Lions vs Chiefs: Will Kansas City play its starters in second preseason game?
By Matt Conner
What should fans expect to see in the Chiefs' second preseason game—and their first at Arrowhead?
The Kansas City Chiefs will finally give fans at home in the Kingdom some taste of the new roster when they take to the field on Saturday afternoon. The Detroit Lions are in town for a preseason visit and that means the Chiefs will play actual football at Arrowhead for the first time since last winter.
The Chiefs will remain at home for quite some time at this point with consecutive home games to close out the preseason as well as two straight contests at Arrowhead to begin the regular season. Hopefully, the early chance to rest and enjoy a bit more downtime will help them in the longer stretches ahead this fall.
As for the Detroit Lions, it will be interesting to see them once again after they shocked the NFL with an upset victory over the Chiefs in Week 1 of last season. Of course, that game didn't include Chris Jones or Travis Kelce but Detroit sent a message all the same and the Chiefs were fortunate it didn't ruin their playoff positioning enough to matter.
If you're wondering who is playing in this actual game, we have some good news—especially for those paying for parking, tickets, and concessions to see the Chiefs in person. At the close of training camp at St. Joseph for another year on Thursday, head coach Andy Reid spoke to reporters and confirmed he'd play his starters for the first half—or at least that's the plan going into the game.
Of course, fans should remember that anything can change. If the Chiefs get a good couple of long drives in early in the first half and think their starters have had enough, they can end things early. Or if there's an injury scare, don't be surprised to see the coaching staff shift priorities to play it safe.
That said, fans should be excited to see some important adjustments to the roster. This should give us a chance to see what the defense really looks like without L'Jarius Sneed and Willie Gay or how high-level rookies like Kingsley Suamataia and Xavier Worthy fare in a longer stint. And, as always, we're thrilled to see Patrick Mahomes do his thing any time we can.