KANSAS CITY, MO. – Coach Mike Zimmer entered the Vikings' preseason finale Friday night looking for confidence in his offense. The 28-25 loss against the Chiefs likely did little to ease his concerns heading into the regular season.
Kirk Cousins' preseason ended with just one score — a 26-yard field goal by Greg Joseph — in six drives, failing to produce the points Zimmer had sought from any quarterback. The Vikings' winless preseason saw the offense score two touchdowns in 35 drives against the Broncos, Colts, and Chiefs.
The recent loss was "sloppy," said Zimmer, who added he expects results to differ when he soon takes the bubble wrap off Vikings stars.
"We planned on not playing [starters] very long," Zimmer said. "I wanted to make sure we got out of there healthy, and [Cousins] took a good shot on that second drive. I think if you look at a lot of the guys that played, they're probably not ready to play yet. I've been really cautious with some of the other guys because of injuries."
Cousins came within 8 yards of the goal line on the opening drive. Strikes to tight end Irv Smith Jr. — the only starting weapon Cousins got on Friday night — for 16 and 23 yards moved them into position. But a third-down pass to receiver Chad Beebe was deflected, and the Vikings settled for a field goal, while Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw touchdown passes on his two drives.
Chiefs linebacker Anthony Hitchens spoiled any chance at momentum. Hitchens sacked Cousins to open the next series with a well-timed blitz up the middle and past running back Ameer Abdullah. The sack snowballed into back-to-back three-and-out drives to end Cousins' night. He completed five of seven passes for 57 yards, with only one completion — a 6-yard catch by Whop Philyor — to a receiver.
BOXSCORE: Kansas City 28, Vikings 25
"We'll have a few more guys with us in Cincinnati," Cousins said, referring to the Sept. 12 season opener. "I think that helps. There's always stuff to work on."
The lack of top weapons was glaring. Once again, Cousins didn't have running back Dalvin Cook or receiver Justin Jefferson. He was also without receiver Adam Thielen, who played last week against Indianapolis but is recovering from a quad bruise suffered against the Colts.
"It's really hard," Zimmer said of evaluating the offense without its stars. "Actually, on all sides of the ball. I feel like we're going to be pretty good, but we still have to go and prove it."
Sixteen players on the Vikings' 79-man roster were unavailable Friday, including eight starters in Cook, Jefferson, Thielen, defensive end Danielle Hunter, linebackers Eric Kendricks and Anthony Barr, safety Harrison Smith and cornerback Patrick Peterson.
The Chiefs' firepower looked Super Bowl-worthy. Mahomes and his top weapons, receiver Tyreek Hill and tight end Travis Kelce, made quick work of the Vikings defense in two series, marching 149 yards for two touchdowns and a 14-3 lead.
Mahomes completed his first six passes for 104 yards, including a 35-yard touchdown to Hill over their former teammate in Vikings cornerback Bashaud Breeland. Hill breezed past Breeland, who gave him a free release at the line of scrimmage, and didn't look back on the go route.
"That was [on Breeland]," Zimmer said. "He didn't cover the guy."
As final cuts loom on Tuesday, Vikings backups — especially at quarterback — didn't do much to quell Zimmer's concerns. All NFL teams must set initial 53-man rosters by Tuesday afternoon.
Jake Browning, the No. 2 passer throughout the preseason, doesn't have much of a case to keep that job. Browning threw for just one first down on three drives in the second quarter. He completed 2 of 8 passes for 41 yards.
Rookie quarterback Kellen Mond showed off his legs scrambling for two first downs, including to convert a fourth down. On the next play, running back A.J. Rose Jr.'s 32-yard run scored the Vikings' only offensive touchdown of the preseason.
But Mond committed two turnovers, throwing a pass over the head of tight end Zach Davidson and into an interception by Chiefs safety Armani Watts. Mond later lost a fumble when he was hit from behind by Chiefs defensive end Tim Ward in the third quarter.
"Davidson's got to go up there and make a little better effort getting that ball," General Manager Rick Spielman said during the television broadcast.
The Vikings defense scored as many touchdowns — two — as the offense this preseason, thanks to cornerback Parry Nickerson's interception returned for a touchdown in the fourth quarter off backup Chiefs quarterback Shane Buechele.
Cousins said he isn't hanging his head knowing the offense's potential.
"I feel good," Cousins said. "Great rapport with our coaches, with our plan; I really like the plan. I feel good about our unit. Excited about our guys and now we're getting close to the real thing, we really got to get ready to go and get our guys healthy and start fast."