Chiefs roll Commanders with second half surge following sloppy start
Mahomes throws three touchdowns after two early picks as Kansas City wins its fifth game in six weeks behind big nights from Kelce, Rice and the defense on Monday Night Football.
Monday night’s game between the Kansas City Chiefs (5-3) and Washington Commanders (3-5) needed a total of five possessions between them to start the matchup before a football game appeared.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw an interception on each of the team’s first two possessions for the first time in his career. The Commanders returned the favor by throwing an interception and mustering two turnovers on downs.
Someone had to wake up, and the Chiefs answered the call on the way to a convincing 28-7 win. Kansas City responded with 21 unanswered points to hand Washington a Week 8 loss.
“It’s tough to score points in this league,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said regarding the offensive explosion. “Any that you get, you appreciate. I like the way the guys went about it. You’re going to need mental toughness when you play in this league. There’s so much parity, and you’ve got to fight through some of the highs and lows. Even with the good plays, you got to make sure that you’re bringing a fastball the next play.”
Aside from the drive where the Chiefs took their possession into halftime, Mahomes and company led the team on four-straight touchdown drives following turning it over on the first two drives.
The Chiefs seized control of the game with the opening possession of the second half.
Mahomes led the offense on a 10-play, 80-yard drive, and Mahomes connected with tight end Travis Kelce for a 38-yard gain down the right sideline, punctuating the possession. Mahomes then found running back Kareem Hunt for a 2-yard touchdown pass on a fourth-and-2 play to finish the drive and give the Chiefs a 14-7 lead.
The Commanders didn’t do anything with the ensuing possession before punting it back to the Chiefs.
Mahomes then marched the Chiefs down the field on an eight-play, 75-yard drive, which featured a 24-yard pass to wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and a 10-yard touchdown pass to Kelce to give the Chiefs a 21-7 lead.
Kelce’s touchdown placed him in a two-way tie at 83 regular-season touchdowns with former Chiefs running back Priest Holmes on the Chiefs’ all-time leaderboard. His cerebral quarterback hustled to retrieve the game ball after the two connected for the 75th time in their career.
It was a day in which he led the team in receiving with six catches for 99 yards and a touchdown on eight targets, averaging 16.5 yards per catch.
“I mean, he’s (Kelce) the true Chiefs Chief,” Mahomes said. “He is the guy that has been here through the whole thing, been here with Coach Reid the entire time. He has helped set the culture, you know? He helped set the culture of what it means to play for Coach Reid and to play in Kansas City, and I was able to come in and then have that guy to rely on. He’s breaking all the records now, and he’s all about the team, so I want to make sure that he gets that, and hopefully we can get another football for him later in the season after he actually breaks the record.”
The Chiefs finished the scoring in the fourth quarter when Mahomes found wide receiver Rice for an 18-yard touchdown pass on the very next drive. There was a profound difference in the Kansas City offense between the two halves of the game.
“When we got in the locker room, we just talked about executing,” Mahomes said. “Sometimes you want to press and make stuff happen, especially on a big game like Monday Night Football. We weren’t doing that. They had more energy than we did – their defense versus our offense. We had to match their energy and execute at a higher level, and we were able to do that in that second half and start off that first drive, and then we continued that momentum through the rest of the second half.”
Mahomes completed 25-of-34 passes for 299 yards and three touchdowns against two interceptions for a 104.9 passer rating. He did so with two backup offensive linemen, while getting sacked three times and hit seven times.
Rice finished the game with a team-high nine catches for 93 yards and touchdowns on nine targets for a perfect night. Both he and Kelce each had an explosive play of 25 and 38 yards, respectively, with wide receiver Xavier Worthy and JuJu Smith-Schuster also registering a catch greater than 20 yards.
While the Chiefs enjoyed a scoring binge in the second half, the game started oddly.
“The first half was weird,” Reid said. “There wasn’t a lot of punting going on on either side, and there were no points on the board. So that normally doesn’t go on. But those four downs were big. They (Commanders) do that. They’re one of the more aggressive teams in the league, going for fourth down, and they were tonight. So, we were able to stop them a couple times, so I thought that was a positive.”
The Commanders had the first opportunity with the ball to start the game, and put together a good drive by advancing to the Chiefs’ 18-yard line.
Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota, however, saw his pass go through wide receiver Deebo Samuel’s hands and the ball ricocheted off Samuel’s facemask before popping in the air.
Chiefs defensive end Mike Danna snared the loose ball out of the air and returned it 10 yards. The interception was the first of Danna’s six-year career.
The Chiefs, though, gave it right back to the Commanders after cornerback Marshon Lattimore picked off Mahomes’ pass intended for Hollywood Brown.
