In the pre-season opener against the Cardinals, Kansas City grabbed an early 14-3 lead. The Chiefs forced a turnover just a couple of seconds into the game after linebacker Jack Cochrane snatched the ball from the Cardinals’ return man on the opening kickoff. Their CB Christian Roland-Wallace fell on the fumble, and after two snaps, QB Patrick Mahomes found WR Jason Brownlee for a 1-yard touchdown.

The team maintained its strong start after the defense took to the field. Later, Gardner Minshew took over the QB duties for the next two possessions, which led to one touchdown. And soon, Bailey Zappe and Chris Oladokun split the remaining offensive drives. While the game started well, the Chiefs couldn’t keep up the same tempo, which resulted in a 17-20 loss.

With that defeat, the team may have disappointed Tavia Hunt, Clark Hunt’s (CEO of the Kansas City Chiefs) wife. She was quite excited about the team’s pre-season opener; So much so that she took to Instagram before the game began and wrote: “A new season, a fresh start—trusting the One who writes the playbook of our lives.” But it doesn’t end there. In the carousel of nine pictures she posted from before the game, one slide caught attention.

It had a prayer written: “God, you have given me good gifts. Please help me to maximize every opportunity to use the gifts that you have given me. Please help me be faithful with the little things so that you can trust me with bigger opportunities. I want to share your joy. Help me start with the little things. I love you Jesus. Amen.” While a pre-season opener loss won’t dictate what is to come ahead, the team will hope not to repeat certain moments from last season:

1. The narrative that officials were favoring the Chiefs.
2. Super Bowl loss to the Eagles (Philadelphia was so confident that they even doused HC Nick Sirianni in Gatorade with 2:52 still left in the game).
3. Their offensive line was in shambles against the Eagles.

Now that the team is busy with pre-season games, fans look forward to a better and more consistent team. But in the background of it all, there is one Patrick Mahomes promise that coach Andy Reid keeps breaking. What is that?

Andy Reid does it again!

Last week, the HC spoke about how every Chiefs QB would get an equal amount of playing time for their first scheduled preseason game. But that didn’t happen, and Chiefs Kingdom was already ready for something like this. After all, this is barely the first time Coach Reid has pulled out Mahomes earlier than fans expected.

• 2019: That year, Andy Reid shared that the quarterback was scheduled to play for one full quarter so that he could get ready for the regular season. Instead, Mahomes played just seven snaps on a single and then sat out the rest of the game against the Bengals.
• 2020: The league had canceled the preseason due to the pandemic and the resulting restrictions, but the trend from 2019 continued into 2021. QB Mahomes played just four snaps before allowing Chad Henne and Shane Buechele to take control of the game against the 49ers.
• 2022: Patrick Mahomes played 11 snaps against the Chicago Bears to open the preseason.
• 2023: Against the Saints, he just drove five snaps, instead of playing the first quarter. Post that, Blaine Gabbert played for the first half.
• 2024: Patrick Mahomes appeared for only six snaps to start the preseason against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

But there is a method to Reid’s deception. Those brief cameos serve as glorified walkthroughs, a chance to test new plays without tipping strategy.

So while the HC’s annual playing-time fib might fool casual fans tuning in for star power, Chiefs Kingdom knows the drill. What do you think?