KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Patrick Mahomes finished 5 of 7 for 33 yards on two drives in the Kansas City Chiefs’ 17-10 loss to the Houston Texans in the preseason opener for both teams on Thursday night.

Houston’s Deshaun Watson, who’s coming back from a torn ACL, was used sparingly. He threw only one pass – a 4-yard completion to wide receiver Bruce Ellington – during a five-play drive to midfield that featured four handoffs to running back Lamar Miller.

Mahomes at No. 10 and Watson at No. 12 were taken in the first round of the 2017 draft to be franchise quarterbacks.

Brandon Weeden took over for Houston after the game’s opening drive and led back-to-back touchdown drives before joining Watson on the sideline for the remainder of the game.

Mahomes took over the starting job when Alex Smith was traded to Washington during the offseason. He also was sacked once and didn’t throw a touchdown or interception.

Mahomes didn’t complete a pass longer than 14 yards and never targeted Sammy Watkins, who signed a three-year, $48 million deal with the Chiefs in the offseason.

Weeden led Houston on a 12-play 68-yard drive during his first series, which was capped by a 6-yard touchdown to rookie tight end Jordan Akins.

Weeden hooked up with Akins for a 14-yard touchdown on the opening drive of the second quarter, finishing 9 of 11 for 97 yards with two touchdowns.

Mahomes’ backup, Chad Henne, was responsible for the lone Chiefs touchdown – a 24-yard strike over the top to Demarcus Robinson late in the second quarter.

Robinson finished with game highs of three catches and 48 yards, while Henne overcame a rough start, which included an interception on a tipped pass, to finish 8 of 14 for 91 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

Several notable players were absent for both teams.

Chiefs safety Eric Berry (Achilles’ heel), who was injured in last year’s regular-season opener, didn’t dress for the game. Backup Eric Murray got the start alongside rookie safety Armani Watts, who replaced injured starter Daniel Sorenson (knee).

Kansas City also was without both starting inside linebackers – Anthony Hitchens, a free-agent acquisition from the Cowboys, and Reggie Ragland. Second-year pro Ukeme Eligwe and veteran Terrance Smith played with the starters.

Most of the Texans’ absences also were on defense.

Linebacker Whitney Mercilus (soft tissue injury) didn’t make the trip and linebacker Benardrick McKinney didn’t play.

Defensive end J.J. Watt, who is returning from a broken leg suffered last October in the regular season against the Chiefs, and linebacker Jadeveon Clowney (knee) didn’t play either.

Offseason addition Tyrann Mathieu and Johnathan Joseph also sat out for Houston, while starting wide receivers DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller took the night off as well.

NATIONAL ANTHEM

There were no protests at Arrowhead Stadium from players on either team – though a few Chiefs, in particular, stood well off the sideline near the benches – during the national anthem. It didn’t appear that any players went to the locker room for the anthem.

INJURIES

Texans LB Kennan Gilchrist did not return after absorbing a helmet-to-helmet blow late in the fourth quarter from Chiefs running back Darrel Williams.

The play could have been called a penalty under new NFL rules regarding players lowering their heads and leading with the crown of the helmet, but no flag was thrown.

NEXT UP

The Chiefs (0-1) return to action Friday, Aug. 17, at the Atlanta Falcons.

The Texans (1-0) host the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday, Aug. 18.

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) – Kansas State has signed Bill Snyder to a new, more lucrative five-year contract that could keep the 78-year-old coach with the Wildcats through the 2022 season.

Snyder already had a contract that essentially rolled over each year. But the new deal increases his salary to $3.45 million this season with increases of $300,000 each of the next two, and includes a clause that allows for a salary renegotiation after the 2020 season.

Snyder resurrected the Kansas State program when he arrived in 1988, taking a program that had been dubbed “Futility U” to national prominence. He stepped away in 2005, citing a desire to spend more time with his family, only to return in 2009 when the program had again fallen on hard times.

He has a career record of 210-110-1, and is coming off an 8-5 season that ended with a bowl win.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Mike Montgomery continues to dominate the club that drafted him out of high school.

Montgomery allowed five hits over six-plus innings, David Bote drove in a career-high three runs and the Chicago Cubs beat the Kansas City Royals 5-0 Tuesday night.

The Cubs upped their NL Central lead to 2 1/2 games over second-place Milwaukee, which lost in San Diego.

Montgomery (4-4), who the Royals drafted in the first round in 2008, picked up his first win since June 29. Montgomery is 3-0 with a 0.40 ERA in four appearances against the Royals.

“I’ve heard the numbers of what I’ve got against them throughout my career,” Montgomery said. “I think it’s a coincidence. Sometimes you just have a team that you do well against. It happens to be them. They’ve had some good teams over the last couple of years. The team that drafts you, you always want to pitch good against them.”

Bote’s first career triple with two out in the first scored Ben Zobrist and Jason Heyward. His fifth inning single scored Javier Baez.

“It’s kind of just morphed in over the years,” said Bote, who is in his fifth stint with the Cubs this season after six-plus years in the minors. “The nerves are always there. The adrenalin’s there. Being able to use those emotions into a good avenue, being able to think ‘I’m going to attack this baseball’ or ‘I’m ready for this pitch.’ Put a positive spin on it and just executing.”

Victor Caratini, who led off the inning with a single, scored on Zobrist’s sacrifice fly. Zobrist left in the bottom of the inning with left hip tightness, but will likely play Wednesday.

