Arrowheadlines: Kansas City Chiefs News 8/16

Kansas City Chiefs Defeat the Arizona Cardinals 34-19 from The Associated Press via The Mothership

Arizona's Carson Palmer was flawless in a brief appearance, Kansas City backup Chase Danielthrew for three touchdowns and the Chiefs beat the Cardinals 34-19 in the teams' preseason opener Saturday night.

Palmer, in his first game since tearing an ACL last Nov. 9, was 4 for 4 for 77 yards, directing a seven-play, 80-yard touchdown drive to start the game before sitting down for the night. Palmer threw over the middle to Andre Ellington on a 57-play to highlight the seven-play, 80-yard drive.

Arizona's Tyrann Mathieu intercepted Alex Smith's pass on the Chiefs' first possession to set up a field goal to put Arizona up 10-0. The Kansas City reserves scored the next 31 points.

Daniel was 17 for 29 for 189 yards in two quarters of play.

Chiefs vs. Cardinals: 11 Observations from The Mothership

1. Eric Berry's return to the field

This game was about more than football.

Just nine months removed from a cancer diagnosis, Eric Berry returned to the field on Saturday night for the Chiefs defense. In an emotional moment just seconds before kickoff, Berry ran over to his mother, Carol, who was on the sideline, and hugged her before joining his teammates.

Berry spoke after the game to the media about how much Saturday night meant to him with everything that he's been through.

Simply put, it was an amazing night in Arizona for the Berry family, the Chiefs organization and all of Chiefs Kingdom.

What We Learned From Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid's Post-Game Press Conference from The Mothership

Reid felt that the first team could have performed better.

"The one's could have been sharper, with a long drive with their offense against our defense," he said. "We had a big play there and it was too much. Then we came back and tightened it up there with that second drive, defensively.

"Offensively, we had a couple blown assignments there and you blow an assignment and things are going to happen negatively. That's kind of what happened there with the interception. We've got to make sure to tighten that up and get better."

Chiefs vs. Cardinals: Postgame Facts and Stats from The Mothership

BERRY RETURNS TO THE GRIDIRON: Chiefs S Eric Berry saw action in his first game since last year's Nov. 20 contest at Oakland prior to being diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma on Nov. 24, 2014. He was declared cancer-free on June 22, 2015 and cleared to practice heading into training camp on July 28.

DEVITO AND JOHNSON RETURN TO STARTING LINEUP: Chiefs DE Mike DeVito and LB Derrick Johnson return to the starting lineup after they each suffered an Achilles injury in the club's season opener vs. Tennessee on Sept. 7, 2014.

ALLEN BACK IN THE LINEUP: OL Jeff Allen returned to the starting lineup at RT after sitting out the majority of last season with an elbow injury suffered during the club's season opener vs. Tennessee (9/7/14).

KCChiefs.com Video: Cardinals Crowd Honors Chiefs Safety Eric Berry

KCChiefs.com Videos: Chiefs vs. Cardinals: Game Highlights

KCChiefs.com Video: Chiefs Blueprint: Reid's Impressions of '15 Chiefs

Clark Hunt Discusses Eric Berry, Justin Houston During Preseason Opener from The Mothership

Q: What was your reaction when you saw Eric Berry playing football?

HUNT: "For the last eight months, it's just been such a tough period for Eric (Berry) and his family, and really for the entire Chiefs family. Our thoughts were with him as he went through his treatments, and we were all just hopeful that he was going to beat a very difficult opponent in cancer, and really, we're not thinking about him playing football. When we got to training camp this year and he was cleared to play a couple days before, I think we were all very, very excited and very surprised, and seeing him play tonight, what an exclamation point. It just says so much about his character."

Chiefs' Eric Berry, Chase Daniel highlight first preseason game highs from Chiefs Digest

The Chiefs' first preseason outing started out rough, but ended up in a walloping of the Arizona Cardinals 34-19.

The game will, despite being a preseason game, go down in the history books, but not in part by either the Chiefs or the Cardinals' doing.

The NFL's first female referee, Sarah Thomas, was a part of the officiating crew, while the NFL's first female coach, Jen Welter, was on Arizona's sideline, working with the linebackers.

Aside from making history, here are the highs and lows from Kansas City's first preseason game of 2015.

Eric Berry makes emotional return to the field against Cardinals from ESPN

Eric Berry didn't want to dismiss the importance of getting back to football, but he found upon his return to the Kansas City Chiefs that he also missed the things that surround the game. The smell of the grass. The camaraderie with his teammates in the locker room beforehand. The sounds of the crowd.

