The Kansas City Chiefs rattled off their fifth win in their last six games, defeating the Washington Commanders 28-7 on Monday Night Football behind a second half explosion on offense and defense.

First Half

The first half could only be described as sloppy, as quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw two interceptions on his first two drives for the first time in his career. The second of these two interceptions could not be blamed on Mahomes, as the accurately delivered ball careened off of tight end Travis Kelce’s hands and was consequently picked off.

Mahomes now sits with four total interceptions on the season. The only turnovers that Kansas City has so far, and two of those picks can be attributed to the hands of Kelce. Thankfully, the slow start on offense didn’t matter much as the defense had a pick of their own before forcing two turnovers on downs, five straights drives to begin the game that ended in a turnover. To make things even stranger, all five of those drives ended on the opponent’s side of the field.

Towards the end of the half, both teams finally started to wake up, exchanging touchdowns before heading to the locker rooms at 7-7.

Second Half

The second half saw the Chiefs come out swinging, as the offense went 80 yards in just under five minutes to take a 14-7 lead. After that, the defense finally stopped the Commanders before they made it past midfield, as Washington punted for the first time all game.

The offense didn’t slow down, as Mahomes found Kelce in the endzone to atone for his earlier mistake. It was Kelce’s 100th career touchdown catch, making him the fourth tight end in NFL history to reach that mark.

After another quickly forced punt, the Chiefs sent a dagger through the heart of Washington with a 94-yard touchdown drive, making that their third straight drive to result in a touchdown. The Chiefs would hold on the 28-7 lead until the final whistle for a 21-point win, their third straight victory of 13+ points.

Key Statistics

After a struggling first half that saw Mahomes throw two interceptions, he responded amazingly, ending the night with 299 yards on 25/34 passing for three touchdowns. He also continued to make good work on the ground with four rushes for 30 yards, and got a decent amount of help from his backs.

The running backs combined for a solid 118 rushing yards, Running back Isaiah Pacheco led the way with 12 rushes for 58 yards, but unfortunately suffered a late MCL injury that has made him week-to-week. Backup running backs Kareem Hunt and Brashard Smith may now have to take on a bit of a heavier load at least for the next few weeks or so.

In the receiving game, the mantra “everybody’s gotta eat” continued to rain true in Kansas City, as three different receivers ended the night with 53+ yards led by Kelce who obtained six receptions for 99 yards and a TD.

The Chiefs now have two receivers this season who ended a game with exactly 99 yards, the first coming in week one from wide receiver Hollywood Brown. As a result, Kansas City is still yet to see a receiver hit the century mark in one outing.

Only one receiver is on pace to reach 1,000 receiving yards this season and that is Kelce who currently leads the team with 474 receiving yards.

On the defensive side, it was another game that was pretty balanced across the board statistically, besides defensive end Mike Danna. Danna ended the night with three tackles, one sack, one tackle for loss, one pass deflection, and an interception on the opening drive.

The Outlook

Despite a less than stellar 5-3 record and a rough upcoming schedule with a game in Buffalo on deck, the Chiefs appear to be rolling and feeling quite confident as of right now. The offense currently ranks fifth in the league in yards per game and the defense ranks fourth in the league for yards allowed per game. Kansas City is the only team to have their offense and defense both in the top seven of the league.

Despite this impressive stat, the Chiefs still sit at third in the AFC West behind both the Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos and consequently have a lot of work to do before the end of the regular season.

With Monday night’s win, the Chiefs are finally in the playoff picture for the first time this season, currently sitting as the No. 7 seed, a spot that I’m sure the team is not satisfied with. As the team has rounded a tough corner to once again look like a premiere squad, they will have to make sure not to lose their edge with plenty left to gain on the table.