The Seahawks beat the Chiefs, 17-16. Let’s look at some of the winners and losers from the game...
The winners
Alex Smith and Spencer Ware
We didn’t see the full array of the Chiefs offense. Jeremy Maclin had just one catch. Travis Kelce, Chris Conley and Albert Wilson had none. Jamaal Charles wasn’t playing.
That said ... that was a great drive from the Chiefs first team offense. So good that Alex didn’t even finish the first quarter like Andy Reid suggested he would.
Alex Smith was the best quarterback on the field and it showed. It wasn’t close. We haven’t always been able to say that in the past. He was efficient, he looked to be in command of the huddle and he showed some of his strengths like his athleticism on a pass to Jeremy Maclin down to the one yard line.
Spencer Ware ran with authority - five carries for 24 yards. I spoke with him for a few minutes after the game. More on that later but he’s going to be a good one. He and Jamaal Charles? Thunder and lightning, baby.
It’s a Big Red party
It was also a win for Andy Reid and his play calling. The Chiefs have looked really strong on their first scripted drive of the game before because Andy Reid is very good at that. Give Big Red’s team some time to prepare and you know they’ll be ready. This was a confirmation of that.
We have an NFL offensive line, folks
Ohhhhh boy. The offensive line looked really, really good. Mitch Schwartz was the big addition but we also have another year of improvement for Eric Fisher and Mitch Morse. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif has NFL ability but it has been about putting it together. He did a good job of that as did rookie Parker Ehinger.
The Marcus Peters hype
Year two is off to a good start. We tell you just about every day at camp that he gets an interception. Alex Smith is not a bad quarterback so intercepting him is impressive. Peters showed in this game that the hype was real as he picked off Russell Wilson in the end zone and tip toed the sideline to maintain possession.
Peters is going to give up big plays. We know that. But you test him enough times, he’ll get you.
More: Watch his INT
De’Anthony Thomas is an NFL player
Yeah, yeah the final Hail Mary before the end of the half was stat padding. I got that. However, DAT has had a good training camp. He had three catches for 46 yards in this game to help confirm he’s had a good camp.
Seeing him returning punts and catching passes reminded me that he can still have some sort of role in the NFL. He belongs on an NFL roster. I’m not sure if that will be in KC because it’s tough to make the numbers work but he’s better than the average Chiefs cut, if that’s what happens.
Dave Toub’s decision-making
Remember a few years ago when the Chiefs cut Ryan Succop in favor of a little player named Cairo Santos? And how that was a bad decision? Sooo, about that ... that little guy drilled a 58-freakin-yard field goal in this game. He may not make that every week - he may not attempt that every week - but to show that he can is promising. Santos has clearly gotten better from that first year. He’s consistent, which is all you can ask for.
The fans and the media
My gosh, that was almost an overtime preseason game. THANK YOU Pete Carroll for going for two at the end of the game and avoiding overtime.
The losers
The pass rush
I haven’t re-watched the game yet so I went back and forth as to whether I would include this here but the pass rush .... they were there, I guess? This Seahawks offensive line was not good. It’s not a shot at Dee Ford or Frank Zombo or any of them. They’re not Justin Houston and Tamba Hali, who did not dress. The Chiefs are not the same team without those two and we know that.
(Update: On my initial re-watch, Chris Jones, Dezman Moses and Dadi Nicolas had strong games. Not as bad as I thought)
Tyler Bray
Putting him in the loser category isn’t totally accurate. This is more about him not winning than it is about him losing, if that makes any sense (yeah I know it doesn’t).
I wanted Bray to come out with a great game and show off what we’ve seen a number of times in training camp. We saw glimpses of it with that pass to Rod Streater. With Alex Smith and Nick Foles seemingly entrenched as the top two quarterbacks, I wanted him to either prove he belongs in Kansas City or put on a show for the other 31 teams.
He was 3-of-9 passing. His arm talent was evident. He had two passes over 20 yards. Clearly, he has an NFL arm and he belongs in an NFL locker room. However, the accuracy was a little off at times. The touch pass on the outlet pass to the backs wasn’t quite there.
The upside? This was his first game in two years. It’ll get better.
Parking
It sucked. Like it has for a few years. I swear it wasn’t like this in the 1990s when it was packed, right? I’m not just remembering the good ‘ol days differently am I? The parking certainly seems to have gotten worse each year.
The refs
Dadi Nicolas was held on the Hail Mary, folks.