‘It was a smooth operation’ — Chiefs HC Andy Reid reacts to strong preseason Week 3 showing from starters against Bears
Kansas City Chiefs HC Andy Reid liked what he saw from his starters in preseason Week 3 against the Chicago Bears.
The Kansas City Chiefs officially wrapped up the preseason with a 27-29 loss to the Chicago Bears, but don’t let the final score fool you. The Chiefs’ third- and fourth-string units were going against the Bears’ second-string unit. They didn’t finish the game as strongly as they’d like, but Andy Reid knows that what matters most is what he saw from his first-team offense and defense.
“I thought the ones on both sides of ball did well,” Reid said following the game. “I thought special teams was solid throughout the night, and it was good. It was good start all the way around.”
What are some of the things that stuck out to Coach Reid about the first unit? He ran down quite a list.
“With Pat (Mahomes) at 143 yards, and that first quarter touchdown,” Reid said. “And (Isiah) Pacheco had big yardage with three carries, averaged seven yards per carry there. Kareem (Hunt had) three carries for 15 yards. So, (Travis) Kelce had a couple of nice plays in there. So, I think we averaged nine, almost 10 yards a play at the first part with the ones. Those are good there. I thought defensively, the three-and-out to open game was big for us. . . (Chris) Jones and (Charles) Omenihu had the sacks. (Harrison) Butker 2-for-2. (Kevin) Knowles blocked the Extra Point, which was great. . . (Tyquan) Thornton showed up. He had a big catch there for 58 yards or so. So, there were some good things with that.”
Some of the things he missed include the 12 first downs and penalty-free first quarter from the offense. The defense also held the Bears to just 26 yards of total offense and 1-for-3 on third down.
Asked further to evaluate the performance of the first-team offense and defense, Reid gave his shoot-from-the-hip reaction, knowing that he’ll have to examine the All-22 game film to make accurate determinations.
“Without looking at the tape, I thought the offensive line did a nice job and gave Pat (Mahomes) time. We were efficient in the run game. So it starts up there. I thought the receivers and tight ends caught the ball, and everybody contributed. Pat looked smooth, confident, and had trust in the group. I mean, it’s preseason. But, it was a smooth operation. And we needed to get some reps there. We got some reps. And everybody came out healthy.”
The biggest win of all? Chiefs escape preseason Week 3 with no injuries.
“As far as injuries go, nobody was injured, which is a good thing,” Reid said to kick off his presser, which is about the best news you could hope for after an injury-riddled preseason Week 2 game in Seattle.
The only players who didn’t appear in the game were WR Hollywood Brown (foot/ankle), WR Jalen Royals (knee tendinitis), CB Nazeeh Johnson (shoulder), LB Drue Tranquill (back), S Mike Edwards (hamstring), LB Jack Cochrane (knee), DT Omarr Norman-Lott (ankle), OT Ethan Driskell (appendix), and TE Jake Briningstool (hamstring). With two weeks to go until Week 1’s tilt with the Los Angeles Chargers, it’s reasonable that a few of these players will have more than enough time to get healthy.
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