Game: Kansas City Chiefs @ Arizona Cardinals
Date / Time: Saturday, August 19, 2023, at 7 P.M. CT
Place: State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona
TV: KCTV5 (Kansas City residences only) or stream on NFL+
Listen: 106.5 The Wolf (Kansas City residences only)
Betting Line (BetUS): Chiefs -7.5 – Under/Over: 40.5
The Kansas City Chiefs will take the field on Saturday evening for their second preseason contest against the Arizona Cardinals. The last time the Chiefs played at State Farm Stadium was last February when they defeated Philadelphia to win Super Bowl 57.
The Chiefs coaching staff learned a few things about this year’s squad last week against New Orleans. Part of this week’s focus will be giving the starting units ample time to shake the rust off after an unimpressive performance last week. Head coach Andy Reid told reporters on Thursday that the starters will have the entire first half to play.
“As far as the play time goes for this coming game,” Reid declared, “ones will go for a half, and then we’ll mix in the twos and threes in the third and fourth quarters. Obviously, there are things that happen during the game. Don’t hold me completely accountable for all that if we pull people out whenever.”
One player responsible for the team’s uninspired play last week is quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who says he expects ‘better energy’ from the ones this Saturday night.
“Better energy [and] better urgency from the get-go,” Mahomes started. “I thought the young guys did a great job in the second half [and] kind of picking it up. But I think just from the get-go, offense, and defense, just having that urgency to go out there and compete. It’s a preseason game, and obviously, the results don’t necessarily matter, but they do if you want to build a culture of winning,” he explained.
“We have a lot of young guys, and even though they won a Super Bowl, they know how to respond and get even better the second year. So, I think just having better urgency from the get-go throughout the entire game, not as much the result, you obviously want to win, but you want to have that mentality throughout the entire game.”
How long the starting offense remains on the field will depend on their success. Last season in their second exhibition game, Reid’s offense played two whole series in the first quarter that both ended in touchdowns before getting pulled from the game. Typically, the first-team offense and defense will play most of the first quarter unless Reid feels the ones need more time to shake the rust off.
Kansas City has a hand full of players looking to build off solid performances last week against the Saints. Quarterback Shane Buechele appears determined to take the QB2 role from Blaine Gabbert after throwing 11 of 18 for 155 yards and two scores. Another big game from the 25-year-old will further make the Chiefs’ backup QB controversy an even bigger story coming out of the preseason.
Another player that will aim for another huge game will be undrafted rookie wide receiver Nikko Remigio, who suffered a minor injury in the final week of training camp. Remigio leads the Chiefs in receiving after finishing last week with four catches for 71 yards. Kansas City’s wide receiver room is currently stacked with talent (as usual), but Remigio is a name that has emerged from the rest of the bunch this summer.
Finally, veteran wide receiver Richie James is a guy that showed he could fit right in as a home-run threat in the Chiefs’ offense after finishing with two receptions for 44 yards and a touchdown. James caught a 43-yard bomb from Blaine Gabbert in the second quarter to convert a 1st and 15. James put Kansas City on the board three plays later with a one-yard touchdown catch.
Now that training camp has concluded, Kansas City’s coaching staff must use these final two preseason games to evaluate who’ll be a part of the initial 53-man roster. Unlike past years, the NFL introduced a new rule for 2023 that requires all 32 teams to reduce their respective roster down from 90 to 53 players by one firm date. This year, 53-man rosters must be reached by Tuesday, August 29, at 3 p.m. CDT.
