Mahomes, Hunt lead Chiefs to
dominant 28-7 win over Commanders, their 9th straight in the series
[October 28, 2025]
By DAVE SKRETTA
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs coach Andy Reid called the first half
of Monday night's game against Washington downright weird, full of
turnovers and failed fourth-down conversions and so much lousy
execution by both teams that he was left scratching his head.
“There wasn't a lot of punting but there wasn't a lot of points,”
Reid said. “That doesn't normally happen.”
The second half? About as normal as it gets for Kansas City these
days.
Patrick Mahomes wound up throwing for 299 yards and three
touchdowns, Kareem Hunt found the end zone twice, and the Chiefs'
defense was just as dominant as their high-flying offense over the
final 30 minutes, helping Kansas City pull away from a halftime tie
for a 28-7 victory over the Commanders on a cold night at Arrowhead
Stadium.
Mahomes was nearly perfect after throwing two early interceptions,
one of which was hardly his fault. One of his touchdown passes went
to good buddy Travis Kelce, giving him 83 scores to tie Priest
Holmes for the Chiefs career record, and another went to Rashee
Rice, who caught nine passes for 93 yards in his second game back
from a six-game NFL suspension.
It all helped the Chiefs (5-3) win for the fourth time in five
games. It also helped them extend their streak of dominance over the
Commanders to nine straight wins and 11 in 12 games overall; the
lone loss came way back on Sept. 18, 1983.
“I think it just shows the growth we've had as a team,” Mahomes
said. “Even though we didn't start the way we wanted to on offense,
it showed we can battle through adversity and play the brand of
football we want to play.”
Marcus Mariota had 213 yards passing with a touchdown and two
interceptions for the Commanders (3-5), who fell to 1-4 away from
home this season. Mariota started in place of Jayden Daniels, who
hurt his hamstring in last week's loss to Dallas.
Terry McLaurin returned from a quad issue to catch three passes for
54 yards and the score, though he aggravated the injury late in the
game. Deebo Samuel also returned from a bruised heel, but after two
early catches, he managed just one more.
“It was a tale of two halves,” said McLaurin, adding that he would
take his injury day by day this week. “We kind of left some things
on the field in the first half that we feel we could have executed.
The defense did a great job of getting us the ball back twice. We've
got to capitalize on that. The second half, they executed a lot
better than us.”
In truth, most of the first half was an exercise in poor execution
by both offenses.
The Commanders' opening series ended when Mariota's pass bounced off
Samuel for an interception. The Chiefs' ended when Mahomes also was
picked off. Kansas City proceeded to stop Washington on fourth down,
only for Mahomes to have a pass bounce off Kelce's hands for his
second interception — which the Commanders failed to capitalize on
when Mariota overthrew everyone on fourth-and-1 deep in Kansas City
territory.
To recap: Two picks by the Commanders, who had created three
turnovers all season; two thrown by Mahomes, who had thrown just two
previously; and two failed fourth-down conversions by a Washington
offense desperate to get points.
All told, five empty drives.
“Just weird,” Reid said.
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Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) throws during
the first half of an NFL football game against the Washington
Commanders Monday, Oct. 27, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP
Photo/Charlie Riedel)
But then, two very productive drives: Kansas City
marched 72 yards for a touchdown, and the Commanders answered with a
66-yard drive that McLaurin finished with a TD reception that was
first ruled incomplete but overturned upon review.
“We came out well,” Mariota said, "but when we’re not converting our
drives against this type of team, it’s tough, because they’ll get
going. I thought our defense did a good job of holding them up,
making plays, creating turnovers.”
Until the second half. That's when the Chiefs, who were 12 1/2-point
favorites, according to BetMGM, started to play like it.
They opened with a methodical 80-yard drive that Hunt finished with
his second score. Then, after Kansas City forced a quick punt by the
Commanders, the 36-year-old Kelce capped a 75-yard drive with his
record-tying touchdown reception.
“He's just like, the true Chiefs' Chief," Mahomes said. “He helped
set the culture and what it means to play in Kansas City.”
The clinching blow came midway through the fourth quarter, a
13-play, 94-yard drive by the Chiefs — well, 119 yards if you
include all the penalties they had to overcome — that finally broke
the Commanders. Rice finished it with an 18-yard touchdown reception
after he had twice come up just shy of scoring earlier in the game.
It made five consecutive games in which Kansas City has scored at
least 28 points, and it put this one well out of reach.
“It's tough to score points in this league,” Reid said, “so anything
you get, you appreciate it. I like the way the guys went about it.
You need mental toughness. There's so much parity. You have to fight
through the highs and lows. I appreciate the effort.”
Injuries
Washington: Matthew Wright kicked in place of Matt Gay, who was out
with a back injury. Left tackle Laremy Tunsil hurt his hamstring on
the opening series. Defensive tackle Jer'Zhan Newton hurt his ankle
but returned to the game.
Kansas City: Offensive guard Trey Smith was inactive because of a
back injury.
Up next
The Commanders host Seattle on Sunday night.
The Chiefs play at Buffalo the same day for an AFC title game
rematch.
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