Sloppiness ensued for both teams, as the Commanders turned it over on downs, followed by another Mahomes’ interception when the ball bounced off Kelce’s hands before landing in linebacker Bobby Wagner’s.
Mahomes spoke about doubling his season-total interception count after the game.
“That stuff happens,” Mahomes said. “Just like how I threw an interception earlier in the game. You got to move on from mistakes. They (Commanders) were able to make plays in that first half, but luckily for us our defense stepped up. It’s a full team. The defense steps up whenever we’re struggling. We’re able to go out there and put up points in that second half, and that speaks to the grit that we have as a football team.”
No damage was done, however, after Washington once again turned it over on downs for the second straight time after generating a turnover.
The Chiefs finally broke through when Mahomes led the Chiefs on a nine-play, 72-yard drive, which featured a 31-yard pass completion to Kelce and a seven-yard run by Rice that put them at the one-yard line. The rush was called initially for a touchdown before a review marked him down.
Running back Kareem Hunt capped off the drive with a 1-yard touchdown plunge. Hunt finished the game with 42 total yards and two touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving).
Hunt was not the only one who had a productive evening on the ground. The team rushed for 148, with Isiah Pacheco notching 58 on 5.2 yards per carry. Mahomes tallied 30 yards on his own as well.
The rushing attack over the last few weeks has been a far cry from the performances they were putting up at the beginning of the season.
“It starts up front,” Reid said. “Then Pop (Pacheco) is getting into a groove, and then Kareem (Hunt), when he has an opportunity to get in there and go, he goes. He’s a jump starter, so he doesn’t need a whole lot of carries before he gets going. We’ve added 24 (Brashard Smith) into the mix and try to get him a few plays a game, and he’s responded to that.”
Washington responded with a 10-play, 66-yard drive, which ended when Mariota found wide receiver Terry McLaurin in the end zone for an 11-yard touchdown pass with less than a minute to go in the first half. The play was initially ruled as an incomplete pass, but the replay overturned the call on the field.
McLaurin’s toe-drag touchdown with safety Chamarri Conner and linebacker Nick Bolton in coverage forced the 7-7 tie heading into halftime.
The Commanders struggled offensively throughout the second half, with the Chiefs outgaining them 241 to 41 after Washington out-produced them by 28 yards in the first half.
Ultimately, the Chiefs proved too much for the Commanders, a team without starting quarterback Jayden Daniels.
Of the Commanders’ eight drives, the Chiefs’ defense forced two turnovers, two turnovers on downs, and three punts. In total, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s unit has allowed just 14 points over the last 10 quarters of football.
The Chiefs went 4-for-4 in the red zone, 4-for-10 on third downs, and 2-for-2 on fourth down attempts. This now marks the fifth-straight game the offense has put up at least 28 points, and this time it was despite being called for nine penalties totaling 95 yards.
Kansas City wound up evening the turnover battle after linebacker Jack Cochrane also registered his first interception of his career late in the game. Defensive end George Karlaftis tallied a sack as well, while Conner led the team in tackles with 10.
Danna put forth his best performance of the season, also sacking Mariota in addition to his interception. Going back to high school, college, or any level of football, the opening interception was Danna’s first of his career.
“That’s super cool,” linebacker Nick Bolton said. “That guy (Danna) works his tail off. He does a lot of different things for us. He rushes inside, outside, a little three technique, a little tackle, and on the edge as well. I was happy for that guy to go in and make a play for our team. We needed it a little bit on that drive. That stop was huge for us.”
The Chiefs improved to two games above .500 for the first time this season, winning five of the last six games. They sit one game behind the Denver Broncos for the division lead.
“I know the record isn’t as good (as last year), but it’s a lot more fun when everybody is going out there and making stuff happen,” Mahomes said. “I think we’re getting better and better. We lost some tough games early that we had won in previous years, but it’s not like anyone hung their head. … it has been fun to be here at Arrowhead to do it, and now we’ll get to take it on the road (against the Buffalo Bills) and see if we can do it again.”
INJURIES
Both Pacheco and Bolton sustained knee injuries and will undergo further evaluation.
The Chiefs listed rookie left tackle Josh Simmons (personal), right guard Trey Smith (back), cornerback Kristian Fulton, tight end Jared Wylie, running back Elijah Mitchell, defensive end Malik Herring and rookie wide receiver Jalen Royals as inactive.
Jaylon Moore drew the start at left tackle for a third straight game, while Mike Caliendo started at right guard in place of Smith.
UP NEXT
The Chiefs are on the road in Week 9 for an AFC heavyweight showdown against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium.
KC Sports Network’s Herbie Teope contributed to this report.
