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Chiefs kicker Succup lived up to his name (R.Hoffman/AP)
The Kansas City Chiefs fell to 0-3 in the preseason by dropping a 14-10 game to the visiting Seattle Seahawks at Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday night.
The Chiefs outlook on the game darkened during their first offensive series when starting quarterback Matt Cassel had to leave the game with a knee injury. He was replaced by an inconsistent Tyler Thigpen, who never seemed to look comfortable during his almost three quarters of work. Cassel never came back out of the locker room for the rest of the game.
The game started off well for the Chiefs defensively as cornerback Brandon Flowers turned an errant Matt Hasselbeck pass into a 28-yard interception return for a touchdown. The defense on the whole played well in the first quarter, but then things fell apart for them afterwards. Then, in keeping with the theme of the night for the Chiefs, he also left the game with an injury and never returned to the sidelines for the rest of the game.
Hasselbeck and the Seahawks figured out how to exploit the soft zone coverage that the Chiefs were playing and their offense kicked into high gear. At one point, the Seahawks moved the ball at will and Hasselbeck led them to touchdowns on two consecutive drives before he left the game. It continued even after the second string offense came into the game, led by back-up quarterback Seneca Wallace.
The Seahawks offensive efficiency was especially evident on third-down as the Chiefs defense simply could not force them into punting situations and Seattle drives continued.
Thigpen, on the other hand, couldn’t buy a first down if he wanted to.
Finally, the Chiefs fourth-string quarterback, Matt Gutierrez, entered the game and the Chiefs immediately got their first first-down of the second half – and then the third quarter ended. Yeah ... not a good quarter for the Chiefs.
Gutierrez actually moved the team downfield, but threw two costly fourth quarter interceptions that ended Chiefs drives.
Coach Todd Haley probably couldn’t be more upset with most of the squad right now – which is not good considering the first mandatory roster cut-down date is Tuesday September 1.
Random thoughts from the game:
The Good –
• When your overwhelming game MVP is the punter, Dustin Colquitt, you know things aren’t good. However, Colquitt was outstanding.
• Dwayne Bowe continued his rehabilitation out of the coaches’ doghouse catching everything thrown his way and blocking downfield on running plays.
• Brandon Flowers continued to show why he is the best defensive player on the team.
• Mike Vrabel may not have wanted to leave the New England Patriots in a trade, but he’s not showing it on the field. Vrabel was almost always in the right spot at the right time.
The Bad –
• Tyler Thigpen fans may want to stay quiet this week about how their guy hasn’t been given a chance to compete for a starting job or the #1 back-up job. He looked bad.
• I hope to heck that the soft zone defensive scheme was planned tonight no matter what, because the Chiefs will be last in the NFL in defense if it’s out of necessity
• Opposing receivers are still running free in the secondary. Not good.
• Three field goal kickers on both teams missed five out of six field goals. Seattle’s – I don’t care about, but Chiefs kicker, Ryan Succop, missed badly on a 29-yard attempt, and then hit the crossbar on a 54-yarder.
• The Chiefs pass rush started off strong in the first quarter and then completely disappeared for the rest of the game.
Maybe this is a bad indictment of the team, but is it wrong of me to think that the highlight of the evening so far was watching the New Orleans Saints humiliate the Oakland Raiders 45-7 earlier today?
For more info: Kansas City Star, KC Chiefs, Seattle coverage, Topeka Capital Journal coverage, NFL.com
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