Preseason Opener Showed How Much Chiefs Miss Bieniemy

The Kansas City Chiefs lost their preseason opener to the Los Angeles Rams yesterday, 20-12, and while the game was as meaningless as most of preseason contests,  the Chiefs’ listless performance did show how much they’ve missed the intensity of offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy. 

The second quarter of the game especially turned into a flag-throwing contest for the officials, as the Chiefs made the kinds of mistakes that cost them dearly last season, as tight end Travis talked about Bieniemy’s intensity last week after his return to the team. 

“Intensity is the first thing,” Kelce said in a report from Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk that referenced the tight end’s comments. told reporters this week. “And that intensity is infectious. Makes you want to scream [expletive] at everybody doing the wrong thing. And I love that [expletive]. That’s one of my favorite things about him.

“I don’t think there’s enough of that in the world, let alone in this building, and I think E.B.'s one of those guys where his accountability is gonna [expletive] you off.”

The Chiefs didn’t have anyone getting after them as they slid to 6-11 last year, so they’re trying to fix that. Yesterday’s game showed there’s a long way to go, and the Chiefs are hoping that will change quickly with Bieniemy back with the team on a full-time basis. 

“If you treat it the right way and you act the right way, respond the right way with it, you’re gonna become better of it,” Kelce added, “and it’s gonna make the team a better team because of it. And it’s one of those things that I think we really missed here in Kansas City.” 

The Chiefs didn’t have quarterback Patrick Mahomes back for the obligatory series or two in the preseason yesterday, so that’s the other part of this equation. But Mahomes’ frustration was clearly visible as he stalked the sidelines yesterday, and you could see that same level of frustration written on the faces of the veterans as the backups and young players continued to make one mistake after another. 

We’ll be hearing more about all of this for sure during the week. Mahomes and Kelce want to get back on top, and new running back Kenneth Walker III looked like he wanted to get back on the field as well. The Chiefs got good performances from a few of their rookies yesterday, but the results made it clear that much more is needed going forward.