The Kansas City Chiefs will kick off the preseason on Saturday Aug. 15 at 4pm ET (1pm CT) against reigning NFC runners-up, the Los Angeles Rams.
The Rams under head coach Sean McVay do not play their starters in preseason, and Chiefs head coach Andy Reid follows a similar, albeit less stringent, mantra.
One player that certainly will not be suiting up for Kansas City is quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who is still recovering from a knee injury suffered last December. Although the three-time Super Bowl champion is practicing in a full capacity during training camp at the moment.
How to Watch the Chiefs – Rams Preseason Game?
The game will be aired in Kansas City locally on KSHB (NBC Channel 41) at 3pm CT, whilst in LA the game can be watched on CBS LA. Out of market watchers can view the game on NFL+ or YouTube TV.
Ari Wolfe and Trent Green will be taking up the play-by-play and analyst roles respectively, with Kimmy Chex and Matt McMullen fulfilling sideline reporting duties.
The game will be played be played at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City.
What are the Game Odds for the Chiefs?
Preseason games are notoriously hard to handicap, given that teams rest starters, and the ones that do play often come in for little more than a quarter’s action.
In this case; perhaps unsurprisingly given McVay’s preseason reputation; the Chiefs are favored to win the game – although not by much. KC are 2.5 point favorites, and the over/under game total line is set at 35.5 points, as the bookmakers clearly believe this will be a low-scoring affair.
Straight up, the Rams are +110 on the moneyline, compared to -130 for the Chiefs.
Will Anyone Else Be Missing From the Chiefs’ Lineup?
Defensive tackle Chris Jones implored Reid to keep him and other starting players out of the preseason altogether when speaking to local media on Friday ahead of the game.
“Why play the starters?” Jones said to the media on Friday. “Thereâs so much risk to playing the starters in the preseason. I hope Coach Reid is like, âYou know what, starters donât play…Itâs good to get repetition, but I donât want to play in the preseason. Iâd rather not play, but if I do have to play, Iâm going to buckle up.”
Having turned 32 just last month, it would be surprising if Jones saw any playing time at all prior to the start of the regular season. And Jones is right in his assessment that the injury threat is very much real: Hollywood Brown â who at the time was projected to be a starting wideout for the team â suffered a dislocated shoulder that kept him out for the majority of the regular season back in 2024.
But for younger and less established players, the preseason is an important way to get used to the physicality and pace of the game. Perhaps more importantly for those fighting for a roster spot, it is a way of showing what you can do on the big stage and claiming a one of the coveted 53 slots on the active roster come the start of the regular season.
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