Kansas City Chiefs HC Andy Reid spoke with members of the media on a conference call Sunday afternoon. During his call, he broke down some positives and negatives that he saw throughout last nights game against the Steelers. Reid described this game as one that he could utilize in the classroom to help this team get better.

“I think it’s a great learning tape for us,” Reid said. “There were just some small things that can add up that could hurt you in games. We’ll go back and look at this. I don’t think anybody came out happy after the game. Our guys take this pretty seriously. That’s kind of the overall picture of what I saw.”

This week many of these positives and negatives will be coaching points of emphasis during practice. Here’s a look at some of the positives and negatives that Reid identified:

Positive: First-team defense

“It was good to get our number one defense out there,” Reid said. “I felt for two series there they did a great job. I then took out three of the defensive linemen and subbed out some other people as we went on. That was a real positive.”

I definitely agree with Reid on this one. The first-team defense was an area I highlighted as a spot that I wanted to see some improvement from this week. In limited repetitions last week, they were uninspiring.

This week, it looked like the decisions the team made this offseason were the right ones — bringing in new defensive coaches and new faces on defense. The players got out there and had back-to-back successful drives. Getting off the field on third down with a big PBU from Charvarius Ward and then a sack from Alex Okafor.

Positive: Young guys got more reps than anticipated

“Getting the young guys a lot of good reps, I thought that was a positive,” Reid said.

The starters didn’t end up playing a full half and frankly, that’s probably for the better. With the injuries and attrition that the Chiefs saw just among their second and third-string units, it was good to get the starters out of the game early.

It was also good to get some of these younger guys more work because several of them are beginning to separate themselves. On defense, Herb Miller and Ben Niemann had nice games. On offense, Darwin Thompson and Mecole Hardman continued to improve. Undrafted WR Cody Thompson also continued to impress. The more work these young players get, the better their chances of making the roster and making an early impact.

Positive: Chad Henne with first-team OL

“Getting our second quarterback in and getting some work with the number one offensive line, I thought that was a big thing,” Reid said.

It’s pretty clear that Chad Henne is going to be the No. 2 guy again this year. So getting him any sort of repetitions with the first-team offense is kind of important. If the absolute worst scenario comes to pass and he has to step in for Patrick Mahomes, he needs to be prepared to play with the starting unit. That preparation doesn’t happen without moments like this.

Negative: No pass rush from second and third-team defense

“I thought the one’s did a nice job with our pass rush, but as it went on, the other guys have to make sure that they get in there and get pressure on the quarterback,” Reid said.

Reid gave praise to the first team defense getting after the quarterback. He didn’t seem too pleased with the pass rush as the game went on. There were a few times where they had a QB on the run and could have sacked him, but it didn’t end up happening for one reason or another. Those reserve players have to be able to get pressure on the quarterback on a consistent basis, otherwise, the Chiefs could be in trouble if they need to call upon their depth.

Negative: Turnovers, drops and penalties

“The turnovers, you cannot have those,” Reid said. “We had a fumble and had a couple of dropped balls in key situations, and penalties, you have to take care of those things.”

There’s no other way to dice it, the Chiefs put the football on the ground too many times on Saturday. You won’t win against good football teams when you turn the ball over with fumbles. You won’t win against good football teams when you drop the ball in crucial situations. You certainly don’t help yourself with penalties, putting the team in excess down and distance.

Reid will likely emphasize the fumbles in practice this week, but he’ll want guys to clean up these little things moving forward.

Negative: Lack of downfield success

“Down the field, you have to be able to make plays, particularly in major situations,” Reid said. “We can get better in those areas.”

The long throw from the Chiefs on Saturday night was 27 yards. They didn’t have much downfield success and it wasn’t always due to quarterback accuracy. Some of it was drops and fumbles as mentioned above. Some of it had to do with a lack of protection.

The Steelers sent some heat at the Chiefs and blitzed, but even when they only sent four, there were times that the protection didn’t hold up. That’s not an encouraging sign given the injuries the Chiefs suffered to their starting OL in 2018. They’ll need to sure up that protection moving forward.