The Kansas City Chiefs lost their first game of the preseason, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t any positives to take from the 26-13 defeat.
After practice, head coach Andy Reid took to the podium and praised his rookies for their performances from Saturday.
“I like what I’ve seen,” Reid began. “I’m not going to go back through all those guys. I thought there were some positive things they can take from it. In some cases, they have to learn and we’ll clean all that up. That’s what it’s for. That’ll be a good tape for them.”
The overall performances weren’t perfect, but that’s the purpose of the preseason, to give younger players an opportunity to get their feet wet and make mistakes that can be learned from.
Notable plays that were made by some of the young guys that are hoping to make the team include Carson Steele, whose first NFL handoff turned into an earth-shattering run as the undrafted rookie from UCLA broke three tackles to gain 20 yards. He would score a one-yard touchdown a few plays later.
Another play from Saturday was an incredible catch by third-year receiver Justyn Ross, who extended to make a sensational grab along the sideline while keeping both feet in bounds.
However, some of the things that will be addressed through the duration of training camp will be the passing defense, which was picked apart by Jacksonville’s quarterbacks on Saturday, allowing 246 yards and two touchdowns.
With two preseason scrimmages left, the Chiefs will look to make the most of them as they clean up the errors from the first game and continue to evaluate what the final 53 will look like in three weeks.
