The Kansas City Chiefs lost their preseason finale against the Chicago Bears 29-27 on Friday night, but the Chiefs’ starters looked sound.
The starting offense played for three drives, scoring three times and looking like a finely tuned machine.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw for 143 yards and a touchdown, while running back Isaiah Pacheco ran for 21 yards on only three handoffs and a touchdown.
The offense was as efficient as it could be — and in large part, this was due to the performance of the offensive line.
The unit has had a microscope on it ever since the disaster of Super Bowl LIX. Training camp’s hottest stories were about the play of rookie left tackle Josh Simmons and the transition of second-year player Kingsley Suamataia’s to left guard.
After a rough game a week ago in Seattle, the unit needed a good bounce-back that could boost its confidence before the regular season — and it got just that.
It’s no secret: the Chiefs want to get back to throwing the ball downfield, creating the explosive plays the offense has lacked during the last two seasons. With the development of Xavier Worthy (and the addition of Tyqaun Thornton), it looks like the Chiefs might have found two players who can stretch the field.
While having these speedy wideouts is important, the pass protection must be there to give Mahomes time to throw — and on Friday, it was.
On this play, the Chiefs’ offensive line holds up against the Bears’ four-man pass rush. Right tackle Jawaan Taylor and right guard Trey Smith are solo against the defensive end and defensive tackle, while center Creed Humphrey slides left toward Suamataia and the nose tackle. Simmons is one-on-one at left tackle, but will have inside help from Suamataia should the rusher go to the B-gap.
After tight end Travis Kelce’s chip block, the defensive end tries rushing inside — but Simmons powers down on him, running him into the nose tackle. At the end of the play, Smith gives up a little pressure — but Mahomes still has more than enough time to fire a bomb downfield to Thornton. As he throws, Mahomes’ feet are set — and he shows good mechanics on his follow-through. Without good pass protection, none of that is possible.
That continued through the first quarter. While Chicago tried a few five-man pressures against Mahomes, the line still gave him the time he needed.
Here we see Simmons effortlessly go into his drive-and-catch, firing his hand inside to shut down the pass rush. Humphrey and Suamtatia slam the interior defensive linemen into each other as they attempt a twist, stopping the pass rush in its tracks. Taylor and Smith are solid on the right. Mahomes has all day to find running back Brashard Smith over the middle.
While these clean pockets allowed Mahomes the time he needed to make quick work of the Bears’ defense, it also gave him more time to improvise when necessary.
While this rep should end with a Kareem Hunt touchdown catch, Mahomes is still able to maneuver through the backfield; the offensive line gives him a chance to make a play with his feet.
Here, Smith makes it clear why Kansas City made him the NFL’s highest-paid guard as Mahomes surprises everyone, using his legs to scramble for a first down in a preseason game! His pass protection was solid enough he could exhaust all of his options before picking up a big chunk of yards on the ground. Taylor and Simmons are solid on the outside, while the interior trio forms a wall. As the pass rush works upfield, Mahomes pumps a few times and finds the seam to pick up the first down.
With the first offense, the Chiefs’ running game was close to flawless. On Pacheco’s rushing touchdown, Simmons showed why he has the intangibles to be one of the league’s special players.
On this snap, Kansas City goes with a zone run to the right, so Simmons and Suamataia are responsible for sealing the back-side player: the 1-technique lined up in the A-gap. To take on the linebacker — helping to free Pacheco — Suamataia must climb quickly. This means Simmons has to get on his horse to cut off the 1-technique defender.
On the snap, Simmons and Suamataia execute their tasks beautifully. While the play happens quickly, the blocks made on the left side give the running back enough room to power in for the touchdown.
Against the Seahawks, Simmons has struggled a little with his run blocking — but on Friday, he was dialed-in, making more than one nice block to open up lanes.
On this play — Pacheco’s longest run of the night — Simmons makes the front-side block against the defensive end that opens up the hole.
With Noah Gray climbing to the second level, Simmons has to use some patience (and a great angle) to contact the defensive end and prevent him from going back inside. Gray gets a good block on the linebacker, allowing Pacheco to blast ahead for a big gain — while narrowly avoiding a serious injury.
In less than two weeks, the Chiefs will kick off their 2025 season against the Los Angeles Chargers. Going into the offseason, it was reasonable to be concerned about the offensive line. But in the preseason finale, the unit showed it has built the chemistry and cohesion it needs. On Friday night, it looked ready to go.
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