“That fifth inning just kind of snowballed on me,” losing pitcher Brad Keller said.

Ian Happ’s sacrifice fly in the eighth scored Bote with the final run.

Keller (4-5) was removed after six innings, allowing four runs on seven hits and three walks.

“He kept us in the game,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “He made pitches and limited the damage when he needed to. I thought he was going to get out of the first inning scoreless, but he threw a slider that Bote hit off the wall in the right field for two runs.”

The Royals had only one runner past second base, when Adalberto Mondesi swiped third in the seventh.

“We just couldn’t do anything against Montgomery,” Yost said. “He did a nice job of mixing up his pitches. He was ahead in the count for the most part and did a good job of keeping us off balance.”

The Royals have lost six straight and are 14-43 since May 30. They are tied with Baltimore for the worst record, 34-79, in the majors.

BRYANT UPDATE

Cubs 3B Kris Bryant took grounders and played catch, but has not picked up a bat since going on the disabled list on July 24 for the second time with left shoulder inflammation. “I’m really bored, not fun at all,” Bryant said. “But you gotta do what you gotta do to get healthy and hopefully it never happens again. It’s frustrating. It’s not fun to go in the trainer’s room every day. I feel like I’m normal but it’s only when I’m swinging the bat.” No timetable has been set on when the 2016 NL MVP player will return. “I’m not going to get ahead of myself,” he said.

HEYWARD BATS FOURTH

RF Jason Heyward batted cleanup for the first time this season for the Cubs.

ROYALS MAKE TRADE

The Royals acquired RHP Jon Perrin from the Brewers in a minor league trade. Perrin, 25, went to Olathe East, a suburban Kansas City high school, and Oklahoma State. He was assigned to their Double-A Northwest Arkansas club. The Royals sent Lexington RHP Sal Biasi to the Brewers.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cubs: RHP Anthony Bass (right mid-thoracic strain) tossed a flawless inning Tuesday for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs against Las Vegas. Bass threw eight pitches, all strikes, in his second rehab appearance since going on the DL on July 21.

Royals: RHP Ian Kennedy (left oblique strain) threw a bullpen session for the first time since going on the DL on July 11. . OF Brian Goodwin (left groin strain) is eligible to come off the disabled list Wednesday, but manager Ned Yost said he would not. “I’m not sure what their timeline is,” Goodwin said. “I just keep getting better every day.”

UP NEXT

Cubs: LHP Jose Quintana, who is 3-9 versus the Royals, will start the series finale.

Royals: RHP Heath Fillmyer is looking for his first big league victory.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Javier Baez went deep, Cole Hamels pitched six strong innings and the Chicago Cubs beat the Kansas City Royals 3-1 on Monday night.

Baez hit the first pitch from reliever Kevin McCarthy (4-4) in the sixth inning to center for his 25th home run, putting the Cubs ahead 2-1.

Baez doubled in the eighth to score Jason Heyward, upping his RBI total to an NL-leading 88.

Hamels (7-9) is 2-0 since the Cubs acquired him in a July 27 trade with the Texas Rangers. He allowed one run and seven hits.

Alcides Escobar’s two-out second-inning single scored Rosell Herrera for the first earned run Hamels allowed at Kauffman Stadium in four career starts, covering 21 2/3 innings.

Royals starter Jakob Junis worked out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the fifth. Ben Zobrist and Heyward hit ground ball outs to end the inning.

The Royals loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the inning, but Hamels retired Hunter Dozier on a grounder to first baseman Anthony Rizzo on a full-count pitch.

Junis was removed after five innings and 87 pitches, allowing one run and five hits while striking out eight, one shy of his career high.

Zobrist led off the fourth with a triple and scored on Junis’ wild pitch.

Cubs relievers Steve Cishek, Brandon Kintzler and Pedro Strop limited the Royals to one single over the final three innings. Strop earned his eighth save in 11 chances, working a spotless ninth.

The Royals have lost five straight and are tied with the Baltimore Orioles for the worst record in the majors at 34-78.

Rain delayed the game 22 minutes in the fourth.

ZOBRIST RETURNS

Zobrist, who hit .303 with two home runs in 16 postseason games for the Royals in 2015, was back in Kansas City for the first time since the club won the World Series. He received a standing ovation before his first at-bat.

ROYALS LONG TRIP

The Royals were home for the first time since July 25, after a 3-7, three-city, 11-day trip to New York, Chicago and Minnesota. It included a rainout in New York, which was made up with a day-night doubleheader, plus two rain delays in Minnesota. “It seemed like it was a year,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cubs: 3B Kris Bryant (left shoulder inflammation) threw before the game for the first since going on the disabled list on July 24. “It was good to get him out there doing some baseball stuff. It was good for him and for his head, too,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. “There’s no regress, but there’s no finish lines attached.” … RHPs Brandon Morrow (right biceps inflammation) and Yu Darvish (right triceps tendinitis) played catch before the game. Darvish is scheduled to throw another bullpen session Wednesday.

Royals: OF Brian Goodwin (left groin strain) took batting practice. He is eligible to come off the disabled list Wednesday.

UP NEXT

Cubs: LHP Mike Montgomery, who was a 2008 Royals’ first-round pick, starts the middle game of the series.

Royals: Rookie RHP Brad Keller is 3-3 with a 3.90 ERA in 11 starts since moving into the rotation on May 30.