When a team has a breakout season, especially with a historic rookie star, the assumption is the trajectory will remain upward for years.
It’s rarely that easy. The Washington Commanders had a dream season in 2024. Jayden Daniels had arguably the best rookie season for a quarterback in NFL history. The Commanders went 12-5 with a series of zany and exciting wins, then made a postseason run to the NFC championship game. But that wasn’t sustainable.
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Washington is 3-5, matching its loss total from last season. The Commanders fought hard for a half against the Kansas City Chiefs, but in the second half it was clear the two teams weren’t on the same plane. Washington didn’t have Daniels, who was out with a hamstring injury, and was overwhelmed in the second half with backup QB Marcus Mariota starting in a 28-7 loss.
Patrick Mahomes threw three second-half touchdowns and the Chiefs’ defense clamped down after halftime, but it didn’t seem like the Chiefs played their best game or anything close. They didn’t need to.
This season has already been more of a struggle for the Commanders than all of last season was. Daniels’ injuries haven’t helped. Mostly, Washington is just finding out it’s hard to repeat a magical season.
Commanders made things interest in first half
After a Sunday filled with favorites blowing out underdogs, Monday night had an unexpected start.
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The Chiefs started very slow. Mahomes, who had just two interceptions all season before Monday night, threw two on Kansas City’s first two possessions. The Commanders moved the ball but couldn’t get anything out of it early, turning it over on downs twice and throwing an interception of their own.
The Chiefs finally got a touchdown on a 1-yard run, but Washington got on the board too. Mariota floated a pass to Terry McLaurin in the end zone, and McLaurin barely kept both feet down as he grabbed it before going out of bounds. The game was tied 7-7 at halftime and Washington had mostly outplayed Kansas City.
With Daniels out due to injury, the Commanders were big underdogs. It didn’t look like it early on. But just like last season’s success, what Washington did in the first half couldn’t be repeated.
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Chiefs pull away
The Commanders were competitive for a half, but eventually not having Daniels in the lineup dragged down the offense.
The Chiefs’ offense started scoring and Washington couldn’t answer. Mahomes hit touchdown passes to Kareem Hunt, Travis Kelce and Rashee Rice to turn the game into another Week 8 blowout.
Without Daniels, the Commanders couldn’t keep up. Mariota wasn’t terrible but the Chiefs’ defense always came up with plays on crucial downs against him. The Commanders don’t have the talent to overcome being without their quarterback.
Washington’s defense has had issues and the offense has been inconsistent with Daniels missing multiple games. The Commanders are already three games behind the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC East; winning a division title is not realistic anymore. Getting back in the wild-card race will take some work too in a deep NFC.
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Last season’s playoff run was one of the best things to happen to Washington’s franchise in decades. The Commanders face a long road to make the playoffs at all this season.
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Yahoo Sports Staff
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Yahoo Sports Staff
Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs rolled to an easy win with a big 2nd half.
Mahomes finishes 25-of-34 for 299 yards, 3 TDs and 2 INTs.
Kansas City improves to 5-3 after starting the year 0-2. The Chiefs look like they’re fully back.
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Yahoo Sports Staff
Chiefs LB Jack Cochrane picks off Marcus Mariota in the final minute, and that’s the cherry on top of a lopsided win for Kansas City.
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Yahoo Sports Staff
It appears Isiah Pacheco is OK, though there’s no reason for him to return to this game with it well in hand for the Chiefs.
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Yahoo Sports Staff
The Chiefs running back was hit low and is getting his leg looked at on the sideline after this play.
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Yahoo Sports Staff
Washington opts to kick it away on 4th and 9 from its own 36 despite trailing by 3 touchdowns with under 7 minutes to play. Interesting decision.
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Yahoo Sports Staff
After throwing two interceptions in the first half, Mahomes has been on fire coming out of the locker room.
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Yahoo Sports Staff
Patrick Mahomes throws his 3rd TD pass of the night, this one to Rashee Rice, to cap a 94-yard scoring drive. And Kansas City is pulling away in this one.
Chiefs 28, Commanders 7
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Jason Owens
The Commanders couldn’t capitalize on Terry McLaurin’s big play.
