Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid described the first half of the team’s 28-7 victory over the Washington Commanders as “weird,” but praised the way the offense settled in. Reid also highlighted tight end Travis Kelce, who tied a franchise record during the game. By Emily Curiel| Monty Davis
Ahead of “Monday Night Football,” fresh off a dominant win over the Las Vegas Raiders, the Kansas City Chiefs did not expect to find themselves in a dogfight with the Washington Commanders as they gathered in the locker room at halftime.
But after some offensive miscues and several defensive lapses that led to explosive plays in the first half, the Chiefs and Commanders went into the break tied at 7 at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. (KC would go on to win 28-7.)
On ESPN’s halftime broadcast, Scott Van Pelt, Jason Kelce and Ryan Clark gushed about how easily Washington was moving the ball. Van Pelt quipped that the Commanders turned the Week 8 contest into a “30-minute game.”
Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Mike Danna (51) and safety Jaden Hicks (21) bump each other in the air as they celebrated Danna's second-half sack of Washington Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota on Monday, Oct. 27, 2025, at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Dominick Williams dowilliams@kcstar.com
Of Washington’s five completions of 17 yards or more in the first half, four came as Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota attacked Kansas City’s linebackers in the intermediate zone — a problem green-dot linebacker Nick Bolton owned after the game.
“They had some hurry-up,” Bolton said. “Some miscommunication — I’ll take that as my fault. I’ve got to make sure everybody’s all up on the same page to get everybody lined up. I had like two or three plays where I probably could’ve been a little bit better, talking a little bit more getting guys lined up.”
Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton (32) lines up for a play in the second half of the Chiefs game vs. the Washington Commanders on Monday, October 27, 2025, at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Dominick Williams dowilliams@kcstar.com
On Washington’s lone scoring drive of the night, Jeremy McNichols slipped away from Bolton and Mariota lofted a pass over Leo Chenal’s helmet in the left flat for an 18-yard gain. That moved Washington to the Kansas City 21.
“In the first half, there’s not much to say,” Chenal said. “We had the calls, but certain guys — including myself — we’ve just got to have better communication. That’s really all it is.”
Eventually facing third down at the 11, Mariota found returning receiver Terry McLaurin, who made an outstanding catch for the game-tying touchdown over the chasing Chamarri Conner and Bolton.
Bolton, Chenal and cornerback Trent McDuffie all said that the halftime message in the locker room revolved around better discipline.
“In the first half, we just had a lot of mental errors,” McDuffie said. “All the big plays they had were from guys missing their assignments. We came back in, kind of settled in, and guys just went out there in the second half and just did their assignments.” To the defense’s credit, Washington’s explosive first half produced only seven points, which was a testament to Kansas City’s resilience on fourth down and in the red zone.
The Commanders’ first drive ended when Mike Danna intercepted a pass bobbled by Deebo Samuel. Washington’s next two drives ended on downs.
Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Mike Danna (51) celebrates after intercepting a pass intended for Washington Commanders wide receiver Deebo Samuel in the first quarter on Monday, Oct. 27, 2025, at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Emily Curiel ecuriel@kcstar.com
“Those fourth-down stops were big,” head coach Andy Reid said. “They do that. They’re one of the more aggressive teams in the league going for (it on) fourth down, and they were (Monday night). We were able to stop them a couple of times, and I thought that was positive.”
In the second half, improved communication and cleaner assignments helped erase the chunk plays that plagued Kansas City early. Washington was held off the scoreboard after halftime while Kansas City put together three straight touchdown drives.
“(On) offense, defense, and special teams, I think we’re getting better and better each and every week,” Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said. “Even though we didn’t start the way we wanted to (Monday night) offensively, it showed that we can battle adversity and still play the brand of football that we want to play.
“We’ll have to continue to get better and better. This will be a great challenge next week. We’ll have to start faster, but I was proud of how the guys responded in that second half.”
Winning on Monday night is great, but the turnaround is fast. In six days, the Chiefs will take on the rival Buffalo Bills on the road.
Asked when he will turn the page to focus on that matchup, Bolton had some fun.
“Yeah man, about 20 minutes from now,” he said with a smirk, leading to laughter in the media room.
Bolton knows miscommunication won’t cut it in Buffalo.