Scouting The Kansas City Chiefs: Steelers Preseason Week 2
After a close week one win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, we will get yet another look at our Pittsburgh Steelers this week. This week, they are playing in a Saturday night game against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs are coming off of an impressive 2018 season and are picked by many experts to be the favorites in the AFC. Although they didn’t play their starters very much, they are coming off a 38-17 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in their first preseason game. However, as we all know, that isn’t saying a whole lot against this year’s Cincinnati team. With that being said let’s take a closer look at this week’s preseason opponent, the Kansas City Chiefs.
Mahomes Looks To Have Another MVP-Caliber Season
As we all know, quarterback Patrick Mahomes set the league on fire last season. He finished second in the league in passing (behind Ben Roethlisberger), led the Chiefs to a 12-4 record and AFC Championship appearance, and was named the NFL “MVP”. Obviously, he will be looking to do the same and more this season.
Last week against the Bengals, he appeared in one quarter and completed all four of his passes for 66 yards. With that in mind, I will be curious to see how much he plays on Saturday.
While Mahomes is great, he will still need some weapons. As of now, it looks like his top target from last year, Tyreek Hill, will be back, along with Sammy Watkins and tight end Travis Kelce, who is arguably the best tight end in the league. Another player that I am anxious to see in action is rookie wide receiver Mecole Hardman who was taken in the second round out of Georgia. Hardman has the type of deep speed that can truly stretch the field, which is especially dangerous when you have a quarterback with an arm like Mahomes.
As far as the backfield goes, they parted ways with Kareem Hunt last season so it will be up to Damien Williams to fill in as his replacement. Williams did a decent job in the postseason last year, rushing for 159 yards and two touchdowns. Behind Williams in the backfield will be former Brown and 49er, Carlos Hyde, and rookie Darwin Thompson out of Utah State.
Chiefs Defense Must Improve From 2018
While Kansas City’s offense was close to unstoppable last season, their defense was the complete opposite. In fact, if their defense would’ve been better, I believe they’d be the defending Super Bowl champs. They finished second to last in the league in total defense, allowing 405.5 total yards per game. With that being said, all the pressure should be on this defense to start the season.
On the defensive front, the Chiefs, unfortunately, lost Dee Ford in free agency. However, have two new faces at the defensive ends. They signed Alex Okafor in free agency and acquired Frank Clark in a trade with the Seahawks. Clark is especially a huge addition for this defense as he finished with 13 sacks last season. They will be joined on the line by Chris Jones and Derrick Nnadi. Another name that I’m excited to see how often they use him is rookie Khalen Saunders out of Western Illinois, who should rotate in at defensive tackle. At linebacker, Justin Houston moved on to the Indianapolis Colts. With that being said, they will be relying on Anthony Hitchens to lead this group. He will be joined by Reggie Ragland, Damien Wilson, and former New York Jet, Darron Lee.
Unfortunately, it looks like the Chiefs have moved on from safety Eric Berry. He is still a free agent and they have signed his replacement in Tyrann Mathieu, who I believe will be a great fit in Kansas City. He will be joined at safety by Daniel Sorensen, who I believe could have his spot taken by rookie Juan Thornhill from Virginia. Thornhill and Mathieu could be a dangerous duo in the secondary. Kendall Fuller and Bashaud Breeland are listed as the starting corners with Morris Claiborne also in the mix. This secondary group has a lot to prove after the struggles of last season.
Final Thoughts
As we should all know, preseason football isn’t always an indication of how the regular season is going to pan out. This is especially true with a lot of the starters still not likely to see much playing time. However, it is still nice to get a first look at some of the younger players and guys that are fighting for roster spots.
With that being said, I’ll go with the Steelers winning by a touchdown with the hopes that Benny Snell, Jr., can get it going on the ground, along with Mason Rudolph getting the start at quarterback.
