KANSAS CITY, Mo — There’s been a lot of focus during the offseason on the NFL’s changes to the kickoff rules.
The Kansas City Chiefs need to focus on them a little more, which became apparent during a 26-13 preseason loss Saturday at Jacksonville.
“There’s some things we need to work on in this game,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “The obvious is we’ll clean up the special teams and what took place there.”
Players now must remain static until the ball is touched, the coverage and blocking units have moved to the other side of the field, kickers must aim for the red zone as a “landing zone,” two players must be deep for the return, touchbacks are more severely punished — as was Kansas City’s special-teams unit against the Jaguars.
Kicking off after a field goal to open the game, the Chiefs coughed up a 73-yard return. Reid said the poor kick-return coverage “compromised” the defense’s first series.
Linebacker Leo Chenal was flagged for holding on Kansas City’s first kickoff return and the second resulted in a safety.
Cam Little’s kickoff landed in the end zone, which would have triggered an automatic touchback under last year’s rules, and spun back to the 1-yard line.
Deneric Prince started to jog away, but Mecole Hardman Jr. realized the ball was still live and hustled to cover it. He kneeled in the end zone, grabbed the ball and pulled it into the end zone, where he gave himself up.
Initially, game officials spotted the ball at the 30-yard line, where it goes on a touchback that goes straight into the end zone now, but after review it was changed to a safety.
“I think they’re trying to work that out,” Reid said. “Normally, when the ball goes into the end zone and you touch it there, it’s a dead ball. But we’ll get it cleared up and see what they come up with there.”
Among other special-teams lowlights, new punter Matt Araiza had a ho-hum Chiefs debut, averaging 41.3 yards — and a paltry 36.5 net yards — on four punts with a long of 44 yards.
For those wondering, Tommy Townsend averaged 48.3 yards on his four punts during a regular-season game in Jacksonville last September.
But Harrison Butker, who signed the richest contract for a kicker in NFL history, was a bright spot.
On a new fangled kickoff, he successfully landed a ball in the landing zone and spun into the end zone for a touchback at the 20-yard line. He also connected on both field goals, including a 45-yarder on the first series.
ROOKIES IMPRESS: Safety Jaden Hicks, a rookie fourth-round pick, probably was a lock to make the roster after a strong camp, but he showed that his camp performance isn’t a fluke.
Hicks had four tackles, including some thumping stops, and made one of the defense’s five tackles for a loss.
“I liked what I saw,’ Reid said. “He’s big and he’s fast. He did a good job on special teams, so I thought he did a good job all the way around.”
Fullback Carson Steele, an undrafted rookie, also impressed with four carries for a team-high 29 yards rushing and Kansas City’s lone touchdown.
He’s played like a battering ram at training camp, but remained a relative unknown for Chiefs fans — until now.
“I think Hicks and Steele played well,” Reid said. “With those two, you kind of look at and go, ‘They kind of jumped out a little bit.’”
First-round pick Xavier Worthy, a speedy wide receiver from Texas, didn’t have a catch, but he only saw a handful of snaps with the first and second units.
“That first call ws for him,” Reid said. “They threw a little different coverage at us, so it didn’t quite work the way we wanted.”
Tight end Jared Wiley caught both of his targets for 5 yards, while running back Louis Rees-Zammit had two carries for 1 yards and also caught a 3-yard pass. Rees-Zammit, a former Welsh rugby star, also kicked off once and was involved in a tackle.
AMERICA’S TEAM?: Fans from all 50 U.S. states and Washington D.C. have attended Kansas City Chiefs training camp this summer, according to President Mark Donovan.
“Think about that, St. Joe, Missouri, has hosted people from all over America and every single state,” Donovan said on a broadcast of the preseason opener from Jacksonville. “It’s a pretty exciting sign of just how popular this team is and what a great experience our staff provides at St. Joe training camp with Missouri Western.”
It’s also no surprise.
Led by two-time NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs are the first back-to-back Super Bowl champions in two decades, have won three of the last five Super Bowl titles, and reached a fourth Super Bowl during that span.
Meanwhile, Kansas City’s star tight end, Travis Kelce, hosts “New Heights,” one of the world’s most-popular sports podcasts with his brother (future NFL Hall of Famer Jason Kelce).
He’s also dating pop icon Taylor Swift and will host Prime Video’s “Are You Smarter Than A Celebrity?” The show is set for an October release.
INJURY UPDATE: Wide receiver Hollywood Brown left the game after one play with a shoulder injury and undrafted rookie offensive lineman McKade Mettauer (knee) left the game in the fourth quarter.
Seven other players who came into the game with injuries — linebackers Nick Bolton (elbow) and Swayze Bozeman (knee), wide receiver Jaaron Hayek (shoulder), defensive tackle Chris Jones (groin), CB Kelvin Joseph (hamstring), S Justin Reid (quad) and WR Kadarius Toney (back) — didn’t suit up.
Additional players who have missed time with injuries during training camp sat out as well.
Left guard Joe Thuney (chest), who missed Super Bowl LVIII with a strained pectoralis muscle, didn’t suit up nor did backup left tackle Wanya Morris.
DT Derrick Nnadi, who has battled a triceps injury in camp, and two defensive backs — CB Nazeeh Johnson, who is returning after missing last season with a torn ACL, and Jaylen Watson, who missed time in camp with a shoulder injury — also sat out the preseason opener.
Justin Reid is on the Non-Football Injury List along with defensive end B.J. Thompson, who went into cardiac arrest and had a seizure during a team meeting in June.
Defensive end Charles Omenihu (knee), who suffered a torn ACL in the playoffs last season, has been placed on the Physically Unable to Perform List as he recovers from knee surgery.
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