Chiefs starters will play into second half vs. Vikings; Tyler Bray in after Alex Smith

The Kansas City Chiefs starters will play into the second half on Saturday night against the Minnesota Vikings, according to Andy Reid, who said the Chiefs will "kind of go from there" after the starters enter the third quarter. This will be the most action the Chiefs starters have seen in the preseason after playing the first quarter in Week 1 and the first half in Week 2. This holds with tradition as most teams treat the third preseason game as the closest one to the real thing. Here's how Reid handled the preseason last year.

"Our job as an offense is to move the ball," Alex Smith said this week, "put some points on the board and last week, you know, we struggled in the red zone for a lot of different reasons. This week it would be nice to capitalize on some of those drives."

Playing them into the second half allows the young players to experience an NFL halftime. They'll be able to go into the locker room, fix whatever needs to be fixed with the coaches and then get back out there for the second half. That's a critical part of an NFL game.

We won't be able to draw many conclusions from just a half of play but it will be good to see both the offense and defense see extended action. I want to see the Chiefs edge rushers get after it a little bit. I also want to see the Chiefs offensive line put under pressure again because they'll have to perform.

Additionally, Tyler Bray will be the first quarterback in after Alex Smith. If you remember, Bray did not play last week. The Chiefs instead went with Chase Daniel for just a series to start the third quarter and then rolled with Aaron Murray the rest of the half.

Reid mentioned last week that this was the plan with the backup quarterbacks so the Chiefs aren't flying by the seat of their pants here. It will be great to see extended action for Bray, who Reid reportedly thought was the most improved player in camp. The Chiefs backup quarterback position is influx so this could help us answer some questions.

Last week Murray went 5-of-9 for 81 yards and one touchdown and one interception in his second NFL game. His first NFL completion was a 43-yard touchdown pass to Travis Kelce so that's a good start.

As for an injury report this week, the Chiefs are without Jamaal Charles, Eric Berry and Dwayne Bowe in practice. No word yet on whether those guys will play in this game. My gut says that's doubtful for Charles and Berry but we shall see.