{"id":378884,"date":"2026-08-23T06:30:25","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T06:30:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/378884\/"},"modified":"2026-08-23T06:30:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T06:30:25","slug":"kc-chiefs-tb-bucs-nfl-preseason-game-recap-score-analysis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/378884\/","title":{"rendered":"KC Chiefs-TB Bucs: NFL preseason game recap, score, analysis"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Kansas<\/p>\n

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid throws a challenge flag during the second quarter of a preseason NFL game at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026.<\/p>\n

Nathan Ray Seebeck<\/p>\n

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

There is still no Patrick Mahomes in games this preseason \u2014 despite, apparently, his desire to play in them.<\/p>\n

But there are still more than enough flags.<\/p>\n

And there is still a lot more Harrison Butker than touchdown celebrations.<\/p>\n

The Chiefs lost to the Buccaneers 16-15<\/a> on Saturday night in Tampa Bay \u2014 on a night in which the viral highlight came from a kicker.<\/p>\n

The Chiefs have not won a preseason game since 2023. Here are five observations from immediately after the latest loss:<\/p>\n

1. The rookies who flashed<\/p>\n

There were common themes\u2014 or purposes \u2014 with the initial wave of a defensive-filled draft class.<\/p>\n

Athleticism .And speed at the line of scrimmage.<\/p>\n

On back-to-back plays, they popped.<\/p>\n

Mansoor Delane, the first-round cornerback, derailed a wide receiver screen when he read the call from the jump and forced David Sills to cut inside for a 1-yard loss.<\/p>\n

\"Tampa Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Anthony Nelson (98) and safety Rashad Wisdom (38) tackle Kansas City Chiefs running back Brashard Smith (24) during a preseason NFL game at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026. Kim Klement Neitzel IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect <\/p>\n

A snap later, R Mason Thomas, the second-round edge, read another wide receiver screen and jumped in the lane to knock down a pass.<\/p>\n

The Chiefs lost a lot defensively this offseason \u2014 most notably cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson. It\u2019s how they tried to re-imagine their defense that stands out. They wanted to get faster, and in particular, they wanted to get faster at the line of scrimmage.<\/p>\n

Delane made his preseason debut after a shoulder injury kept him in a no-contact jersey for the first few weeks of training camp.<\/p>\n

Thomas had an active night.<\/p>\n

2. The position battle<\/p>\n

The most consequential position battle during training camp has resided at right tackle.<\/p>\n

Kahlil Benson took a step back in that competition Saturday.<\/p>\n

Benson, who has been tussling with Jaylon Moore for the job, is an undrafted free agent who, well, played a bit like an undrafted free agent.<\/p>\n

\"Kansas Kansas City Chiefs running back Kenneth Walker III (No. 9) carries the ball against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during a preseason NFL game at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026. Kim Klement Neitzel IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect <\/p>\n

Benson got torched on two pass rushes, one of which led to a sack-fumble, and he also committed a false start penalty.<\/p>\n

Moore played left tackle in place of Josh Simmons, who is nursing a back injury. and he didn\u2019t exactly have his best outing, either. Benson and Moore have not only rotated at right tackle in camp but have each trialed other positions.<\/p>\n

The constant pressure made it difficult to evaluate the quarterback play \u2014 given they weren\u2019t exactly operating within ideal circumstances.<\/p>\n

3. The play of the day<\/p>\n

The ability to improve a dormant pass rush will fall to the rookies.<\/p>\n

Well, maybe not all to the rookies.<\/p>\n

If the Chiefs are going to get internal improvement, there is an intriguing spot from where it could derive: Felix Anudike-Uzomah.<\/p>\n

The former first-rounder has had an especially disappointing three seasons and missed all of last year with hamstring injuries. But he\u2019s looked healthy in camp, and looked quick Saturday.<\/p>\n

\"Tampa Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Mohamed Kamara (59) pressures Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Garrett Nussmeier (14) during a preseason NFL game at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026. Nathan Ray Seebeck IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect <\/p>\n

Anudike-Uzomah rushed around the edge and crushed quarterback Jake Browning for a brutal hit and sack \u2014 prompting Browning to need to take a play off to catch his breath.<\/p>\n

\"Kansas Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah (91) sacks Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jake Browning (5) during the first quarter of a preseason NFL game at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026. Nathan Ray Seebeck IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect <\/p>\n

Anudike-Uzomah had one sack, but he was in the backfield for four quarterback pressures. He has been much quicker off the line of scrimmage in camp, and the Chiefs have been using him both off the edge and inside on passing downs.<\/p>\n

4. The other \u201cplay\u201d of the day<\/p>\n

OK, maybe it\u2019s not a play, per se.<\/p>\n

But kicker Harrison Butker booted a 69-yard field goal to close out the half \u2014 and it had plenty of distance to spare. It might have been good from 75.<\/p>\n

\"Kansas Kansas City Chiefs place kicker Harrison Butker (7) makes a 69-yard field goal against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during a preseason NFL game at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026. Kim Klement Neitzel IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect <\/p>\n

The boot would have broken an NFL record for the longest field goal had it occurred during the regular season.<\/p>\n

That was the high.<\/p>\n

Then came the lows.<\/p>\n

Butker was perfect in the first half \u2014 from 69, 58 and 45 yards \u2014 but he missed an extra-long extra point after a penalty pushed the try back and then sent a go-ahead field goal wide right with four minutes to play.<\/p>\n

He has taken a different approach this training camp after a rough start to 2025, now trying to put more time between his practice kicks to better replicate how it unfolds during an actual game.<\/p>\n

5. A wide receiver who helped himself<\/p>\n

Jalen Royals has had a tough time getting the plane off the ground since the Chiefs used a fourth-round pick on him in 2025.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s playing faster now, and maybe he just gained a little confidence, to boot.<\/p>\n

Royals caught all six of his targets Saturday for 51 yards, hauling in passes from both Justin Fields and Garrett Nussmeier.<\/p>\n

\"Kansas Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Jalen Royals (11) catches a pass defended by Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Damarion Williams (28) during a preseason NFL game at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026. Nathan Ray Seebeck IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect <\/p>\n

The games allow him to display a skill \u2014 his best skill \u2014 that\u2019s hard to replicate in practice. His physicality can make some plays after the catch.<\/p>\n

The Chiefs were drawn to Royals because of that skill. He finished second in the nation in yards after catch per game in his final season at Utah State before the Chiefs drafted him.<\/p>\n

\"The The Kansas City Chiefs take the field for a preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026. Nathan Ray Seebeck IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect <\/p>\n

But he had only two catches a year ago, and after a difficult start to training camp, he\u2019s been much better lately.<\/p>\n

This story was originally published August 22, 2026 at 9:39 PM.<\/p>\n

Related Stories from Kansas City Star<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Sam McDowell<\/a><\/p>\n

The Kansas City Star<\/p>\n

Sam McDowell is a columnist for The Star who has covered Kansas City sports for more than a decade. He has won national awards for columns, features and enterprise work. The Headliner Awards named him the 2024 national sports columnist of the year.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid throws a challenge flag during the second quarter of a preseason…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":378885,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-378884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=378884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378884\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/378885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=378884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=378884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=378884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}