Berry got to experience all of that again on Saturday night before the Chiefs' preseason opener against the Arizona Cardinals in Glendale, Arizona.

Just thinking about it all moved Berry to tears on the flight from Kansas City to Phoenix on Friday.

S Eric Berry makes return as Chiefs cruise past Cardinals 34-19 in preseason opener from Chiefs Digest

Free safety Eric Berry didn't start, but his presence on the field less than a year after being diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma provided awe-inspiring moments as the Chiefs thumped the Cardinals, 34-19.

"It was great to have Eric back," coach Andy Reid told reporters after the game. "He was fired up. He was out of control in the locker room before the game. He was just excited. He was just ready to go. I'm very happy for him."

Chiefs serve notice on first play for passing attack plans from ESPN

The Kansas City Chiefs served notice on their first offensive play of the preseason what direction they intend to take their passing game. Quarterback Alex Smith threw deep down the left sideline for new wide receiver Jeremy Maclin in Saturday's night game against the Arizona Cardinals in Glendale, Arizona.

The play didn't work. Maclin was well-covered by cornerback Justin Bethel, and the pass was incomplete.

Chiefs don't get just one TD catch from a wide receiver, but three! from ESPN

Here are some quick thoughts on the Chiefs' 34-19 win over the Cardinals:

So that's what the end zone looks like: The starting offense couldn't score a touchdown in three possessions, but backup quarterback Chase Daniel threw scoring passes to wide receivers Fred Williams, Frankie Hammond Jr. and Da'Ron Brown.

Jen Welter, Sarah Thomas give preseason game a female flair from ESPN

Jen Welter walked from the sideline and shook hands with the line judge for the night's game between the Arizona Cardinals and Kansas City Chiefs.

This was no everyday meeting. More of a barrier-breaking one.

Once a men's-only world, the NFL entered a new era Saturday night, when Welter became the first woman to coach an NFL preseason game and Sarah Thomas became the first woman to work as a full-time on-field official.

Chiefs mailbag: How suspended, IR, PUP rules affect 53-man roster from Chiefs Digest

The short answer to carrying more than 53 players on the active roster after roster cuts is no, but the long answer requires scenarios.

Players serving a suspension, on injured reserve or injured reserve with a designation to return, and players starting the season on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list do not count against the active 53-man roster.

Starting cornerback Sean Smith serves a three-game suspension to start the season, meaning the Chiefs will need to move him to the reserve/suspended list on final roster cuts from 75 players to the 53-man roster on Sept. 5.

Chiefs player sneaks away for Daddy time with twin boys from KCTV5

Every day of training camp the loyal Chiefs fans wait outside for autographs and a chance to meet their heroes, but Howard's biggest fans are his twin 15 month old boys, Jordan and Jeremiah.

Howard's wife Shashana takes care of the twins throughout camp, but the big man sneaks in a little daddy time between practices.

"Every day. We were here last year as three month olds and we're back this year every day," Shashana said.

Chiefs Fantasy Camp benefits research and treatment of concussions from KCTV5

The Chiefs Fantasy Camp gives 100 fans an exclusive experience, behind-the-scenes access and a chance to learn from former Chiefs players.

All proceeds from the camp benefit the Center for Concussion Management.

The last day to sign up for the camp is Monday. Camp is Aug. 25 and 26.

Click here for more information and to register.

Denver Broncos huddle up on offense just as in the good old days from The Denver Post

The huddle's purpose has grown over the past century. The play call is only part of its function. It helps the offense burn time, allows players to focus and changes the pace.

"It's like you're a pitcher throwing an off-speed pitch, a fastball two-seam or a four-seam," said Broncos offensive coordinator Rick Dennison. "Depending on what you want to do, a huddle can use up a lot of clock, which helps out quite a bit too."

There remains order and etiquette in the huddle. In a sport in which no detail is too small, the huddle is diagrammed. Manning typically is on the side nearest the Broncos' sideline. The tight end stands across from him near the tackles. Then the running backs and receivers fill in around. The play calls can be simple or verbose. Led by coach Andy Reid, the Kansas City Chiefs string together 16 words: "Shift to halfback twin right open, swap 72 all-go special halfback shallow cross wide open," quarterback Alex Smith told The Kansas City Star as a hypothetical call.

Conversely, there was John Elway in the 1998 AFC championship game, telling Shannon Sharpe, after the huddle play call caused concern, "Go get open!"