Final score: Chiefs beat Cardinals 17-10 in second exhibition game

The Chiefs’ preseason record improved to 2-0 after winning the Friday night game in Arizona.

Kansas City Chiefs’ head coach Andy Reid mostly kept his word about the amount of time his starters would play in their second preseason game. First-team players were in the game all the way up to halftime, accounting for 10 of the team’s 17 points in the 17-10 win over the Arizona Cardinals.

The Chiefs started off on defense, getting off the field quickly by forcing a three-and-out. Cornerback L’Jarius Sneed made two stops at the line of scrimmage from his slot position, then Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray misfired over the middle on third down.

On their first possession, Kansas City drove down the field in methodical fashion. The first chunk play was a completion to Mecole Hardman on a slant route. On the next play, running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire aligned as a wide receiver and took a screen pass 10 yards for another first down. The drive would go on for 15 total plays, including two fourth-down conversions; Mahomes ran the ball himself for one of those. However, he and Hardman couldn’t connect on a few targets into the end zone. The offense eventually settled for three points.

The defense came back to force another three-and-out, highlighted by a tackle for loss by cornerback Charvarius Ward and a pass defended by cornerback Mike Hughes.

The Cardinals’ defense returned the favor on the following drive, shutting down the Kansas City offense on three straight plays and forcing a punt. After a good-looking opening drive from the first-team offensive line, the group had a few rough plays in run-blocking and blitz pickup.

With the Cardinals first-team offense still on the field, the Chiefs’ starting defense once again stopped them. This time, the big play came from defensive end Chris Jones, who quickly beat the left tackle and sacked Murray to force third-and-long.

The Chiefs’ starting offense took the field for a third possession, converting two first downs by way of completions to wide receiver Byron Pringle. Into Arizona territory, the Chiefs crept closer to a score with first-down conversions by running back Darwin Thompson — but then failed to finish. Mahomes scrambled away from a good pocket, then desperately threw a sideline pass into the end zone that was intercepted.

While the Cardinals went to their backups on offense, the Chiefs’ first-team defense stayed on the field, forced a fourth-consecutive three-and-out.

With the Chiefs holding a 3-0 lead midway through the second quarter, backup quarterback Chad Henne finally took over the reins of the offense. He completed a third-down pass to Demarcus Robinson short of the sticks, and the Chiefs punted it away.

On the next Arizona drive, defensive linemen Mike Danna, Jarran Reed, and Tershawn Wharton each made disruptions and played their part in keeping the drive to five plays and 19 yards.

With two minutes before halftime, Henne led the Chiefs on a six-play, 77-yard touchdown drive — highlighted by a few big-time receptions. First, Henne found Pringle 41 yards downfield in the middle of the field to get into Cardinals territory. On the next play, Henne took a scoring shot; the floating pass was falling short of Hardman in the back of the end zone — but he made an incredible catch with his fingertips to finish the drive.

The great play made the score 10-0 with more than a minute until halftime. The Cardinals’ backup offense made one last run at scoring before halftime; they got into Chiefs’ territory quickly, but the drive was ended when safety Juan Thornhill made a diving interception in the end zone to end the first half.

Third-string quarterback Shane Buechele opened the second half with a 12-play, 87-yard touchdown drive for the Chiefs — capped by a 5-yard pass to running back Jerick McKinnon for the score. The big play of the drive came from wide receiver Marcus Kemp, who took a slant route 36 yards into Cardinals’ territory.

With the Chiefs leading 17-0, the Cardinals took over and marched 72 yards down the field on 14 plays. It ended in a field goal after a nice stop by the defense from inside their own three-yard line.

At 17-3, the Chiefs began to drive the field again — boosted by a 41-yard deep completion from Buechele to wide receiver Daurice Fountain down the sideline. However, Buechele’s next deep attempt didn’t go as well; it was easily intercepted.

The Cardinals’ third-string quarterback led their offense to a touchdown after 12 plays and 88 yards. It was capped on a 20-yard touchdown pass to former Chiefs tight end Ross Travis — who caught the throw to the corner of the end zone over safety Devon Key.

Fourth-string quarterback Anthony Gordon took over the offense with a 17-10 lead and less than seven minutes left in the game. Big plays from wide receiver Dalton Schoen, tight end Noah Gray and running back Derrick Gore got the offense into the red zone at the two-minute warning.

The offense was able to run out the rest of the clock with runs and quarterback kneel-downs.

Injuries

In the second quarter, the team announced running back Darrel Williams was being evaluated for a concussion.

Special teams

Kicker Harrison Butker nailed a 24-yard field goal to cap the team’s first offensive possession. He also hit both of his extra-point attempts.

Punter Tommy Townsend wasn’t as impressive as he was in the first preseason game. He had two punts, and neither of them traveled over 40 yards or was downed inside the 20-yard line.

Five different Chiefs got a chance at returning a kick; the best was a 37-yard kickoff return by Darwin Thompson.