{"id":822856,"date":"2026-08-23T06:10:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T06:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/822856\/"},"modified":"2026-08-23T06:10:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T06:10:12","slug":"5-takeaways-from-chiefs-preseason-week-2-game-against-buccaneers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/822856\/","title":{"rendered":"5 takeaways from Chiefs\u2019 Preseason Week 2 game against Buccaneers"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Saturday night, the Kansas City Chiefs<\/a> battled with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/a> to the end of a NFL Preseason Week 2 matchup, with Tampa Bay coming out on top by a score of 16-15.<\/p>\n

Here are five rapidly instant takeaways from the game:<\/p>\n

1. Harrison Butker was so back<\/p>\n

The story of the preseason is kicker Harrison Butker\u2019s resurgence. After making all four of his field goal attempts in the first exhibition \u2014 one being a 59-yard kick \u2014 Butker carried the scoring once again in Tampa with three field goals.<\/p>\n

One field goal was from 58 yards out, then the next was good from 69 yards. The regular-season NFL record is 68 yards.<\/p>\n

After a lackluster 2025 season, Butker started off on the right foot towards a bounceback season. He made his first seven field-goal attempts of this preseason.<\/p>\n

Unfortuantely, he missed a point-after attempt in the second half of this game, the only time he has kicked one this preseason. Last year, he missed four extra points.<\/p>\n

Then, he missed a 43-yard field goal that would\u2019ve put the Chiefs in the lead with over three minutes remaining. The celebration of Butker\u2019s night turned before the game\u2019s end.<\/p>\n

Is this an encouraging or discouraging performance?<\/p>\n

2. Felix Anudike-Uzomah, R Mason Thomas flash pass-rush tools<\/p>\n

On a second down in the first quarter, fourth-year defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah made a play that likely got some Chiefs fans \u2014 especially Kansas State alums \u2014 jumping out of their seats.<\/p>\n

It was a much-needed highlight play for Anudike-Uzomah, who has yet to carve out a significant role in the starting defense despite ample opportuity in training camp and the preseason.<\/p>\n

He finished this contest with another quarterback hit; it seems like the Lee\u2019s Summit native\u2019s strengths as a player are best utilized on pass downs.<\/p>\n

One reason Anudike-Uzomah\u2019s spot in the rotation is up in the air is how strong the ascension of rookie edge rusher R Mason Thomas has been this preseason.<\/p>\n

On a third and long, Buccaneers starting quarterback Baker Mayfield attempted a quick screen to the right side \u2014 but Thomas flew off the ball with his head up, leading to a near interception 20 yards away from a score. The pass was nearly lateral, and it was good to see the rookie finish the negated scoop and score.<\/p>\n

Thomas also had a quarterback hit in this game; he continues to show a rare speed and fluidity around the arc that Kansas City hasn\u2019t seen in years.<\/p>\n

3. Kahlil Benson doesn\u2019t look ready for right tackle<\/p>\n

The Chiefs\u2019 starting offensive line dealt with injury absences from left tackle Josh Simmons (Back) and right guard Trey Smith (Hip). The first-team line featured veteran Jaylon Moore at left tackle, Mike Caliendo at right guard and rookie Kahlil Benson at right tackle.<\/p>\n

On one run play, Benson showed off the \u201cdominant\u201d traits the Chiefs coaching staff has talked about being enamored with this offseason.<\/p>\n

On two other plays, Benson poorly held up in pass protection; the second play led to a strip sack of quarterback Justin Fields, although Benson was aware enough to try and advance the fumble himself.<\/p>\n

The Chiefs needed to see Benson in live action on the right edge; Saturday was a great challenge, with Tampa Bay\u2019s starting defense seeing extended playing time.<\/p>\n

It seemingly gave the answer Kansas City needed; Benson doesn\u2019t look ready for the likes of Denver Broncos<\/a>\u2019 edge rusher Nik Bonitto in Week 1.<\/p>\n

4. Who should be the backup quarterback?<\/p>\n

There were rough stretches for backup quarterback Justin Fields against the starting defense of the Buccaneers. Of course, pass-protection whiffs don\u2019t help, but neither does holding onto the ball as long as Fields does on some snaps.<\/p>\n

These kinds of plays can\u2019t happen if Fields is asked to step in for starting quarterback Patrick Mahomes during the regular (or post) season. On third down in the red zone, the backup quarterback needs to find a way to avoid making a field goal opportunity so much more difficult.<\/p>\n

Rookie quarterback Garrett Nussmeier did not have to face as many of Tampa\u2019s starting players, but seems to play within the rhythm of the offense better than Fields does; that was apparent in camp.<\/p>\n

However, Nussmeier nearly threw an interception by forcing a throw over the middle at one point. Neither player can be expected to be perfect in a one-off start, but there is certainly a debate about who would handle that situation better.<\/p>\n

5. Jalen Royals finally shows off his skill set<\/p>\n

Chiefs Kingdom hasn\u2019t been able to see much of second-year wideout Jalen Royals through the first year and change of his career. On Saturday night, Royals finally got the opportunities to show spectators and the coaching staff what he can do.<\/p>\n

Royals led all Chiefs players with six catches, 51 yards and 12 yards after catch. He caught all six passes thrown his way, the longest being a 17-yard pass downfield in the third quarter; it led to rookie running back Emmett Johnson\u2019s touchdown, the only one of Kansas City\u2019s preseason.<\/p>\n

On two of his earliest catches, Royals flashed an ability to gain yards after catch that made him a sought-after prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft from Utah State. He was tough to tackle, but also moved well in space with the ball in his hands.<\/p>\n

After being outshinied by rookie wideout Cyrus Allen \u2014 who had just seven yards over three catches in Tampa \u2014 all of camp, Royals made his strongest statement towards earning the No. 4 receiver role yet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On Saturday night, the Kansas City Chiefs battled with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the end of a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":822857,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[142521,51435,99],"class_list":["post-822856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-kansas-city-chiefs-analysis","tag-kansas-city-chiefs-preseason","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/822856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=822856"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/822856\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/822857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=822856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=822856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=822856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}