Rams-Chiefs Preseason Recap: What Los Angeles and Kansas City Learned in Week 1

The Los Angeles Rams beat the Kansas City Chiefs 20-12 at Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday in Preseason Week 1, and the final score itself barely mattered. Patrick Mahomes came out for the coin toss and nothing else, still working back from the torn ACL and LCL he suffered in December, so the entire night belonged to backups and rookies trying to answer real questions before final cuts. Two of those answers are worth remembering.

Ty Simpson looked every bit like a first-rounder

Ty Simpson

Rams rookie quarterback Ty Simpson made his preseason debut count, going 21 of 25 for 190 yards and two touchdown passes across two-plus quarters of work, per ESPN's box score. Head coach Sean McVay singled out his processing after the game, saying Simpson "took what the defense gave him" and "read the plays out, read with his feet." That is a meaningful evaluation for a player Los Angeles took with the No. 13 overall pick out of Alabama, where he threw 28 touchdowns against five interceptions in his lone season as the starter. Matthew Stafford remains the unquestioned starter in Los Angeles, and the plan around Simpson has always been for him to develop behind Stafford rather than push for snaps immediately. Saturday was the first real evidence that the bet on his ceiling has a floor under it too.

Stetson Bennett started the game under center and went 4 of 6 for 36 yards in the opening quarter before giving way to Simpson for the rest of the half. That snap split lines up with how camp reporting has framed the QB2 competition all preseason, with Bennett getting the early nod to open games while Simpson gets the bulk of the workload once the starters are off the field. Nothing about Saturday resolves that competition on its own, but a 21-of-25 night with two touchdowns is the kind of performance that keeps Simpson squarely in it.

The two touchdowns both went to the same target: an undrafted rookie running back who turned a checkdown look into a real weapon out of the backfield, hauling in both scores and giving the passing offense a second gear underneath once the top of the defense loosened up. A pass-catching back producing twice in one exhibition is not a roster lock, but it is exactly the kind of tape that turns an August long shot into a real training camp conversation heading into final cuts.

Kansas City's crowded backfield got a real data point

Emmett Johnson

Chiefs rookie running back Emmett Johnson led Kansas City in rushing with 59 yards on 12 carries, the clearest individual number to come out of the loss for the home team. Johnson, a fifth-round pick out of Nebraska, is fighting for real touches behind Kenneth Walker III, the free agent Kansas City signed this offseason to be the workhorse after Isiah Pacheco left for Detroit in free agency. The competition for early-down and passing-down work behind Walker has run through Emari Demercado and Brashard Smith all camp, according to Arrowhead Addict's breakdown of the position group, with Demercado drawing praise for pass protection and Smith working with the first-team offense in a third-down role. Johnson's 12 carries were the most tangible thing any of the four backs produced Saturday, and a rookie outproducing established camp bodies in his first live NFL action is a real data point in a competition that was genuinely unsettled entering the week.

Justin Fields' reps matter more than usual

With Mahomes limited to pregame ceremony duty, Justin Fields took the early quarterback reps for Kansas City and completed all four of his pass attempts in his one quarter of work. Fields is not a typical backup. Kansas City acquired him from the Jets this offseason specifically because Mahomes' recovery timeline was uncertain, and Andy Reid has called him a legitimate starting option if Mahomes is not ready for the regular season opener against Denver. The Chiefs' offense still stumbled Saturday, taking 12 penalties for 83 yards, mostly along a backup offensive line still figuring out its own pecking order. None of that is on Fields. His job Saturday was simply to look like a competent starting-caliber option in case Kansas City needs one in September, and a clean four-for-four outing did nothing to change that plan.

What to do with this

Preseason box scores rarely move real rankings, but they do reshuffle who is worth rostering in deep best ball leagues and dynasty startups before the ADP catches up. Simpson is not a redraft consideration behind Stafford, but a two-touchdown preseason debut for a first-round rookie is exactly the kind of signal dynasty managers should be pricing into their dynasty cheat sheet now rather than after the next big performance. Johnson is the more actionable name for best ball drafters specifically, since he just outproduced three other backs fighting for the same role in Kansas City's backfield. Check the rookie rankings before your next draft to see whether his ADP has caught up yet, and run him through a few mocks on the best ball tool if you are stacking Chiefs pieces late.

Both teams play again next Saturday, the Rams hosting New Orleans and the Chiefs traveling to Tampa Bay, with a real chance Mahomes still does not play in either game.