The Kansas City Chiefs’ first preseason game is officially in the books, as the reigning Super Bowl runner-up fell 20-17 to the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday. There was a lot of good and some bad, but fans should feel relieved that the first-team offense made easy work of a short drive to convert a touchdown on their only drive.
Special teams was impressive as well, forcing fumbles on each of the first two kickoffs. While the Chiefs mostly escaped without much damage, a concussion to cornerback Jaylen Watson and an Achilles injury to defensive back Deon Bush are both situations worth monitoring.
Unfortunately, one player had a night to forget and needs to be ushered out of the building sooner rather than later.
Darren Hall picks off Bailey Zappe 😤pic.twitter.com/q8Ou42hQLH
— NFL on ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsNFL) August 10, 2025
Chiefs QB Bailey Zappe Suffers Through Disastrous Preseason Debut
Signal caller Bailey Zappe, who rejoined the organization this offseason after spending part of last year on the practice squad, is currently battling with Chris Oladokun for that third spot. Gardner Minshew, Patrick Mahomes’ presumptive backup, played really well and scored a rushing TD. Zappe, on the other hand, struggled massively.
He threw a pair of interceptions, one after reaching the red zone, and displayed poor decision-making. Zappe’s physical tools are obvious. With a strong arm and decent accuracy, the questions about the 26-year-old quarterback out of Western Kentucky have always been between the ears.
On both interceptions, Zappe made an ill-advised throw into coverage. It makes sense that he’s trying to do something special. At best, Zappe will be the emergency third quarterback on game day since Mahomes and Minshew’s respective spots are secure. In theory, he’s auditioning for 31 other teams on top of trying to keep his spot in Kansas City.
Regardless, it was a poor audition. Zappe finished completing eight of his 17 attempts for 70 yards (4.11 YPA) and the two picks, along with taking a sack. When you look at the performances of the other players at the position, including Oladokun, it was a bad, terrible, no-good night.
Oladokun completed just six of his 13 passes for 39 yards (3.0 YPA) but added an impressive run for 26 yards. He’s familiar with the system, and the dual-threat ability he provides is a boost for the scout team. Zappe has to handily outplay Oladokun to take that third job, and he failed to do so on Saturday.
There’s plenty of time to turn things around, but it seems clear that Zappe doesn’t truly have a future on the roster.
