Through the first 30 minutes of [Monday night’s affair with the Washington Commanders](https://arrowheadaddict.com/winners-and-losers-from-a-chiefs-win-that-looked-way-better-than-it-was-01k8n9k9ejgn), the Kansas City Chiefs sleepwalked. Their first four possessions went as follows: interception, interception, touchdown, end of half. It looked like Kansas City was in for a long night—flirting with a primetime letdown. And then, just like that, on the far side of halftime, the offense awakened and slammed the door with three straight scoring drives.
This 2025 Chiefs team has a throwback quality that harkens back to the early days of their dynastic run. Remember the 2019–20 NFL Playoffs, when the Chiefs began their championship campaign by falling behind 24–0 to the Houston Texans in the divisional round? That squad erased the deficit with a 28–0 run before halftime. In the weeks that followed, the offense powered Kansas City through two more games in which they overcame double-digit deficits en route to the franchise’s first championship in 50 years.
Kansas City's offense this season isn’t the dynamic force we saw in 2019. That group was consistently explosive. This team still flashes that ability, but it leans more heavily on drive efficiency. One of the hidden gems of this offense is veteran running back Kareem Hunt. His short-yardage mastery and goal-line finishing have elevated the team’s red-zone success. We saw plenty of that on Monday night, when the Chiefs opened the second half with three straight scoring drives to effectively ice the game.
The Chiefs shook off a slow start and delivered a second-half clinic that proved how dangerous they still are.
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Last year, the margins were razor thin. With the Chiefs’ big three on offense—Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy, and Hollywood Brown—sharing the field, it covers a multitude of sins, to borrow a biblical phrase. Those three drives were scoring possessions of 13, 8, and 8 plays, representing 16 minutes and 35 seconds of game clock, or 55.3% of the second half. That additional rest was a boon for Kansas City's defense. After each touchdown drive, the defense forced the Commanders to punt. This unit is far more effective when it isn’t playing on its heels, and that makes for complementary football.
This is the brand of football no team wants to face in the postseason. The ability to control time of possession, execute in short-yardage, show fourth-down aggression, and finish in the red zone is a lethal cocktail. This style is built for postseason attrition. Explosive plays are harder to come by, every possession matters, and teams without Kansas City's championship pedigree tend to wilt under that pressure.
This version of the Chiefs doesn't need hero ball from Patrick Mahomes. When offensive drives stretch into double-digit plays, the defense stays fresher and Kansas City controls the tempo and terms of the game. We saw how quickly that tolled on the Commanders in the contest. They had played admirably through the first half and kept the game close. When play resumed after the half, things fell apart. It's tough to keep pace with a team scoring on three straight possessions. Washington eventually folded the tent, and the crisis that marked the first half dissolved with nearly 20 minutes left in the game.
The Chiefs had two turnovers and nine penalties in their contest with the Commanders. Kansas City struggled on third down and failed to consistently protect its quarterback. None of it mattered. The team still won going away, going 2-for-2 on fourth down and perfect in four red-zone trips. Hear me carefully: I’m not suggesting Kansas City tempt fate with slow starts heading into a massive stretch of games. But it’s comforting to know this team has the resilience to overcome its mistakes. As it continues to mature, that will be key down the stretch.