Arrowheadlines: Kansas City Chiefs News 8/14

Game Recap: Seahawks Convert Late Hail Mary, Defeat Chiefs, 17-16 from Chiefs.com

The Seattle Seahawks never led the Kansas City Chiefs with time on the game clock Saturday afternoon. They still managed to win.

Trailing 16-9 as the clock hit zero, Seahawks backup quarterback Trevone Boykin heaved a Hail Mary pass from his own 49-yard line into the right part of the end zone. Covered only by Chiefs cornerback Malcolm Jackson, Seattle wide receiver Tanner McEvoy high-pointed the ball for the touchdown.

Rather than settle for overtime, Seattle head coach Pete Carroll sent his offense back out for a two-point conversion, and a Kansas City 12-men-on-the-field penalty moved them a yard closer. Running back Troymaine Pope was then able to run the ball up the middle for the 17-16 Seahawks victory.

Chiefs vs. Seahawks: 10 Observations from Chiefs.com

While the final score isn't what the Kansas City Chiefs wanted to see after their first preseason game, the fact is there's plenty to feel good about if you're the Chiefs.

Here are 10 observations from Saturday's game:

1. First-team offense gets it going early

It didn't take long for the Chiefs offense to show an ability to efficiently move the ball against a very good Seahawks defense.

After a 34-yard kickoff return from Knile Davis, which also resulted in an additional 15 yards because of a facemask penalty, Alex Smith's first-team offense was able to put up a touchdown in just eight plays.

The drive culminated with a Spencer Ware 1-yard touchdown run.

What We Learned From Saturday's Media Availability from Chiefs.com

Q: Alright Alex, you get one drive to show them your stuff, were you locked in on one drive or were you going to go until you scored? "Yeah, first quarter is what we were told. You know, I think the older you get you try not to do too much. Obviously you know you have limited time and it's easy to say, ‘oh we've got to score, we've got to do this.' For me, just kind of, ‘let's go out and be in the moment and be in each play and try to go out and execute.' We didn't put a huge emphasis on game planning this game so it was really just kind of go out, for me just kind of trust any of the training we've talked about all of camp and offseason and just go out and make the plays that were there."

Q: With the emphasis being on staying healthy the first round, and then just execute, is that something? "Yeah you're just trying, I mean you've been going against each other for two straight weeks and here's a chance to basically go against a different team. They haven't seen our stuff we haven't seen their stuff and how do you match up? You know, I'm sure neither team put a lot of emphasis on game planning, so really you're going out with your fundamentals. Obviously it's a dress rehearsal, practice in that sense almost."

Chiefs' first-string offense passes its first test in 17-16 preseason loss to Seattle Seahawks from The Kansas City Star

Rest assured, the players who truly mattered Saturday — like the first-teamers, who left after a quarter — had been long out of the game by then.

But when they were in the game, they made an impression. Much of that had to do with Smith, who completed 3 of 4 passes for 36 yards and spread the ball to three different receivers, including his undisputed No. 1 guy, Jeremy Maclin, and two tight ends — Ross Travis (for 11 yards) and Demetrius Harris (for 5 yards).

Smith's throw to Maclin, in particular, provided a small glimpse of what the Chiefs hope will be the best season of his career. Smith is 32 years old, and he's entering his fourth year of the offense under Reid. All throughout camp, he's looked more decisive and aggressive.

News and notes from Seahawks 17-16 win over Chiefs from Chiefs Digest

The Chiefs defense dominated much of the game, limiting Seattle to just three long field goals until the final play of the game. The Chiefs offense, however, struggled to find its rhythm after the first team offense scored on its only drive.

"We ended up playing everybody," coach Andy Reid said. "First time I've ever played five quarterbacks, and I'm not sure if they absolutely got into a rhythm. Last year, they had a chance to get in and do that."

Chiefs hope to learn from last-second loss to Seattle on Hail Mary pass from The Kansas City Star

"He made a play," he said, simply.

Jackson was referring to Seattle rookie receiver Tanner McAvoy, who caught a jump ball 37-yard jump ball touchdown over him in the waning seconds of the loss.

Now, Jackson could have mentioned that he was curiously matched up in single coverage in a prevent situation against McAvoy, who — at a listed 6 feet 6 and 230 pounds, has seven inches on him.

But instead, he took responsibility for the play, and vowed to keep getting better.

Chiefs' defense starts with takeaway, ends with giveway from The Kansas City Star

The Chiefs' starting defense kept Seattle out of the end zone, holding the Seahawks to three field goals and helped Kansas City maintain a lead for nearly every minute of the game.

But ultimately, the defense didn't get it done. The Seahawks scored their only touchdown on a long pass on the final play of regulation and converted a two-point play to win 17-16 on Saturday.

