it, giving us five iconic “Touchdown, Kansas City” moments with the same emphasis of a regular season. This guy is pretty special.