The Kansas City Chiefs kick off the preseason hosting the Houston Texans on Thursday night. The final outcome of the game doesn’t hold any real meaning, but it’s the first chance to see how this Patrick Mahomes led Chiefs team will come together in 2018. Below are important game details about this preseason matchup. If you have questions about the game, reach out to us on Twitter @TheChiefsWire. Game information: Who: Houston Texans at Kansas City Chiefs When: Thursday, Aug. 9, 7:30 p.m. CT Where: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri Streaming: Live stream: fuboTV (try it for free) Television channels: KTRK (Houston ABC Affiliate) KCTV (Kansas City CBS Affiliate) Broadcasters: Kevin Kugler and Spencer Tillman Referee: Jerome Boger Radio: 610 AM & 100.3 FM Houston 101.1 FM (Kansas City) Weather: High: 96 degrees / Low: 73 degrees – 10% chance of precipitation – Light wind – 46% humidity Opponent wire site: Texans Wire Chiefs’ 2018 preseason schedule:<doc-sep>Kansas City kicks off its 2018 preseason Thursday when the team takes on the Texans. There are plenty of storylines heading into the game. Make sure when you’re tuning in Thursday to keep an eye on these five things that will surely be important to the team’s future. Who takes over in dime and nickel linebacker situations for Daniel Sorensen Daniel Sorensen wasn’t just a safety for the Chiefs. I’ve seen a lot of people out there saying, “Well if your season hinged on Sorensen, you weren’t going to be going far anyways.” Some are going to be surprised by how much the Chiefs will actually miss Sorensen. He filled a lot different roles on defense and special teams. Heck the Chiefs big nickel package almost seems cater made for him. My question is who can possibly take over Sorensen’s role in dime and nickel packages for the Chiefs during his absence? Brett Veach’s answer would be rookie Dorian O’Daniel, but thus far he’s had some trouble adapting to the speed of the NFL. Plus he’s dealing with a thumb injury that may keep him sidelined. If it isn’t O’Daniel taking over in those packages there are a few more people on the roster I suspect the Chiefs have in mind. First up is second-year linebacker Ukeme Eligwe. He’s got a little more bulk than Sorensen being that he’s a linebacker, but his size and speed is comparable to Sorensen. He’s already seen some looks with the first team defense and could potentially pick up the responsibility quickly. Next is undrafted rookie linebacker Raymond Davison, he’s shown that he has some coverage ability in camp, but can he rush the passer? The third option is second-year safety Jordan Sterns, he’s a bit smaller than Sorensen, but he’s got some pop to his game and ball skills. Robert Golden could also be a solution here if the Chiefs choose to go with a safety. It’s possible that the Chiefs have someone else in mind for this role, but most of their other linebackers and safeties are either too big or too small to play that spot. The new Dirty Dan | Mahomes vs. Watson | Special teams unit starters | Talented young depth | McGloin vs. Litton | Bonus round<doc-sep>We’ve grown accustomed to the way Andy Reid handles preseason games during his five seasons as Kansas City Chiefs head coach. But in advance of the preseason matchup with the Houston Texans at Arrowhead Stadium on Thursday night, we should summarize what we know about how the Chiefs are likely to approach this particular game: In his press appearances on Sunday and Tuesday, Reid said that each of the Chiefs quarterbacks will get a quarter of playing time. Based on the unofficial depth chart we showed you on Saturday, this would mean Patrick Mahomes will be under center in the first quarter, Chad Henne in the second, Matt McGloin in the third, and Chase Litton in the fourth. Reid also said that the rest of the players would follow roughly the same schedule. So by the fourth quarter, most of the Chiefs on the field will be players who will be unlikely to make the team, but will be playing their hearts out in the hopes that they can catch the attention of the coaches and make the team after all. Reid ‘s usual practice is to do little game planning for preseason opponents, and not show too much of his hand until the regular season. He confirmed on Sunday that this will be the case against the Texans. Vanilla will be the operative word on both sides of the ball. Reid has — so far — been unwilling to get into specifics about how much playing time players returning from injury will get. He fended off questions about specific players on Tuesday, saying only that he hasn’t looked at “the list” for a while, and that he would be meeting with trainer Rick Burkholder to make final decisions. On Sunday, Reid said his main goal was for the team to “play and play fast.” In Tuesday’s press appearance, he amplified his expectations a little bit. “You’re looking for assignment football — when the juices get going, how you handle that. You’re in the stadium with the fans, and it’s a little different. Lights are on, and it’s game time.” So the coaches are going to be watching whether players can continue to respond to their coaching and assignments in a game situation. Do they stay steady and do their jobs as they have been taught, or do they allow the adrenaline of the game situation to take over? And there should be plenty of adrenaline to go around — starting with the head coach. On Sunday, Reid agreed with Clark Hunt’s characterization of him as someone with an extra spring in his step. “It’s a bunch of young guys — and new guys,” he said. “I love it. I love the way the veteran players and the coaches are doing their jobs. They’re bringing great energy every day. Everything’s not perfect or pretty — I can’t tell you that — but the guys are working their tails off. If they keep that up, they’re going to be all right.” So Thursday’s game might not be pretty — but it might still be a lot of fun to watch.<doc-sep>KANSAS CITY, Mo. - As the Texans kick off the preseason against the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night at Arrowhead Stadium, here are five things to watch. See the Houston Chronicle' best photos from the team's training camp at The Greenbrier Sports Performance Center in West Virginia here.<doc-sep>
The Kansas City Chiefs kick off the preseason with a game against the Houston Texans. Here are three things to watch for in their opening game. Football is finally upon us. Sure, it’s just preseason, but that’s so much better than just staring at the television wishing anything else was on — which is how I spend my offseasons. As for the Kansas City Chiefs, they take to the field for their first preseason game on Thursday, Aug. 9. That game will be at Arrowhead Stadium against the Houston Texans. Last year, the Texans were a team starting to make some noise as rookie quarterback DeShaun Watson started to blow up on offense. Sadly, a torn ACL in practice ended his season way too early. Seeing him on the field will be fun, but so too will be seeing the Chiefs, who are fresh off a 10-6 campaign which saw them win the AFC West for the second season in a row. In order to stay atop their division, the Chiefs made a few moves in the 2018 NFL Offseason. The expected move was trading away quarterback Alex Smith in order to make room for Patrick Mahomes, the No. 10 overall pick from 2017. The moves that weren’t as highly predicted were the additions of wide receiver Sammy Watkins and linebacker Anthony Hitchens in free agency. Those moves and more will determine the way their season ends. While we won’t have every answer we need from just one preseason game, we can start to put some puzzle pieces together. Here we will break down the top three things to look for in the Chiefs preseason opener against Houston.