1. The Chiefs like to make it hard on themselves
Kansas City is a passing team. Full stop.
It is also one of the few NFL teams with enough offensive firepower to choose to be one-dimensional — and still be successful. Despite quarterback Patrick Mahomes throwing two interceptions in the first half, Kansas City was still moving the ball relatively well against a very aggressive Washington defense.
Heading into halftime, head coach Andy Reid told reporters that Kansas City needed to run the ball a little bit more — and in the second half, that’s exactly what the Chiefs did. While they were still running a pass-first offense, running the football took some of the juice out of the Commanders’ pass rushers; they couldn’t just pin their ears back and tee off.
This fully unlocked the passing game — and the Chiefs scored 21 unanswered points.
2. The Chiefs’ offensive line needs to get healthy
Fans got a glimpse of what this offensive line might have looked like if Kansas City had decided not to pay guard Trey Smith this offseason — and after see what that looked like, it’s an alternate universe in which I do not want to live. God bless Mike Caliendo for his effort while filling in for Smith at right guard — but it was a Halloween nightmare. I’m okay with skipping it in the future.
We also caught our first glimpses of backup left tackle Jaylon Moore struggling — especially against the bull rushes of Washington’s edge players. To their credit, both players cleaned things up in the second half. But the sooner the Chiefs get Smith — and rookie left tackle Josh Simmons — back on the field, the better.