GREEN BAY, Wis. Todd Haley got what he wanted from the Chiefs in the way of extended playing time for the starters from the Chiefs on Thursday night, but it came at a cost.
Many of the Chiefs starters played well into the fourth quarter of their 20-19 loss to the Packers, but injuries piled up along the way. Quarterback Matt Cassel, tight end Tony Moeaki, right tackle Barry Richardson and safety Eric Berry were injured in the first half.
It was immediately unclear whether any or all of them would be ready to play on Sept. 11 when the regular season begins with a game against the Bills at Arrowhead Stadium.
Cassel was knocked out of the game in the second quarter. Cassel said he had the wind knocked out of him after a sack where 340-pound Howard Green landed on top of him but would be ready to play against Buffalo.
"We were just being cautious,'' Cassel said. "I wanted to go back in.
"Normally, I can take (getting hit by a 340-pound defender). I don't know what happened. Actually, I think it was (landing on) the ball more than anything.''
Moeaki had a left knee injury. Richardson and Berry had injuries to their left leg.
Before he left the game, Cassel completed 15 of 17 passes for 129 yards and led the first team to its only touchdown drive of the preseason.
Haley wouldn't discuss the severity of the other injuries.
"I don't know enough yet right now,'' he said.
The Chiefs finished the preseason 0-4 and Haley made some unconventional calls early in the game. He called for a fake punt (it worked) and an onside kick (it didn't). Haley said he didn't make the moves necessarily trying to get the Chiefs their first victory.
"That's something that in-season I like to have at our disposal,'' Haley said. "That's something you don't really get to practice in live situations. It was less about trying to get something going.''
The Chiefs moved past midfield on the final possession of the game, but Ryan Succop's 56-yard field goal was wide left.
The Chiefs were sloppy, committing five turnovers. Jamaal Charles fumbled twice inside the Green Bay 20, a botched handoff led to another turnover and backup Tyler Palko threw two interceptions, one that was returned for a touchdown.
Green Bay played its starters one possession and the Packers led 7-0 when their reserves took over.
The Packers outplayed the Chiefs during the brief time that both teams had their starters in the game. The Chiefs gained one first down on their first possession but punted after their last two plays went for negative yardage.
Green Bay hit the Chiefs with a big run on its first play. Ryan Grant ran for 23 yards to push the Packers past midfield. After gaining two more first downs, the Packers took a 7-0 lead on an 8-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers to Tom Crabtree.
The backups soon let the Packers down. With Green Bay backed up and facing a third and long at the Packers' 8, the shotgun snap went over the head of quarterback Matt Flynn.
Green Bay recovered in the end zone for a safety.
Playing against Green Bay's second string, the Chiefs starting offense put together its first scoring drive of the preseason. The drive was sparked by the fake punt with Dustin Colquitt lobbing a 12-yard pass to Terrance Copper on fourth down.
The touchdown came on Cassel's 10-yard pass to Dexter McCluster.
The Chiefs extended their lead to 16-7 with 14 seconds left in the first half on Tyler Palko's 2-yard fade pass to Dwayne Bowe. The play came on fourth-and-1 and Bowe got both feet down before going out of bounds.
Chiefs mistakes led to Green Bay's two third-quarter scores. Charles fumbled on one possession, leading to a 43-yard field goal by Mason Crosby.
The next time the Chiefs had possession, the ball wound up on the ground after a bad exchange on a handoff from Palko to McCluster. The Packers recovered and Crosby kicked a 32-yard field goal, cutting the Chiefs' lead to 16-13.
With a defender bearing down on him on the next Kansas City possession, Palko's pass intended for Dexter McCluster was intercepted by Vic So'oto. He returned it 33 yards for the touchdown that put the Packers back in the lead.
The Chiefs then took advantage of a Green Bay mistake. Shaky Smithson fumbled a Colquitt punt and Cory Greenwood recovered for the Chiefs. Ryan Succop kicked a 31-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to cut Green Bay's lead to 20- 19.
KCGB
First downs238
Total Net Yards405122
Rushes-yards35-12421-80
Passing28142
Punt Returns2-82-8
Kickoff Returns6-1571-24
Interceptions Ret. 1-12-33
Comp-Att-Int34-47-28-19-1
Sacked-Yards Lost4-232-11
Punts4-32.84-46.5
Fumbles-Lost4-35-2
Penalties-Yards8-673-27
Time of Possession39:5620:04
Kansas City2 14 0 319 Green Bay7 0 13 020
First Quarter
GBCrabtree 8 pass from Rodgers (Crosby kick), 7:24.
KCBailey safety, 3:20.
Second Quarter
KCMcCluster 10 pass from Cassel (Succop kick), 11:25.
KCBowe 2 pass from Palko (Succop kick), :14.
Third Quarter
GBFG Crosby 43, 7:58.
GBFG Crosby 32, 5:48.
GBSo'oto 33 interception return (Crosby kick), 4:20.
Fourth Quarter
KCFG Succop 31, 11:29.
A67,555.
Individual Statistics
RushingKansas City, Jones 12-27, McCluster 5-27, Palko 4-24, Charles 9-19, McClain 3-13, Battle 1-7, Cassel 1-7. Green Bay, Grant 4-31, Nance 4-17, Saine 4-17, A.Green 5-7, Flynn 2-7, Starks 1-1, Harrell 1-0.
PassingKansas City, Palko 18-29-2-163, Cassel 15-17-0-129, Colquitt 1-1-0-12. Green Bay, Harrell 3-5-0-21, Rodgers 3-4-0-20, Flynn 2-10-1-12.
ReceivingKansas City, Bowe 8-85, McCluster 6-39, Urban 5-53, Breaston 3-16, Moeaki 2-20, Charles 2-18, Slate 2-15, Copper 2-14, Colbert 1-17, Becht 1-15, Pope 1-7, Jones 1-5. Green Bay, Crabtree 2-13, Gurley 2-12, D.Williams 2-12, Hoese 1-8, Quarless 1-8.
Missed Field GoalsKansas City, Succop 56 (WL).
Print edition: 


