The Kansas City Chiefs lost the second exhibition of the preseason with a 16-15 defeat to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
on Saturday.Despite the loss, the Chiefs had many bright spots throughout the game; however, the offensive tackle play was not one of them.
Josh Simmons has been out of practice with a back injury, so Jaylon Moore slid to left tackle, and rookie Kahlil Benson kicked inside from guard to right tackle.
Benson had taken most of the first-team snaps at right tackle throughout camp, but when
Trey Smith missed time with a hip injury, the team slid Benson into guard, where he had played in the Chiefs’ first preseason game in limited snaps, with Moore on the right side.
The pair did not look sharp on Saturday night, allowing multiple pressures and multiple quarterback hits. The reserve tackles didn’t look great either — except for one — but with the final week of the preseason upon us and the regular season right around the corner, this should give the Chiefs some cause for concern.
The first team
With Moore on the left and Benson on the right, the Chiefs’ first-team offensive line struggled to protect Fields early on in the game.
On the snap, Moore is initially fine out of his stance, but as the edge rusher draws near, he attempts to land both hands, and the edge quickly pulls off a swipe to get free and bend the arc. Justin Fields delivers the football in time, but is still brought to the ground.
The Buccaneers recorded eight quarterback hits throughout the course of the game, with the majority of them coming from their edge rushers.
While Moore was far from good, Benson struggled significantly in his first taste of NFL action at tackle.
Both Moore and Benson are a bit slow out of their stances, and both turn their shoulders directly to the edge rushers across from them. Moore’s shoulder turn leads to Fields getting hit, while Benson gets hit with a hump move and is knocked into the pocket.
Post-game, it was revealed that the Chiefs were using a silent snap count, which could have led to some of the timing issues off the ball.
On the snap, Benson wastes motion by throwing an inside hand and is late out of his stance. The wasted movements make him late at the bend point, so Benson turns his shoulders to try to stop the edge, but opens the door even further. The edge strips Fields, and Benson is lucky to come up with the ball.
This was not an ideal first game of live NFL experience for Benson, but it could be one that helps the coaching staff decide his future with the team.
The reserves
The Chiefs backup tackles were a mixed bag in this game. Esa Pole played 36 snaps, Ethan Driskell 27, and Chu Godrick 14.
Esa Pole
Pole has looked fine so far in camp and the preseason, but this week he struggled against the Bucs’ pass rush.
Due to his size, Pole at times has trouble playing with leverage or playing balanced. This week, those issues hurt him, while his lack of development with his hands and ability to be moved backward in pass protection allowed edge rushers to give him issues.
When Pole played in games during the regular season last year, the team typically used some kind of slide protection called a chip to assist him. During camp and the preseason, the team has used a more hands-off approach with more one-on-one situations for him to truly gauge where he is as a player.
From what we have seen in the preseason so far, it appears he is still only a backup-caliber player.
Ethan Driskell
Last week against the Los Angeles Rams, Driskell struggled during his first live game action in over a year. Missing all of last season, he looked rusty at times, but this week he came out locked in and turned in a good performance.
Driskell didn’t see many true pass-rush snaps, but he looked good in the situations where he was blocking. Using his large frame and solid athletic ability, he blocked up multiple reserve Tampa Bay edge rushers and was able to keep the quarterback clean, not allowing a hit.
Driskell had been forgotten by many, but when lined up on the right side, he looked better than on the left and could still be making his case to make the Chiefs’ active roster.
Chu Godrick
Entering his fourth season with the team, Godrick has only played in a handful of regular-season NFL games, but he has been a solid asset to the Chiefs as a developmental tackle on the team’s international roster exception.
While he did not have any noteworthy plays on Saturday- good or bad- it seems likely he will still be involved in the Chiefs organization again this year as good insurance on the roster, given his roster status.
The bottom line
Two years ago, the Chiefs attempted to turn Kingsley Suamataia into their starting left tackle, and it backfired tremendously. Everything worked out well for Suamataia as his transition to guard has been successful, but the team should think carefully about what to do next with Benson.
A second-round pick as a day-one starter is one thing, but a UDFA who has struggled should not be in consideration for the job.
When Simmons comes back, Moore should start on the right side, but he too must play much better than he has shown this preseason.
As for Pole and Driskell, neither has separated from what I have seen so far in the preseason, and neither has proven they can overtake Benson or Moore yet. That could change soon, but for now it has not.
It will be interesting to see how the final preseason game on Friday pans out, and whether the Chiefs look for any outside help at tackle.
