The Chiefs opened up their preseason schedule at Arrowhead Stadium under a steady rain on Saturday night and things were not overly impressive in their 16-3 loss to the Houston Texans.
There was not much of an evaluation of quarterback Matt Cassel. He was just 2 of 5 for 15 yards and Larry Johnson had four carries for 12 yards as Houston controlled the clock for much of the first quarter holding onto the ball for nearly ten minutes.
A seven minute drive by Houston on their second series of the game and two, three and outs for the Chiefs didn’t allow much time for Cassel and the first string offense to work. Cassel was relieved by Brodie Croyle with just under six minutes to go in the first half.
Croyle got the team into field goal range on a 4 th and 10 at the Houston 41 by completing a 12 yard pass to Rodney Wright. In a steady rain, Ryan Succop hit a 47 yard field goal to get the Chiefs on the board. Croyle ended up going 12 of 18 for 145 yards. His main target was Dwayne Bowe, recently dropped to third on the depth chart.
Bowe showed great hands and hustle during his time on the field obviously getting the message from Todd Haley that full effort was expected on every play.
Tyler Thigpen was the third quarterback to come. Using a no huddle offense, he marched the Chiefs down for their only touchdown of the game, capping off a 10 play, 76 yard drive with a one yard touchdown pass to tight end Brad Cottam. That was set up after a pass interference penalty on third and goal from the five, gave the Chiefs fresh life with first down at the one.
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