"We stayed in the game, we had a chance to win the game, but we didn't get it done," Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson said.

If ever a loss seems meaningless in the NFL, it's a preseason game. Still ...

"I wouldn't say acceptable, but they made a heck of a play, you have to tip your hat to them," Chiefs outside linebacker Dezman Moses said.

Chiefs hit on top draft pick Chris Jones, judging from preseason opener from ESPN

Much went right for the Kansas City Chiefs in Saturday's preseason opener against the Seattle Seahawks, but maybe the most important takeaway is that they appear to have made the correct choice on their top draft pick.

Defensive lineman Chris Jones, a second-round pick from Mississippi State, was one of the more impressive players in the Chiefs' 17-16 loss at Arrowhead Stadium.

Chiefs linebackers make impact versus Seahawks from Chiefs Digest

Linebacker Dezman Moses showed flashes of the team's depth in the defensive front seven. His play single-handedly wreaked havoc with back-to-back Seattle drives in the second quarter. The fifth-year veteran finished with a tackle for a loss, two quarterback hurries and a pass defended.

"If you can't get there as a rush then you got to obviously make an effect a different way, and that's getting your hands on the ball," Moses said of his pass defense. "That's what I tried to do right there."

The absence of Pro Bowl linebackers Justin Houston and Tamba Hali provide Moses with additional opportunities in both training camp and preseason games. Both players remain on the physically unable to perform list. The Chiefs expect Hali back by the beginning of the season but Houston could remain on the sidelines longer.

His eight snaps vs. Seahawks were well worth the trouble to Alex Smith from ESPN

"Quarterbacks have the yellow jersey on in practice so it's not totally live," Smith said, referring to the practice shirts that signify to teammates they should keep their hands off. "It's not totally real football for us. Here's a chance where it was and a chance to kind of let your instincts come into play as well. Broken plays happen. The true test of a quarterback is on game day, for sure."

"It was good. The biggest thing you want is to move the chains a few times, get into a rhythm, extend a drive. Nothing worse than putting a three and out together."

Chiefs find plays for all five quarterbacks from The Kansas City Star

They all played to about their expectation, meaning the Chiefs likely will pick up where they entered the game. In order after Smith, it's Nick Foles, Tyler Bray, Aaron Murray and Kevin Hogan.

Foles and Bray were the most heavily scrutinized. Foles because he suited up with the Chiefs for the first time eight days ago, and Bray because he missed all of last season because of torn knee ligament.

Both had their moments, with Bray needing more time to knock off rust. But he had perhaps the best throw among the quarterbacks.

Dee Ford's critical season for the Chiefs begins with ... not much from The Kansas City Star

The closest he came to an impactful play was a bull rush in which he raised a hand close enough to perhaps get into Seahawks quarterback Trevone Boykin's vision, but it would be more than a generous stretch to say Ford caused the incompletion.

When the coaches review the video, they'll see Ford being easily controlled on most snaps by a single blocker. On most snaps, that single blocker was Garry Gilliam, one of Pro Football Focus' worst-rated tackles from last year. Gilliam took out Ford's legs on the first snap, and spent most of the rest of his time confidently standing his ground.

At least twice, Ford failed to hold the edge. One of those would've been a third-down conversion but for a holding penalty. On the other, Ford allowed himself to be pushed too far upfield, and by the time he shed the block it was too late, and the Seahawks had an 8-yard run.

Kicker Cairo Santos booms 58-yard field goal in Chiefs' preseason opener vs. Seahawks from The Kansas City Star

Boom! The ball sailed through with room to spare to give the Chiefs a 16-6t lead in the third quarter. Had this been a regular-season game, Santos would have tied the club record for distance. Nick Lowery booted 58-yarders in 1983 and 1985.

Seahawks shock Chiefs with last-second victory in preseason opener from The Seattle Times

Indeed, the bigger picture was that the Seahawks looked a little ragged while their first and second units were on the field.

The first team offense drove 61 yards the first time it had the ball. But Russell Wilson then threw a pass to Jermaine Kearse a bit too inside allowing former UW star Marcus Peters to pick it off in the end zone.

"Just a little late on that one ball,'' said Wilson, who played only one series.  "I tried to move a little bit and the guy just made a good play.''

Seattle Seahawks Defeat Kansas City Chiefs 17-16 In Preseason Opener from Seahawks.com

Led by rookie quarterback Trevone Boykin, the Seahawks mounted a fourth quarter comeback to stake a 17-16 victory in their preseason opener against the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday afternoon at Arrowhead Stadium.

With the game clock completely wound down, Boykin found fellow rookie wide receiver Tanner McEvoy for a 37-yard touchdown to pull Seattle within one point of Kansas City. And of course, because it's preseason, Seattle elected to go for two, with Boykin handing the ball off to running back Troymaine Pope, who found the end zone and gave the Seahawks a win.

