New offensive coordinator Brian Daboll's first-team offense looked solid, scoring on their first two drives before taking the night off in a 27-17 preseason victory over the Arizona Cardinals at Arrowhead Stadium on Friday night.
It was a good start, especially without WR Dwayne Bowe, who has refused to sign his tender. There were reports before the game that Bowe was in town to sign his tender, but CBSSports.com's Jason La Canfora discovered those reports were erroneous.
A balanced attack and Peyton Hillis running through arm tackles were the highlights in the first quarter. Hillis ran four times for 41 yards. Matt Cassel also found Hillis for an easy 11-yard TD.
Hillis had the best season of his career in Daboll's offense in 2010 -- running for 1,177 yards. Daboll left for Miami and Hillis struggled. Reunited, it looked like the Hillis of old.
Kansas City's offensive line also looked solid creating holes for the RBs and protecting Cassel, who was hit once in two drives. Cassel went 5 of 6 for 67 yards and a TD.
It was the Chiefs' first preseason win since Sept. 2, 2010 against Green Bay.
Toribio proves worthy of starting role: First-round pick Dontari Poe went relatively unnoticed in his debut, finishing without a tackle. Anthony Toribio, who has held down the starter spot at NT since the start of camp, had two tackles, including one for a loss on the opening play of the Cardinals' second series, taking down RB Alfonso Smith for a 1-yard loss. Third-string NT Jerrell Powe also had a sack.
First-team defense shines: The first-team defense was just as impressive as the offense in the three drives that starters played against Arizona. The Cardinals had just three first downs in three drives, which all resulted in a punt. Highlights included a Derrick Johnson TFL, a Justin Houston sack and Toribio's tackle for a loss.
Round one, Quinn-Stanzi draw: QB Ricky Stanzi benefited from two short fields and led the Chiefs to 10 points. Even with the two scoring drives, it wasn't the type of performance that will help Stanzi gain ground in the battle for backup QB with Brady Quinn. Stanzi was 2 of 7 for 42 yards.
Quinn took over for Cassel and struggled, throwing an INT and going 7 of 13 for 81 yards. Quinn was off target on several throws, including the INT and a high pass to Terrance Cooper that opened Cooper up for a big hit, shaking up the wideout.
Quinn's one scoring drive was set up by a pass interference call on a deep ball to Jamar Newsome. The Chiefs came away with a 22-yard Ryan Succop field goal. We'll call the battle a draw.
Follow Chiefs reporter C.J. Moore on Twitter @CBSSportsNFLKC and @cjmoore4.