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The Chiefs' three-year preseason losing streak is over — but they still haven't won a preseason game since Aug. 27, 2023.
The reigning Super Bowl champions visiting Arrowhead Stadium should have been a bigger deal.
But in the third preseason game, when neither Kansas City nor the Seattle Seahawks are inclined to risk injury to key players, it wasn’t.
When kicker Jason Myers pushed a 52-yard field goal try wide right as time expired, the game ended in a 9-9 tie and no one seemed too bothered.
Still, the game has implications for roster cutdowns, which must be completed by the NFL deadline: 5 p.m. Central on Sunday.
Here are five takeaways:
1. Inconsistent Armstrong
Andrew Armstrong or a fourth tight end may be the battle for a back-end skill-position roster spot.
From my perspective, Armstrong probably needed to take the spot and make himself uncuttable.
The Chiefs have used more multiple-tight end sets in recent years, which is part of a wider NFL trend.
Perimeter blocking might be at a premium with Patrick Mahomes returning from a knee injury and in anticipation that Kansas City will run from under center more in 2026, which means the Chiefs' staff might lean toward keeping an extra tight end.
Armstrong has had great moments, including a diving grab as he reached behind his body and a 15-yard catch late in the first half, but he also dropped on a crossing route in the first quarter and bobbled a short throw into the flats.
That inconsistency may be his undoing.
Backup tight ends Jared Wiley and Jake Briningstool have had similarly bright moments with fewer of the nervy ones, which may give them the edge when the 53-man roster is announced around 5 p.m. on Sunday, when the NFL deadline to trim rosters arrives.
Regardless, Armstrong, who had a game-best five catches for a team-high 54 yards, has shown enough to earn a practice squad spot.
Wiley made two catches for 27 yards, and Briningstool had two catches for 19 yards.
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2. New Thomas to lead Chiefs pass rush
Derrick Thomas had 10 sacks as a rookie in 1989. That remains the standard for a rookie pass-rusher in franchise history.
But who’s betting against R Mason Thomas joining the seven previous Chiefs rookies with five or more sacks after watching him dominate off the edge during the preseason? That included a strip-sack when he blew up Jalen Milroe in the second quarter.
All the normal caveats about exhibition games apply, but Thomas certainly looks the part of an NFL pass rusher.
At this point, fair or not, five sacks feels like a minimum expectation for the 6-foot-2, 249-pound rookie from Oklahoma.
It’s a strong list of Chiefs pass-rushers with five-plus sacks as a rookie — Derrick Thomas, Jared Allen (9.0 in 2004), Tamba Hali (8.0 in 2006), George Karlaftis (6.0 in 2022), Justin Houston (5.5 in 2011), Bill Maas (5.0 in 1984) and Tim Cofield (5.0 in 1986).
3. Enough from Nussmeier?
He battled. That’s the best you can say about rookie seventh-round quarterback Garrett Nussmeier.
Throughout the preseason, Nussmeier has shown flashes of elite arm strength and second-reaction ability juxtaposed with questionable decision-making under duress. There was more of the same against the Seahawks.
Nussmeier played the entire game for Kansas City, finishing 22 of 34 for 272 yards with 1 interception.
He led 10 drives, which netted three field goals and a missed 58-yard field goal on the night.
The Chiefs haven’t kept three QBs on the initial 53-man roster since 2022 and have done so only once since Patrick Mahomes’ rookie season in 2017, but Nussmeier might be intriguing enough to buck that trend.
4. No longer running on empty
Kenneth Walker III didn’t play — and has barely played in the preseason — but the Chiefs’ run game continued to impress.
Emari Demercado, who had nine carries for 37 yards, Emmett Johnson, who had seven carries for 39 yards, and Brashard Smith, who finished with 16 carries for 72 yards, totaled 32 carries for 148 yards and collectively added four receptions for 25 more yards.
When the Chiefs’ offense was at its best during Eric Bieniemy’s first tenure as coordinator, the playcalling had balance, and the run game had an edge.
All signs point to a return to that style as he retakes the reins of Kansas City’s offense.
5. Nikko Remigio’s job seems safe
Brashard Smith had a scintillating 57-yard kickoff return, but Nikko Remigio, who has been the Chiefs’ primary return specialist for the last two seasons, also impressed with a 31-yard return.
He also had a 12-yard punt return, while Jacob De Jesus, who is unlikely to make the 53-man roster, handled the other punt returns.
Given the fact that no true challenger emerged for Remigio’s return job, it would be shocking to see him left off the regular-season roster at this point.
Injury update
Cornerback Melvin Smith (ribs) left the game midway through the first quarter and didn’t return. He’s a long shot to make the roster, but he’s impressed at times during camp and in the preseason.
Smith is a strong practice-squad candidate.
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