The Washington Commanders had reality hit them in the collective face Monday night. The Commanders (3-5) played inspired, if imperfect, football in the first half, but, as a team with a losing record usually does, was unable to sustain the effort for 60 minutes, dropping its third straight game 28-7 to Kansas City.
The offense turned the ball over once in the first half and had two fourth-down attempts fall short. That left a possible 21 points on the field, more than enough of a margin of error for the Chiefs’ talent to eventually take over.
Backup quarterback Marcus Mariota took the offense down the field on the opening drive to the Kansas City 18-yard line. On first down, Mariota threw a short pass to Deebo Samuel, who took his eyes off the ball a split second before catching it. He bobbled the pass, and it was intercepted by Kansas City’s Mike Danna.
But the defense that was gashed by the Dallas Cowboys last week was eager to make up for that performance. Marshon Lattimore made a beautiful one-handed interception of Patrick Mahomes on the seven-yard line. It was Lattimore’s first interception since the Commanders traded for him last season.
Once again, the offense was stopped, this time on a fourth-down play on the Chiefs 35-yard line. Tight end Zach Ertz came up five inches short of a first down, snuffing out Washington’s second potential scoring drive.
But the defense got another takeaway when a Mahomes throw to Travis Kelcie went off the tight end’s hands and into the arms of linebacker Bobby Wagner.
And yet again, the Commanders were stopped on downs. This time, a Mariota pass to Terry McLaurin in the end zone was overthrown.
The Chiefs finally got on the board in the second quarter when Kareem Hunt scored on a one-yard touchdown run to make the score 7-0.
Washington came right back as Mariota directed a 10-play, 66-yard drive that ended with Terry McLaurin, playing his first game in four weeks, making a diving catch for a touchdown. McLaurin was originally ruled out of bounds, but a replay showed his knee touched the ground while he maintained possession of the ball.
Tying the score 7-7 proved to be the high mark of the game.
Kansas City dominated the second half, starting with the first possession of the third quarter. Â Hunt capped an 8-play, 80-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown run on 4th and goal to make the score 14-7.
It was then that the dam burst for Washington.
Another Chiefs drive, another score, this time a Mahomes 10-yard touchdown pass to Kelce, 21-7. Then a Washington punt, and Mahomes’ second scoring pass, this time to Rasheed Rice, to make the score 28-7.
The second half was a master class by Kansas City. The Chiefs showed a superior ability to make adjustments and dominate. Kansas City held the ball for more than 21 minutes in the second half, sending a large portion of the crowd home early and happy. Final score, 28-7, Kansas City.
For Washington, the biggest question to be answered is whether this season can be saved. Daniels will need to be healthy for Sunday night’s match-up with Seattle at Northwest Stadium.
Thanks to injuries and age, this roster is not talented enough to win consistently without its franchise quarterback. The combined record of Seattle and Detroit (the Commanders’ next two opponents) is 10-4, then the Dolphins (2-6) in Madrid before the bye week.
Can this team win two of its next three to hit the break with a 5-6 record?
Bob Matthews is a 33 year veteran broadcast journalist, spending the last 29 years of his career in Virginia. Bob has covered both news and sports stories and for the last three seasons, the Washington Commanders. He looks forward to continuing to provide coverage to Sportsjourney.com both on the website and through his podcast, The Bob Matthews Show.
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