GAMETIME: 7 p.m. CST on Friday, August 21
LOCATION: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Mo.
HOW TO WATCH: CBS (KCTV5 local) | NFL Network (national) |NFL Network Game Rewind (Saturday, 3:00 p.m. CST)
HOW TO LISTEN:101.1 The Fox
GAMCENTER: Chiefs.com
The Seattle Seahawks (0-1) return to Arrowhead Stadium this Friday night to square off against the Kansas City Chiefs (1-0) for the first time since Week 11 of the regular season last year.
In that game, which could be argued as their best of the season, the Chiefs stopped three fourth-down attempts by the Seahawks in the fourth quarter en route to their fifth victory in a row.
No one knew it at the time, but it would be the final Seahawks loss all the way up until their Super Bowl defeat at the hands of the New England Patriots.
Of course, Friday night's matchup is much different.
The preseason is always less about winning the game and more about figuring out personnel heading into the regular season.
Right now, with injuries to Chiefs offensive linemen Jeff Allen (knee) and Eric Fisher (high ankle sprain), head coach Andy Reid acknowledged that other individuals would need to step up.
"I think we'll be OK," Reid said after the Chiefs final practice in St. Joseph, Mo. Wednesday. "We've got [Paul] Fanaika and Jarrod Pughsley who can go in there and play at the tackle spot and the rest of the guys you saw in there, so the right tackle spot would be the place where we would need to put somebody in."
In addition to Allen and Fisher being held out, Reid also said that quarterback Tyler Bray (knee), tight end Demetrius Harris (foot), wide receiver Junior Hemingway (hip), linebacker Justin March (knee), defensive lineman Dontari Poe (back) and OL Tavon Rooks would not play.
Defensive back Sanders Commings (knee), LB Josh Mauga (heel) and wide receiver De'Anthony Thomas (calf) are questionable for the game.
In a similar boat to the Chiefs, the Seahawks have been shuffling around their offensive line lately in order to find the right protection for QB Russell Wilson.
The last time Wilson played in a preseason game at Arrowhead Stadium, it was the year 2012, when as a rookie he found himself in a quarterback battle with veterans Tavaris Jackson and Matt Flynn.
Wilson finished that game against the Chiefs by going 13 for 19 with 185 yards passing and two touchdowns. He has been Seattle's starter ever since.
Wilson's counterpart, Chiefs QB Alex Smith, will look to improve upon a shaky start last Saturday against the Arizona Cardinals, against whom he threw a rare interception.
On Wednesday, Smith was asked about what he wants to be better with in this second preseason game.
"Obviously not turn the ball over, that'd be the big one," he said. "You want to go out and execute. You want to have some success, you want to score some points, you want to put some drives together.
"Things are going to happen, this is the time to work out some of that stuff—going out there, letting your fundamentals take over, go out and make some plays and get in a rhythm."
Returning to the Chiefs lineup in this game will be LB D.J. Alexander, DL Mike Catapano and WR Chris Conley.
A player that the Chiefs didn't see last year in their matchup with the Seahawks will be tight end Jimmy Graham, who Seattle traded for in the offseason.
Graham was voted as the No. 31 best player in the league in the "NFL Top 100," as voted on by fellow players.
The three-time Pro Bowler had nearly 900 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns last season for the New Orleans Saints.
LAST TIME THEY MET
View photos from the Chiefs Week 11 matchup against the Seahawks
After returning to the field last week in Arizona, Chiefs safety Eric Berry will play in his first game back in front of the Chiefs faithful at Arrowhead Stadium since defeating Hodgkin's lymphoma.
"It was great being back out here," he told the media after the game last week, "just the smell of the grass, the crowd, the food; I was just taking everything in, being in the locker room with my teammates and everything from greeting the security at the airport—I missed stuff like that."
The Chiefs and head trainer Rick Burkholder have continually said that they are easing Berry back into football shape. That process resumes this week against Seattle.
"They have a good feel with what is going on and have been doing a good job with me at practice," Berry said. "As long as we keep that open line of communication open and I'm honest with them and tell them how I feel, everything will be OK."
Week 3 of the preseason always serves as a dress rehearsal for the regular season, and that means this Week 2 game against the Seahawks is the dress rehearsal for the dress rehearsal.
When the clock hits zero on Friday night, win or lose, Reid and the Chiefs will hope they see progress in the right direction.
Sure, there will still be plenty of time for correction, but the takeoff for the plane to Houston will be just three weeks away.
