The Kansas City Chiefs lost their second straight preseason game to the Tampa Bay Bucs last night.
The Kansas City Chiefs continue to prove that preseason games are absolutely meaningless until quarterback Patrick Mahomes gets back on the field, as they lost their second straight game, 16-15, to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
It was a game defined by backup quarterbacks, as Justin Fields, Garrett Nussmeier and Chris Oladokun all played for Kansas City, but none fared all that well.
The Chiefs managed just one touchdown that came in the third quarter as Nussmeier led a nine-play, 75-yard drive that was capped off by a one-yard touchdown run from rookie running back Emmett Johnson, with the big play being a 28-yard defensive pass interference call to go with a series of short throws.
The one Chiefs player who did have a fascinating evening was kicker Harrison Butker, who nailed a 69-yard field goal before the half. But Butker also missed an extra point and a 43-yard field goal that would have won the game in the second half, as he added some misery to the plane ride home when his issues with important misses surfaced in a big way.
“You've got to make your kicks. Miss an extra point, miss a game-winner. That's what I care about, not the 69-yarder or whatever it was,” Butker said in an AP/ESPN followup report.
"I feel like throughout my career when I've had big kicks, it's been a struggle to finish the game or the next game," Butker added. “I feel like mentally I was good on that 43-yarder. It felt good off my foot. Maybe I need some more caffeine for the second half or something.”
The Chiefs played like they could use a jolt as well. They couldn’t finish drives in the first half, and they wound up leading 9-0 at halftime after a trio of Butker field goals. The only noteworthy offensive development beyond that was a brief cameo from running back Kenneth Walker III, who got four yards on a pair of carries.
Most of the Tampa Bay starter sat out as well, with starting quartreback Baker Mayfield making a brief appearance as he went 2-for-4 for ten yards.
The Chiefs still have some important positional questions to answer this week, but the big question is whether they’ll trot out quarterback Patrick Mahomes for a series or two in their final preseason tilt against the Seattle Seahawks this Friday. It seems unlikely, but it would give us a reason to watch the Chief before their opener on Sept. 14 against the Denver Broncos.