Hail Mary lifts Seahawks to 17-16 preseason win over Chiefs from MyNorthwest.com

The Seahawks celebrated a victory that was as improbable as almost any victory outside Seattle's comeback against Green Bay in the 2014 NFC Championship Game.

A three-quarters empty Arrowhead Stadium was the only clue that while the win was improbable, it may not have been all that important.

Wait. That's not quite right. It was incredibly important to backup quarterback Trevone Boykin, who re-entered the game in the fourth quarter and led the Seahawks first to a field goal and then to the game-winning touchdown, which was scored with no time remaining as Seattle snatched a 17-16 victory in its preseason opener.

Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson: ‘Cool way to start off the preseason' from The Seattle Times

"We love winning. Obviously it's a preseason game and the Kansas City Chiefs are a great football team, but for us we just like winning. We just like seeing the guys. What it's really about too is the idea of celebrating one another. I think you see so many guys try to make a team, there's 53 guys on a team and you see a guy make a play, or you see a guy make a catch, or you see a guy maybe not make a play but come back and make the next one. That's what this team's really all about is loving on one another and making plays."

Charcandrick West, Spencer Ware lead Chiefs to strong first half showing against Seahawks from ProFootballTalk

The Kansas City Chiefs had one of the strongest rushing games in the league last season and appear to have picked up right where they left off.

Charcandrick West and Spencer Warecombined for 64 yards on nine carries with Ware's 1-yard touchdown run carrying the Chiefs to a 13-3 halftime lead over the Seattle Seahawks in their preseason opener.

Best friends, Colton High teammates Jimmy Smith, Shareece Wright glad to reunite with Ravens from The Baltimore Sun

That feeling extends to Harold Strauss, who coached both at Colton. The 2005 Yellowjackets had six players who are currently playing in the NFL or have been on an NFL regular-season roster.

Linebacker Allen Bradford played parts of five pro seasons, the last one with the Atlanta Falcons in 2015. Quarterback Brad Sorensen once backed up Philip Rivers with the San Diego Chargers. His younger brother, Daniel Sorensen, is a defensive back with the Kansas City Chiefs. Nat Berhe is a safety with the New York Giants.

Then, there's Smith and Wright, the top two cornerbacks at Colton who now occupy the same role with the Ravens 11 years later.

ASU's 50 Best Professional Athletes: No. 10: NFL Hall-of-Famer Curley Culp from House of Sparky

It's not often an athlete enjoys the same, if not more, magnitude of success in the professional ranks as in his or her collegiate days.

This was the case for Curley Culp, who followed up an All-American stint with the Arizona State Sun Devils with a Hall-of-Fame career in the NFL, being regarded as one of the most dominant defensive tackles in the sport's history.

Starring under renowned coach Frank Kush, Culp emerged as a First-Team All-WAC and All-American defensive lineman from 1965-67. Culp's time in Tempe, however, is best known for being a two-sport star as he won the NCAA wrestling championship in the heavyweight division in 1967 and earned a trip to the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.

Russell Wilson intercepted on lone possession in preseason opener from ESPN

Wilson and the offense drove 61 yards on 10 plays but failed to put points on the board. Wilson bought some time after a play fake and tried to connect with wide receiver Jermaine Kearse in the end zone. But Chiefs cornerback Marcus Petersundercut Kearse and came away with the pick.

"Just a little late on the throw," Wilson said during the TV broadcast. "Just moved a little bit and left it inside, but that's why you practice. That's why you keep trying to get better. Looking forward, it won't happen again."

Nicolas impresses in his first NFL game from 247Sports

In his first professional outing, Nicolas recorded three total tackles, including one sack, against the Seattle Seahawks. NFL.com has posted a video of Nicolas' first professional sack on Saturday afternoon under their "Big Play Highlights".

Brazil makes field goal near the middle of the field in the preseason NFL from ESPN Brazil [translated from the original Portuguese]

First and only Brazilian to act in the NFL today, Cairo Santos started on the right foot, literally preseason football league.

In defeat the Kansas City Chiefs before the Seattle Seahawks by 17-16 in preseason debut, the Brazilian risked a field goal of 58 yards at Arrowhead Stadium and managed to hit the "Y".

Seahawks note Hail Marry the clock burst and win Chiefs from The Playoffs [translated from the original Portuguese]

The preseason NFL could not get more exciting. The Seattle Seahawks won 17-16 the Kansas City Chiefs , in the Arrowhead Stadium, with a Hail Marry the clock burst.

Despite the defeat,  Cairo Santos  converted three field goals, including a 58-yard, and was the highlight of the house owners.