News

St. Louis, Mo. - Before kickoff, Romeo Crennel said he wanted to know how his young team would react under pressure. He found out after five minutes of play on Saturday night.

The Chiefs got off to a slow start from the opening kickoff couldn't recover, losing their second preseason game and the Governor's Cup to the St. Louis Rams, 31-17.

Crennel's team couldn't find the same rhythm that it did against the Arizona Cardinals in their preseason debut. And this time, the Chiefs were on the receiving end of an early two-touchdown deficit.

The game's first play would be a sign of things to come. Rams quarterback Sam Bradford floated a pass down the right sideline to Danny Amendola. Kendrick Lewis stayed with Amendola down the sideline, but the receiver pulled away late and hauled in a sliding catch for a 35-yard gain.

Kansas City was just a step slower than the Rams on Saturday. During that opening drive, St. Louis drove 80 yards and scored in just under two minutes. Their second drive - which started in Chiefs territory after a Jonathan Baldwin fumble - had the same result.

The offense shook its first-quarter jitters and pieced together a scoring drive in the second quarter. Cassel found Kevin Boss on 3rd and 15 over the middle for a first down, and three consecutive goal line handoffs to Peyton Hillis cut into the Rams' lead.

Then, Cassel found Boss again for a 20-yard gain in the two minute drill that set up a 44-yard field goal by Ryan Succop. But the Chiefs wouldn't add to their score until 3:51 left in the fourth quarter, and the Rams pulled away again in the 3rd quarter.

Backup quarterback Ricky Stanzi struggled when he entered the game to start the second half. His first pass was intercepted by Rams defensive tackle Matt Conrath and set up another easy scoring drive.

Stanzi fumbled at the end of the third quarter that turned into another touchdown drive for St. Louis in the fourth quarter.

Crennel will have new teaching material this week. His team will look to rebound against the Seattle Seahawks, and they'll have plenty to correct from this sloppy, four-turnover performance.