A third-and-10 sack of Marcus Mariota pushed the Commanders out of field goal range, and they punted on fourth-and-21. Mike Danna, who intercepted Mariota in the first quarter, came up with the sack.
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Jason Owens
Terry McLaurin is trying to keep the Commanders in this game.
In his first game back from a quad injury, McLaurin just made his second sensational sideline catch of the game. This time, he dove on a third-and-8 deep ball to move the Commanders in to Chiefs territory. Officials ruled it a catch upon review. His first sideline grab went for a touchdown.
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Jason Owens
The Chiefs are now in control. And Travis Kelce has a new spot in the Kansas City record book.
Patrick Mahomes capped a 75-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Kelce to give the Chiefs a 21-7 lead late in the third quarter.
The touchdown was the 83rd of Kelce’s career, tying him for the most in Chiefs history with running back Priest Holmes. And the Commanders are in trouble.
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Jason Owens
The Commanders started at their own 2-yard line after rookie Jaylin Lane muffed a kickoff return, allowing the ball to roll out of bounds at the 2-yard line.
Washington managed a first down from there, but no more, and the Chiefs have the ball back with a 14-7 lead and a chance to take control of the game following a Commanders punt.
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Jason Owens
The Commanders will play the second half without their starting left tackle.
Laremy Tunsil tried to return to the first half with a hamstring injury. But he’s been ruled out for the second half.
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Jason Owens
Patrick Mahomes had all day near midfield, but no open receivers downfield. But Travis Kelce was wide open near the line of scrimmage for a 38-yard catch-and-run down the right sideline to put the Chiefs in the red zone.
Kansas City converted the play into a fourth-and-goal touchdown pass from Mahomes to a wide-open Kareem Hunt in the end zone, Hunt’s second score of the night. Kanas City leads 14-7.
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Jason Owens
Kansas City will have the ball first and look for a clean start to the third quarter after a sloppy first half of football.
It’s off to a bad start with a holding penalty on the kickoff return.
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Jason Owens
The Commanders have made this a game despite the absence of injured starting quarterback Jayden Daniels and will come out of halftime in a 7-7 game.
Both teams made multiple mistakes in a sloppy first quarter to keep the scoring at a minimum. And the Commanders have a chance to pull off an upset thanks in part to strong play from backup quarterback Marcus Mariota.
Commanders
Marcus Mariota: 14 of 17, 155 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 6 carries, 22 yards
Jacory Croskey-Merritt: 7 carries, 18 yards
Jeremy Nichols: 3 catches, 52 yards
Terry McLaurin: 1 catch, 11 yards, 1 TDChiefs
Patrick Mahomes; 8 of 15, 89 yards, 0 TDs, 2 INTs; 3 carries, 31 yards
Isiah Pacheco: 4 carries, 17 yards
Kareem Hunt: 3 carries, 11 yards, 1 TD
Travis Kelce: 4 catches, 51 yards; 1 drop that resulted in INT
Xavier Worthy: 1 catch, 27 yardsCommanders total yards: 194
Chiefs total yards: 156Commanders turnovers: 1, plus 2 turnovers on downs
Chiefs turnovers: 2 -
Jason Owens
Well this is unexpected. The Commanders have consistently moved the ball against the Chiefs and have crossed midfield on each possession with backup Marcus Mariota playing quarterback.
They only have seven points to show for it thanks to an interception and two turnovers on downs. But it’s good enough for a 7-7 tie at halftime as the Chiefs have battled their own mistakes, including a pair of interceptions thrown by
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Jason Owens
The Commanders have tied the game.
Officials correctly determined that Terry McLaurin got both feet down with possession of the ball in the end zone on a rainbow pass from Marcus Mariota. The Commanders have tied the game, 7-7 with 58 seconds remaining in the half.
A great toe tap from the veteran receiver. Per ESPN, it’s his third toe-tap touchdown since 2024, tied with Ja’Marr Chase for the most in the NFL.
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Jason Owens
Terry McLaurin made what looks like a real nice sideline grab in the end zone for a touchdown. But the side judge ruled that that he didn’t get both feet down with possession.
It looks a lot like he did, though. We’ll see if they get this right on replay review.
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Jason Owens
Laremy Tunsil is back at left tackle after leaving in the first quarter with a hamstring injury.
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