Chiefs beat Commanders in a decisive 28-7 victory

Pete Sweeney, The Kansas City Star on Oct 27, 2025

Published in Football

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Washington Commanders 28-7 on Monday night at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, improving to 5-3 this season.

Here are some immediate observations from the Chiefs’ Week 8 NFL victory:

Turning point: A costly penalty gives the Chiefs control for good

After a first half of miscues that included back-to-back interceptions to open the game, Kansas City received the ball to start the second half with the score tied at 7.

From the Kansas City 20, Rashee Rice motioned across the formation and picked up five yards on the opening play. Facing second-and-5 from the shotgun, Patrick Mahomes looked for Noah Gray on a crosser. The ball was tipped at the line but still touched Gray’s hands before falling incomplete.

The problem for Washington came immediately after the drop.

Safety Quan Martin barreled in and collided with Gray for a helmet-to-helmet hit. Gray stayed down briefly, and an official quickly flagged the play for unnecessary roughness.

The penalty gave the Chiefs a fresh set of downs at their own 40 — and two plays later, Travis Kelce took the ball 38 yards down the right sideline.

Kansas City ahead 14-7 on a Kareem Hunt rushing touchdown, forced a stop on the next drive, then punched in another touchdown on the possession to follow.

What should have been a third-and-5 opportunity for Washington instead became this “Monday Night Football” game’s turning point — all because of the flag.

Rapid reaction: Chiefs’ clean second half makes all the difference

While it was never going to be easy as last week against a banged-up Las Vegas Raiders team, the Chiefs still entered the game with a clear advantage, beginning with the quarterback battle between current MVP favorite Patrick Mahomes and backup Marcus Mariota.

All they had to do was avoid self-inflicted mistakes. In the first half, they didn’t, with two interceptions on the first two drives amid bad protection up front, Commanders receivers constantly beating the second level of the defense in the flat and a costly special-teams penalty that prevented Kansas City from putting together a late-half scoring drive.

A trip to the halftime locker room seemed to cure all of the Chiefs’ woes.

The protection tightened and the offenses stopped turning the ball over. Kelce — at fault for the second interception — redeemed himself by leading the team with 99 yards and a touchdown.

The wide-open Washington receivers that ran free in the first half were blanketed. Kansas City took just one penalty — taunting, on Rashee Rice — but even that drive ended in a Rice touchdown.

After a slow start to the season, the Chiefs are suddenly on a three-game winning streak with the offense looking as good as it has in four seasons.

Against Buffalo next week, the Chiefs can’t afford a slot start. But Monday night’s second half showed, when they play clean football, they’re a problem for anyone.

Critical stat: The ‘400-yard’ boys

Against the Commanders, the Chiefs topped 400 yards of offense for the third time in four games.

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