Chiefs bench Suamataia late in Week 2 win over Bengals

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - The promising young career of Kansas City Chiefs offensive tackle Kingsley Suamataia took a step back Sunday.

Time after time on Sunday afternoon, head coach Andy Reid and offensive coordinator Matt Nagy asked the rookie to deal with Bengals star defensive end Trey Hendrickson. Time after time, the veteran Bengal taught the rookie Chief a lesson.

“Kingsley was going up against arguably one of the best defensive ends in the league,” Reid said. “It will be a great experience he can put away and learn from.”

Whether it was for a sack or a hold, Hendrickson got the better of Suamataia throughout the afternoon. On the game’s final drive, Reid and Chiefs offensive line coach Andy Heck sent second-year tackle Wanya Morris into the game as a replacement for the 21-year-old from BYU.

“I ended up taking him out of the game because sometimes you’ve got to take a step back to take a step forward,” Reid said of the 63rd overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

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In all, Hendrickson had four tackles, two sacks and three quarterback hits.

“It was just mental errors on my part,” Suamataia said, taking the blame for his poor performance after Kansas City held on for a 26-25 win. “I just have to trust my technique just like the coaches have been saying and it’s worked every time when I have done it. I just have to stick to my technique and perfect it.”

The first sack for Hendrickson ended any hopes of Kansas City scoring on its two-minute drill drive heading into halftime. Suamataia was beat for a 10-yard loss which put Kansas City in a 3rd and 19 hole with less than a minute to go in the second quarter.

“He was doing the same moves,” Suamataia said of Hendrickson, who later beat him for his second sack with 8:54 remaining in the fourth quarter. “He’s a great player, has a high motor. I gave up two sacks against him. He’s a great player and I just have to be ready to attack next week.”

READ MORE: Chiefs beat Bengals, 26-25 on walk-off Butker field goal

On the next play after Hendrickson got his second sack, Suamataia was whistled for a holding call, which put Kansas City in a 3rd and 20 hole. A 10-yard to Rashee Rice failed to move the sticks and was the rookie left tackle’s final offensive snap of the game.

“Very seldom are you going to get a guy like that right there,” Reid said of Hendrickson. “What you want to do is learn from it and move forward... Sometimes you get beat a couple times and you’re a young guy and you haven’t quite figured out the answers to the test, yet. Your coach talks to you and you’ve got to settle down. That happens.”

Suamataia said he’ll head into next week -- a Sunday Night Football matchup with the Atlanta Falcons and Kansas City’s first road test of the season -- with the same mentality.

“You’re not always going to have your perfect day,” Mahomes said of Suamataia. “I have all the trust in the world that he’s going to keep getting better and better and be a guy I can really count on every single game.”

“I’ll put my best foot forward and prepare like its game day like Patrick (Mahomes) has been saying,” Suamataia said. “You kind of take that for granted with it being your first year. I’m starting, so I’ve got to take it more seriously for myself.

“I’m just focused on the next game. I messed up those two times and those two times could’ve been a big play. You never know. There’s no giving myself grace.”

Last season, Morris was the rookie tackle getting critical starts late in the regular season when veteran left tackle Donovan Smith battled injuries. Now, Kansas City has a new rookie getting tested by the NFL’s best edge rushers.

Even when Morris relieved Suamataia, he committed a nearly game-ending penalty, an illegal hands to the face violation that set up 4th and 16 with 48 seconds remaining.

From there, quarterback Patrick Mahomes and wide receiver Rashee Rice helped Kansas City draw a 29-yard defensive interference call that helped set up a game-winning field goal from kicker Harrison Butker.

After the win, the rookie said Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce continued to encourage him, despite the struggles.

“I’m the future of this program,” Suamataia said. “I’m going to be here for the next 10 plus years, so I’m just a rookie. They gave me that but this should’ve never happened in the first place.”

Reid said he and offensive line coach Andy Heck will look at the tape to evaluate the Chiefs’ best move at left tackle moving forward.

“We’ll see how it goes,” Reid said. “I’m going to go back and take a look at the tape and I’ll talk to Coach Heck and we’ll go from there.”

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