Kansas City Chiefs' starters go nuclear in first quarter, plus more halftime takeaways from preseason finale vs. Chicago Bears

The Kansas City Chiefs are wrapping up the preseason at home with a tilt against the Chicago Bears.

Andy Reid was once again true to his word,  playing the starting offense and defense for roughly a quarter of the game . That allowed for the team to get rolling and build some serious momentum as they head to Sao Paulo, Brazil, to face the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season.

What else did we learn about the Chiefs in the first half of the game? Here’s a look at our halftime takeaways for Kansas City.

The Chiefs' starters go nuclear, prove they're ready for Week 1

If the first quarter is any indication of what we're getting from the starting offense and defense this season, there are going to be a lot of national analysts retracting their takes on the Chiefs in the coming weeks. The offense was practically flawless through one quarter, picking up 12 first downs, committing no penalties, with 193 net yards and 10 points scored. Patrick Mahomes averaged over 11 yards per passing attempt. Tyquan Thornton caught a 58-yard bomb. Trey Smith was collecting bodies. It was a sight to behold.

The defense wasn' t half bad either, holding the Bears' starting offense to 26 total yards, for an average of 2.9 yards per play. They managed a sack, forced two punts, and forced a false start penalty. Needless to say, if these two units play this well simultaneously during the regular season, this is going to be a tough football team to beat.

Chiefs rookie RB Brashard Smith finally gets his opportunity with the starters

After working primarily with the backups in preseason Week 1 and preseason Week 2, the Chiefs got rookie RB Brashard Smith involved with the starting offense. They utilized him mostly as they did in training camp, which is to say, they got him involved in the passing game in the red zone. He dropped his first target from Patrick Mahomes, which was a missile that he couldn't haul in. The second opportunity, however, Smith took full advantage with a 12-yard reception en route to a two-yard Isiah Pacheco touchdown run.

That's not all, though. Smith also kicked off the game with a 29-yard kick return, which will be a good thing in the eyes of special teams coordinator Dave Toub. Later, in the second quarter, Smith got a two-yard carry and a target from QB Gardner Minshew. He also closed out the first half with a 24-yard kick return.

Cam Jones might be the new linebacker No. 4 in Kansas City?

With Drue Tranquill seemingly sidelined for this game, Chiefs LB Cam Jones got some run with the first team defense at outside linebacker opposite Nick Bolton and Leo Chenal. Typically, this would be Jack Cochrane, but he's out with a knee injury as well. The third-year linebacker, Jones, also got snaps at middle linebacker in the second quarter with Jeffrey Bassa flanking him. He recorded just one tackle in the first half, but he looked the part out there.