Final score: Chiefs pull away in second half, top Washington 31-13

An ugly first half was followed by an impressive second half, evening the Chiefs’ record at 3-3.

On a day that still gave their fans plenty of reasons to worry, the Kansas City Chiefs used a second-half surge on both sides of the ball to beat the Washington Football Team 31-13. Offensive turnovers still plagued the Chiefs — but their defense forced two of their own to help out.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes finished with 428 total yards and two passing touchdowns; 31 of his yards came on scrambling runs. He had two interceptions and was sacked three times. Running back Darrel Williams led the backfield with 89 total yards and two scores; tight end Travis Kelce and wide receiver Tyreek Hill combined for 175 receiving yards and a touchdown.

The Chiefs won the toss for the fifth time this season, deferring to the second half. Washington started out with a three-and-out, finished off by an incompletion that was too long for wide receiver Terry McLaurin — who got deep past cornerback Mike Hughes and safety Tyrann Mathieu.

Kansas City took over from inside their own 10-yard line. A big completion to tight end Travis Kelce gave them breathing room. Near midfield, they got into a fourth-and-1 situation — but went for it and converted by way of a short run by running back Darrel Williams. A strike to wide receiver Tyreek Hill on the next play set them up just outside the red zone. From there, a jump ball catch by tight end Jody Fortson over safety Landon Collins set up Williams to punch in a touchdown from one yard out. The Chiefs took a 7-0 lead.

After a touchback, Washington got to midfield with a couple of first downs. Their running game advanced them deeper into Chiefs’ territory — but a false start set them back, and a third-down deep shot to the end zone fell incomplete; cornerback Rashad Fenton had tight coverage on the target. They kicked a field goal, making it 7-3 late in the first quarter.

The Chiefs followed the score by getting quickly into Washington territory when Mahomes found wide receiver Mecole Hardman deep down the right sideline, resulting in a 49-yard gain on 3rd-and-4. A few plays later, Mahomes dumped off to running back Jerick McKinnon short of the sticks — but a great effort earned a first-and-goal.

To start the second quarter, Mahomes attempted a short pass to Hill — but it bounced off his hands and was intercepted.

From their own 6-yard line, Washington failed to get out of being backed up; on third down, a blitz helped defensive linemen Jarran Reed and Mike Danna get free and force an incompletion.

With great field position in Washington territory, the Chiefs failed to get anything going; they quickly went three-and-out, settling for a field goal to go up 10-3.

Washington responded getting deep into Kansas City territory; one play included an ugly hit between linebacker Anthony Hitchens and the ball carrier, which resulted in a 15-yard penalty. A few passes to McLaurin advanced their drive, but an attempt to him on third down was stopped short of the sticks by Fenton. They settled for a field goal.

Now leading 10-6 with eight minutes remaining in the second quarter, the Chiefs showed an answer with Mahomes scrambling for 17 yards on third down. However, they stalled on the next set of downs — failing to convert on third-and-7 and having to punt.

On Washington’s possession, they started with a 15-yard run — but that was followed with a forced fumble by defensive end Mike Danna that cornerback L’Jarius Sneed quickly recovered.

Set up with great field position once again, the Chiefs stalled on offense; a reverse call on third down would’ve helped them get a field goal — but Hardman fumbled as he was tackled. Washington recovered.

As the first half wound down, Washington found themselves in a third-and-16 — but converted on a screen pass that got just enough. Past the two-minute warning, Heinicke found Ricky Seals-Jones wide open deep down the field; he outran linebacker Ben Niemann into the end zone to give them the 13-10 lead.

In their last possession before halftime, Mahomes ripped off three straight big passes — one to wide receiver Byron Pringle and the next two for Kelce. On Washington’s side of the field, a pass to Kelce got them into a third-and-1 from the 34-yard line. The conversion attempt started with a fumbled snap, then a desperate throw by Mahomes turned into an easy interception — his second of the game. Instead of tacking on a field goal, the Chiefs went into halftime down 13-10.

To begin the second half, the Chiefs drove towards midfield with throws to Kelce and wide receiver Demarcus Robinson. Robinson followed up his catch with a holding penalty; on the next play, the Washington defensive line collapsed on Mahomes in the pocket. It turned into third-and-23, but the Chiefs quit on the possession and threw a short screen to Hardman for a minimal gain.

Starting from their own 45-yard line, Washington drove by way of a 10-yard throw to McKissic and a 14-yard gain by Seals-Jones. Two run stuffs turned into a third-and-2, where safety Juan Thornhill closed fast and made a tackle behind the line of scrimmage. The Chiefs got the ball back after a missed field goal.

From their own 32-yard line, the Chiefs started with a screen pass to Williams, who gained 13 yards by avoiding two tackles. They got further into Washington territory with two completions to Hill, but got themselves into third-and-5; a vintage jump pass by Mahomes found Hill’s hands past the first-down marker to set up first-and-goal. After a run, Mahomes found Hill over the middle through traffic to re-take the lead, 17-13.

With four minutes remaining in the third quarter, Washington tried to answer — but couldn’t get anything going. The third-down attempt failed with tight coverage by safety Tyrann Mathieu and a pressure from defensive end Frank Clark.

The Chiefs took the ball, getting off to a good start on the drive with gains by Williams, Hill, and Kelce to end the third quarter.

To open the fourth quarter, the Chiefs started 18 yards away from the end zone in a third-and-6, but Mahomes scrambled left and flipped a pass forward to Kelce over the middle to convert. A few plays later, Williams punched in a one-yard run to balloon the lead to 24-13.

Early in the fourth quarter, Washington took possession, quickly gaining a couple of first downs to creep towards midfield. A few sound plays by L’Jarius Sneed set up third-and-8, where a blitzing Mathieu forced Heinicke to scramble and desperately attempt a throw that fell incomplete.

The Chiefs took over at their own four-yard line, quickly getting into a third-and-4. A scramble by Mahomes got far enough to convert. Two plays later, a third-and-5 was converted as a scrambling Mahomes found Byron Pringle over the middle. Another set of downs ended in a third-and-5, but Hill took a short pass, made a player miss, and got a first down past midfield.

From the 30-yard line, the Chiefs got into a third-and-5 — but for the eighth consecutive third down, they converted; this time, a long throw to an open Robinson led him into the end zone for the touchdown. With little time remaining in the game, the Chiefs led 31-13.

With the game out of reach, Washington began a drive that quickly ended when Chiefs’ defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton jumped at the line of scrimmage and intercepted a pass.

Kansas City took over with two minutes remaining, running out the clock to seal the game.

Injuries

Rookie linebacker Nick Bolton appeared to suffer a stinger on a play in the first quarter. He entered the blue medical tent, but came back to the field soon after.

Starting linebacker Anthony Hitchens left the game in the second quarter after a nasty collision. Soon after, the team announced that he was questionable to return with an elbow injury.

Wide receiver Tyreek Hill left the game in the second quarter with a quad injury. Later, he was announced as questionable to return. But on the second drive of the third quarter, Hill returned to the field.

Tight end Jody Fortson went down with a non-contact injury midway through the third quarter. He left on a cart — and was later announced as out for the game with an Achilles injury.

Tight end Travis Kelce ran off the field holding his hand in the fourth quarter, but returned shortly after.

Special teams

Kicker Harrison Butker nailed a 52-yard field goal attempt in the second quarter.

Punt returner Mecole Hardman had a 31-yard return in the second quarter that gave the Chiefs field position in opponent territory. He also had a 30-yard return later; in the fourth quarter, he inexplicably fair caught a punt inside the five-yard line rather than giving it a chance to bounce into the end zone for touchback.

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