Kansas City Chiefs end preseason with 34-21 loss to Chicago Bears
The Kansas City Chiefs finished their preseason slate Thursday night, losing 34-21 to the Chicago Bears to wrap up a winless exhibition campaign.
It was less of a dress rehearsal for a season and more so a final evaluation period for fringe roster players on both sides, though, with each team resting nearly their entire starting units.
Most of the notable Chiefs who saw the field Thursday night were defensive players. That includes rookie safety Jaden Hicks, a fourth-round pick, who made four tackles, one tackle for loss and broke up a pass. Third-year cornerback Jaylen Watson, a candidate for a starting job in Week 1, led all Chiefs in tackles with seven while also recording a PBU. Defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi, another potential Week 1 starter, played limited snaps and tallied two tackles.
Quarterback Chris Oladokun played the whole first half for Kansas City, going 9-of-16 passing for 66 yards and two interceptions. He was spelled by Ian Book in the third quarter, who threw for 71 yards on 6-of-9 passing with a pair of touchdowns.
Carson Steele, an undrafted rookie running back from UCLA and the breakout star of the Chiefs’ first preseason game, was Kansas City’s leading rusher with four carries for 50 yards and a touchdown.
“We had some good snaps in here,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “The best part was we were able to get all the guys in there to have an opportunity to play and put it on tape so [Chiefs general manager Brett Veach] can evaluate it here, tomorrow and for the next couple days.”
While the Chiefs went winless in the preseason, the Bears finished their four-game preseason slate with a perfect record.
The next major date on the NFL calendar is Tuesday, Aug. 27 when all teams must trim their rosters down to 53 players. Then, by the following Wednesday, Sept. 4, all teams must be under the salary cap. The Chiefs will then open the season the following day when they host the Baltimore Ravens in a rematch of last season’s AFC Championship Game.
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