Well, Monday could be a tough ride for the Kansas City Chiefs. Their preseason game against the Rams clearly exposed some trouble along the offensive line, as the Chiefs committed 12 penalties overall. Kansas City piled up seven penalties for 58 yards in the first half alone, all on offense. For a unit the Chiefs have spent so much time trying to fix, that is a brutal start. Now, the team is set to face offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy’s wrath, while fans might want to get the popcorn ready.
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“It’s going to be hell, I know for sure, but we got to clean those up, and we’ll be good for sure,” RB Brashard Smith said to 41KSHB’s Matt Foster. Our offense will be real clean.”
The Chiefs’ offensive line was flat-out sloppy against the Rams. Kansas City racked up 12 penalties for 83 yards, with the line responsible for six of the seven first-half flags and nine penalties overall.
The sloppiness cost Kansas City points in the second quarter. Emmett Johnson broke through for what looked like a 4-yard touchdown and the Chiefs’ first lead, only for Hunter Nourzad’s holding penalty to wipe it out. Instead of six points, Kansas City had to settle for three.
Joe Thuney’s departure already looks like a major loss. Trey Smith’s hip injury only made things worse, leaving younger linemen such as Josh Simmons, Kingsley Suamataia, and Kahlil Benson with more responsibility. Jaylon Moore was brought in for experience, but against the Rams, the growing pains were obvious.
That lack of discipline was already boiling over in camp. Rookie safety Xavier Nwankpa lit up Emmett Johnson during a 7-on-7 drill and drew an angry reaction from Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs can call it intensity, but when players keep crossing the line, it starts looking more reckless than competitive. Against the Rams, that same lack of control turned into flags, stalled drives and points left on the field.
And this wasn’t some random preseason meltdown. Kansas City was already one of the NFL’s most-penalized teams in 2025, drawing 119 flags, the seventh-highest total in the league. The Rams game simply showed that the same bad habit is still alive.
Penalties were only part of the offensive line’s problem. Kansas City gave up 47 sacks in 2025, with Patrick Mahomes taking 34 of them in just 14 games. Then Philadelphia exposed the weakness on the biggest stage, sacking Mahomes six times in the Super Bowl. The Rams picked up right where that left off, dropping Garrett Nussmeier twice for 13 lost yards. At this point, protection is not a one-game issue. It is a pattern.
Bieniemy has never been the type to sugarcoat a bad offense. During Kansas City’s 2022 loss to the Colts, he and Patrick Mahomes got into a heated sideline exchange after Mahomes wanted one more shot at scoring before halftime and Bieniemy wanted the offense in the locker room. Fast-forward to 2026, and the same edge is back. Bieniemy has already been caught ripping into the offense for slow huddles, getting on Travis Kelce after a routine drop and demanding sharper execution across the board. His style can be abrasive, but that is exactly why Kansas City brought him back.
Speaking to reporters after practice on August 10, Chiefs guard Kingsley Suamataia summed up Bieniemy’s approach, “Coach EB, he’s crazy. He’s a great guy, very vocal. He pushes us to our limits every day so we can be the best offense out there.”
Kansas City has to clean this up before Week 1, because penalties and poor protection can wreck a Super Bowl run fast. And the offensive line is not their only headache. Injuries are already starting to pile up.
Chiefs players injury concern
The injury list is not helping, either. Trey Smith sat out with a hip issue, Drue Tranquill was sidelined by a back injury, and Jimmy Holiday also missed the game. In the secondary, Chamarri Conner, Kader Kohu, and L’Jarius Sneed were all out with knee injuries, leaving Kansas City thin in several key spots.
Kansas City also played it safe with several key names. Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy, Mansoor Delane, Ashton Gillotte and Emmanuel Ogbah never took the field. Omarr Norman-Lott remains on the active/PUP list and still has not practiced in camp, adding another concern to an already thin roster.
Overall, the Chiefs used this preseason game to give younger players a chance and keep important veterans healthy. The starting offensive line also played for only a short time, so it is too early to judge the entire group based on this one game.
Still, the Chiefs need to clean up these mistakes, especially the penalties. Hopefully, the offensive line can avoid these problems and play with more discipline in the next games.