The Kansas City Chiefs will head down to Phoenix to face the Arizona Cardinals in preseason action this Saturday from State Farm Stadium.
Chiefs Preseason Preview
Kansas City began preseason play with a narrow 26-24 loss to New Orleans. The Chiefs let former Fresno quarterback Jake Haener drive the Saints down the field for two late scores, and they’ll look to regroup here in the desert. Shane Buechele and Blaine Gabbert were solid in their roles, but a fourth-quarter turnover from Chris Oladokun altered the outcome. Buechele took the first snaps after Patrick Mahomes exit, so he may have the upper hand on the QB2 spot.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire and La’Mical Perine are battling it out for the RB3 role, but the real hype hovers over the receiving corps. There will be snaps for the taking at the wide receiver position this season, and although the number one pass catching belongs to Travis Kielce, Justyn Ross and Rashee Rice have a real chance to carve out roles on the outside. Ross picked up an injury this week in practice, so he’ll likely miss this contest, but he caught a touchdown last week, and could find himself starting if he remains healthy. Rice, KC’s third round pick from SMU, caught three passes for 30 yards, and he flashed the ability and speed to become potentially become a weapon useful with Mahomes this season.
Cardinals Preseason Preview
Arizona opened the preseason with a heroic one-point win in Phoenix over Denver, 18-17. The Cardinals were held scoreless in the first half, and they’d use a last second touchdown pass to escape with the victory.
With Kyler Murray still on the shelf due to a late season knee injury, the QB2 behind Colt McCoy is up for grabs. Former Houston quarterback Clayton Tune outgained returning quarterback David Blough with 135 passing yards, but the latter provided a memorable moment by tossing a touchdown with two seconds to spare. Former Ravens running back Ty’son Williams led the backfield with 51 rushing yards, while UDFA Brian Cobbs caught the game-winning score.
Corey’s Free Pick
The margin on this contest makes it tricky, as the Chiefs are no doubt the better org, and the Cardinals got really lucky last week. This being the preseason may be the lone and biggest advantage the Cards will have here, and after rallying back from eighteen points last weekend, we saw a lot of fight in Jonathan Gannon’s squad. With a lot guys fighting for position on an unproven Arizona squad, let’s spot the Cards the points at home for this preseason matchup.