Pinned
Link copied
In a possible Super Bowl preview, the Chiefs and Packers closed out their respective preseasons on Thursday night. After a back-and-forth first half, the Chiefs scored the only touchdown of the second half to pull out a 17-10 win. The Chiefs used the night to honor Hall of Fame quarterback Len Dawson, who died earlier this week at the age of 87.
Chiefs fans are used to seeing big plays from their quarterback and tight end. But instead of Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, it was Shane Buechele and Matt Bushman who were the dominant duo on Thursday night. They teamed up for two touchdowns: a 54-yard catch and run in the second quarter and a two-yard throw that served as the only score during the third quarter.
Jordan Love led the Packers' offense for three quarters. Love and the Packers' offense struggled to move the ball against the Chiefs' starting defense, which didn't allow a point when they were on the field during the 2022 preseason. Green Bay's offense did mount two scoring drives during the second quarter, taking a brief lead on Tyler Goodson's nifty 24-yard touchdown run two minutes into the second quarter. The half ended with Love being picked off by Bryan Cook, one of several defensive backs the Chiefs selected in April's draft.
Kansas City's win was not without a notable injury, however, as rookie cornerback Trent McDuffie entered the concussion protocol in the first quarter. McDuffie ended the Packers' first drive after making an open field tackle on a third-down play.
Here's a closer look at what went down on Thursday night.
Mahomes, Chiefs honor Len Dawson
Patrick Mahomes didn't take a snap, but he briefly took the field to honor Dawson, who led the Chiefs to the franchise's first Super Bowl win at the end of the 1969 season. Mahomes, who wore a hoodie honoring Dawson during pregame warmups, held a "choir huddle" prior to the Chiefs' first play, a huddle that Dawson made famous during his Hall of Fame career.
Buechele out-duels Love
Love largely played well in directing 11 and 13-play scoring drives in the second quarter. He started the second half with a pair of completions to Amari Rodgers before completing just one of his final three passes of the night. Love finished with the game with 148 yards on 16 of 26 passing.
Buechele took over in the second quarter, after veteran Chad Henne led the Chiefs on the game's first scoring drive. Following his first touchdown pass to Bushman, Buechele took advantage of Corey Coleman's 45-yard kickoff to start the second half. After three solid runs by Chiefs running backs, Buechele hit Daurice Fountain for 29 yards before teaming up with Bushman for the game-winning score.
While no one would confuse him with Mahomes, Buechele reinforced previous thoughts on Thursday night that he is a capable stand-in if called upon to do so.
Chiefs RBs gash Green Bay's defense
Kansas City enjoyed the running back combo of rookie Isiah Pacheco and newcomer Ronald Jones. Pacheco led both teams with 52 yards on 10 carries, while Jones gained 43 yards on eight carries. Pacheco, who ran the 40-yard dash in an impressive 4.37 seconds at the NFL Combine, has all but clinched a spot on the Chiefs' 53-man roster.
Young Packers WRs get heavy workload
Thursday was a busy night for rookie seventh-round pick Samori Toure and 2021 third-round pick Amari Rodgers. Toure led both teams with 83 yards on six receptions that included a 23-yard catch. Rodgers contributed to the cause with 39 yards on four receptions to go with 17 yards on three carries that included an 11-yard pickup.
Toure is fighting for a spot on the Packers' 53-man roster. Rodgers is looking to have a bigger role this season after being largely overlooked during his rookie season.
Play of the game
A sleepy first quarter gave way to an exciting (for preseason standards) second quarter. The start of the fun was Goodson's touchdown run that saw him execute a perfectly-timed spin move on his way to the end zone.
An undrafted rookie, Goodson enjoyed a solid college career at Iowa. He ran for 2,551 yards and 18 touchdowns at Iowa, including his 1,151-yard, six touchdown campaign in 2021.
What's next
The teams have until Tuesday (Aug. 30) to cut their roster down to 53 players. The Chiefs will kick off the 2022 regular season with a road game against the Cardinals on Sept. 11. The Packers will open up the regular season with a divisional matchup in Minnesota against the Vikings.
