Winners and Losers from Preseason Game 2
After a promising performance that led to bad mistake in the Chiefs’ loss over the Saints in game one of the preseason, they followed that up with an dominant 38-10 blowout victory over the Arizona Cardinals in the place where they lastly won Super Bowl 57. There were a few Chiefs’ standouts that played well and others that struggled mightily in the win.
Here are winners and losers from the Chiefs-Cardinals preseason game:
Winners
Shane Buechele, QB #6
Are we witnessing the Shane Buechele experience? (Remember the Mike Vick commercial) The Third-string QB from SMU went with the second string this week over incumbent backup QB Blaine Gabbert and scored on a 15-yard scramble on his first drive of the game in the second quarter. He continued his incredible play from the first preseason game and may have impressed enough to move into the second-string quarterback discussion ahead of veteran Blaine Gabbert. Buechele ended the night going for a perfect 10 for 10 with 105 yards. I wrote an article two years ago asking if Buechele is the future QB2 to Mahomes? After these last three seasons and one more dominant performance in this weeks game vs the Browns, I’d say he is making it hard for Veach and his staff.
Shane Buechele can scoot too!!! 🏃💨 pic.twitter.com/nY1TqDD0Ch
— Nash (@NashTalksTexas) August 20, 2023
Ihmir Smith-Marsette, WR, #82
Smith-Marsette put together 4 catches for 92 yards and a touchdown in the blowout win from Saturday. 59 of Smith-Marsette’s 92 yards came on a touchdown drive led by Chiefs backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert. Smith-Marsette earned his touchdown the hard way on that drive, getting open on a short route and breaking a tackle on his way for six. This shows why the Chiefs like Smith-Marsette because if you looked at his tape from Iowa, he played without a good QB. If Smith-Marsette don’t make the 53 man roster, he will definitely be in the Red and Gold as a practice squad player activated for Gameday like last season.
.@_ihmirr_ bounces off a defender and flips in for 6️⃣
📱: Stream #KCvsAZ on #NFLPlus https://t.co/L9mPiySmuK pic.twitter.com/InJYU6rK2i
— NFL (@NFL) August 20, 2023
Rashee Rice, WR, #4
Chiefs Kingdom, relax on the drops. Ja’Marr Chase was dropping passes in the preseason his rookie season. The rest is history with a Griddy. Anyway, Rice finished with eight catches for 96 yards on nine targets. The rookie is coming off a monster All-American season at SMU and is already become a key option for Mahomes over the middle of the field. He doesn’t have the speed of Tyreek Hill or Mecole Hardman, but his Davante Adams-esque possession skills and size in the red zone mean he could have a strong rookie season even with limited chances.
Rashee Rice is going to be a problem! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/aMcyk0K8vo
— Brad Henson Productions (@BradHensonPro) August 21, 2023
Kahlef Hailassie, CB, #12
Yes Mr. And-1 Mixtape Hailassie. After that amazing play from last week, Hailassie in my opinion is on his way to earning his spot on the 53-man roster. Some argue the 22-year-old undrafted cornerback from Western Kentucky didn’t make any standout plays he created versus the Saints. However, Hailassie did force an incompletion against Cardinals receiver Andre Baccellia on a 4th and 9 play in the 4th quarter giving the Chiefs the ball back. Also according to PFF, Hailassie has the best passer rating allowed in zone coverage with a 16.7 rating in preseason play. That’s insane. Hailassie could earn a spot due to his size but he looks like a more consistent coverage guy than Watson and Williams. When you shutdown a speedster like Baccellia and force the Saints to cut one of their receivers who was one of college football’s most dominate receivers in the past like James Washington, that’s saying a lot.
I blame Kahlef Hailassie. 🤣 https://t.co/cZTzMqEFHz
— Generic Prince (@emceereach) August 15, 2023
Losers
DiCapro Bootle, CB, #30
Third-year cornerback Dicaprio Bootle did have five tackles vs the Cardinals, but he did hurt his chances of making the roster with his performance on Saturday. Bad coverage allowing 2 catches out 3 times targeted for 22 yards (both catches allowed were first downs) and finishing with 49.6 overall PFF. Bootle has always been on the edge of the roster then making the practice squad but this could be it for Bootle.
Good defensive drive for FAU bend and Chamarri Conner
Bad defensive Drive for Dicaprio Bootle#ChiefsKingdom
— DMac Wake (@DMacWake316) August 20, 2023
Deneric Prince, RB, #34
This one hurts. I love this kid but as of a recent his chances of solidifying his role the 53 man roster is looking slim. La’Mical Perine has emerged as a sleeper candidate to be the 4th RB on the roster. Prince did score a TD at the end of the game. There’s time still for Prince to secure his spot on the roster, but his saving grace might be just to watch the film, find the openings in your holes, develop your patience and you’ll be fine. I still have my faith in Prince to dominate and also remember he did a great job last week picking up the blitzes which is an important trait that a RB needs.
First NFL touchdown for @denericprince 👑 pic.twitter.com/ls9ISvx3hd
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) August 20, 2023
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