The Kansas City Chiefs didn’t come away with a win against the Chicago Bears in Week 1 of the preseason, but they did get some very valuable snaps for members of their roster.
The coaching staff will use those snaps to help evaluate players as they whittle down the roster to 53 players at the start of the NFL’s regular season. The first wave of roster cuts comes on Tuesday, Aug. 16, with Kansas City needing to trim its roster from 85 to 90 players.
While everyone knows the standout performers from the Chiefs’ Week 1 preseason game, there was a handful that might have flown under the radar. Here’s a look at five of the team’s underrated performances in Week 1:
QB Shane Buechele
The Chiefs got an extended look at Buechele in preseason Week 1. The second-year QB completed 12-of-19 passes for 99 yards, which led all Chiefs’ passers in attempts and completions. He threw a pretty ugly interception, but also had this beautiful 22-yard strike to Justin Watson for a score.
What a beauty 😍
📺: #KCvsCHI on KSHB pic.twitter.com/6QxiER42dF
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) August 13, 2022
Last year, the Chiefs had to keep Buechele on the 53-man roster to prevent him from getting poached. Plays like the one above show that his ceiling is higher than Chad Henne’s, but it’s also clear he still has some things to learn and work on.
DE Malik Herring
Saturday marked a big milestone for second-year Chiefs pass-rusher Malik Herring. The 2021 NFL season was a redshirt year for Herring, who suffered a torn ACL in Senior Bowl practice. His last game was the Peach Bowl between Georgia and Cincinnati on Jan. 1, 2021.
First one back since 2020.. super thankful! 🙏🏾🙏🏾
— Malik Herring (@HerringMalik) August 13, 2022
Herring’s debut was a good one, notching four total tackles, a half sack and a quarterback hit on the day. At times, you could tell that this was his first game back. That’s what the preseason is for, though. There were certainly some encouraging signs of good things to come for this young player.
WR Daurice Fountain
Preseason stardom continued for Fountain on Saturday. Last year, Fountain lit things up during the preseason and made the initial 53-man roster over draft pick Cornell Powell. While he’s been in and out of training camp with groin and finger injuries, Fountain got a good amount of work in against the Bears in preseason Week 1. He was targeted three times and caught all three of those passes, recording the second-most receiving yards on the day with 24. So long as he can stay healthy and keep racking up performances like this, he should put himself in contention to make the roster again this season.
DT Khalen Saunders
Everyone knows that Saunders is an elite athlete from the time he was asked to play middle linebacker due to injuries in a meaningless Week 17 game against the Chargers. His athleticism popped numerous times on Saturday against the Bears, including this four-yard tackle for loss on a swim move.
From earlier: #Chiefs DT Khalen Saunders tracks down #Bears RB Trestan Ebner in the backfield for a four-yard loss. pic.twitter.com/9el5eVDcEu
— Devon Clements (@DevclemNFL) August 13, 2022
Later in the game, Saunders was keeping up with defensive backs while they chased down a long run from behind. Just an incredibly impressive display of athleticism and effort from the veteran defensive tackle.
DB Nasir Greer
An undrafted free agent out of Wake Forest in 2022, Greer had one of the team’s better defensive plays late in the third quarter. The safety crept up to the line of scrimmage on a first-down blitz and was able to take down Nathan Peterman for a seven-yard loss.
#Chiefs UDFA safety Nasir Greer gets a free lane to #Bears QB Nathan Peterman for the sack on 1st & 10. pic.twitter.com/R7cFIZX80b
— Devon Clements (@DevclemNFL) August 13, 2022
Later, Greer stopped RB De’Montre Tuggle for what was only a two-yard gain. It feels like Greer has good instincts as a safety playing closer to the line of scrimmage, and while he might not do enough to make the 53-man roster, he’s certainly making a case for the practice squad.
