10 Observations from the Chiefs' 20-12 Preseason Week 1 Loss to the Los Angeles Rams
The scoreboard doesn’t show it, but there was plenty to dissect from Kansas City's first live action of 2026.
The Kansas City Chiefs dropped their preseason opener to the Los Angeles Rams 20-12, but exhibitions are about information, not outcomes. Saturday provided plenty of both.
Here are ten observations from the afternoon at Arrowhead.
1. Emmett Johnson Looks Like a Legitimate Running Back Two
The numbers alone tell a compelling story. Johnson carried the ball 12 times for 59 yards and caught three passes, but the PFF data underneath those numbers is what really stands out. He forced seven missed tackles on those 12 carries. For context, Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco combined to force 40 missed tackles on 281 attempts last season.
His longest run went 13 yards, and he turned a screen pass into an 11-yard gain, showing comfort as both a downhill runner and a receiver out of the backfield. Kenneth Walker is at his best with a capable running mate, and Johnson may have announced himself as exactly that on Saturday.
2. Jaden Hicks Was Everywhere
Hicks finished as the Chiefs’ highest-graded defender on Saturday with an 88.3 PFF grade across a team-leading 33 snaps. He collected seven tackles, including a tackle for loss, broke up a pass in the end zone, and allowed just one reception on two targets for two yards.
His snap alignment split out to 15 snaps in the box, 16 at free safety, and two in the slot, which is notable given that Spagnuolo mentioned earlier this summer that he wanted to simplify Hicks’ role and focus him at one position. If Saturday was any indication, Hicks may be making that conversation more complicated in the best possible way. Alohi Gilman and Chamarri Conner are still ahead of him, but Hicks may have started earning back some of the trust he lost in 2025.
3. A Perfect Day for Harrison Butker
Butker provided everything you want from a kicker on Saturday. He converted all four of his field goal attempts, which accounted for every point the Chiefs scored. Three were chip shots, but the one that turned heads came late in the third quarter when he drilled a 59-yarder with room to spare to give Kansas City a 9-6 lead.
At 31 years old, his leg strength is clearly not diminishing.
4. Kahlil Benson Exited With the Starters
The Benson storyline is not going away. After the first series, he was on the sideline with the first-team offense, lining up at right guard in place of the injured Trey Smith. He did not allow a single pressure on four pass-blocking snaps, which is a clean sheet in his first professional action.
It was not the right tackle evaluation Chiefs fans were hoping for, given that the competition with Jaylon Moore has been the more compelling subplot, but the fact that he was standing next to the starters between series says something on its own. Two preseason games remain before the real decisions have to be made.
5. The Cyrus Allen Hype Train Continues
Allen lined up in the slot 14 times and out wide 11, confirming what we already knew about his primary role in this offense: He is set to be involved. His average depth of target was 14.2 yards, which led all Chiefs receivers who caught a target on Saturday and speaks to the trust Nussmeier had in him to win downfield.
He did not gain any yards after the catch, but that was only due to penalties. He took a bubble screen past the sticks that was called back by a penalty, showing real burst on the play, and hauled in a pass Nussmeier sailed on him, going up to bring it in.
6. Penalties Galore for the Second-Team Offensive Line
Twelve penalties for 83 yards is a difficult number to look past, and the bulk of the damage came from a specific group. Tackle Ethan Driskell and interior linemen Pete Nygra, Mike Caliendo, and Hunter Nourzad combined for nine of the team’s penalties.
The most costly came from Nourzad, who was flagged for holding on what appeared to be an Emmett Johnson touchdown, turning a score into a Harrison Butker field goal. Johnson also had two first-downs wiped off the board, and Brashard Smith had a screen pass setting up a third-and-one called back as well. The second- and third-team offensive lines will see significant turnover between now and cutdown day, but discipline issues need to be on point regardless of who is out there.
7. Are Fulton and Demercado Locks?
Neither player looked bad on Saturday, but both raised questions about where they stand on this roster. Fulton was not targeted, which reflects a healthy respect for his capabilities, but he played 29 snaps and played well into the second half. For a player entering his sixth NFL season, playing catch-up reps against backup competition is not a great look, even if his earlier hip injury explains some of the delayed deployment.
Demercado fared even worse in terms of usage, receiving just five offensive snaps in the fourth quarter behind the third-team offensive line, taking three carries for nine yards. Brashard Smith logged 17 offensive snaps ahead of him and is clearly higher on the pecking order. Neither Fulton nor Demercado is likely to be cut, but it is not off the table either. The Buccaneers game next Saturday will be telling for both of them.
8. Andrew Armstrong Might Be the Wide Receiver Room’s Best Blocker
Armstrong played 41 snaps on Saturday, which can be read two ways. Either the coaching staff was giving a former undrafted player a long look, or they liked what they kept seeing. Cyrus Allen played a lot, too. Based on the film, it leans toward the latter. He caught his only target from eight yards of depth and turned it into a 17-yard gain, showing legitimate yards-after-the-catch ability.
It was his work in the run game that stood out most, though. He spent the afternoon mauling defensive backs trying to shed his blocks, directly contributing to Emmett Johnson’s big day on the ground. Andy Reid has always placed a premium on receivers who can block, and Armstrong checks that box as well as anyone on this roster. The fifth and sixth spots on the depth chart presumably belong to Nikko Remigio and Jalen Royals, both of whom caught their two targets for 20 and 17 yards respectively. Armstrong has a long road ahead, but he put his best foot forward Saturday.
9. R Mason Thomas Flashed the Speed Rush More Than Once
Thomas led the Chiefs in pass rush grade on Saturday, totaling three pressures on 18 pass rush snaps for a 22.2 percent win rate that topped all qualified Chiefs pass rushers. For a second-round rookie expected to function primarily as a situational speed rusher in year one, those are exactly the kinds of numbers you want to see in a first professional outing.
Now the question is whether he can replicate it against better competition. He will get that chance over the next two preseason games.
10. Garrett Nussmeier Looked More Like a Day 2 Pick than a Day 3
Nussmeier finished as the highest-graded quarterback on the field Saturday with a PFF grade of 72.6, going 13-for-19 for 98 yards with a willingness to push the ball downfield that his numbers reflected. His average depth of target was 7.3 yards, a full 2.3 yards further than Justin Fields, who went 4-for-4 for 41 yards in a clean but conservative outing before exiting.
Nussmeier led three scoring drives of at least 10 plays each, punting just once, and distributed the ball to Nikko Remigio, Jake Briningstool, Emmett Johnson, and Cyrus Allen each on multiple occasions with comfort and poise. For a quarterback who was linked to the second and third rounds before sliding all the way to the seventh, Saturday was the kind of performance that makes the Chiefs very uncomfortable leaving him on the waiver wire at cutdown.
It would be a coup if Benson can lock down the RT spot but he'll need to be tested against quick/speedy edge rushers before the season opener