Patrick Mahomes overcomes worst game start in his career to lead Chiefs to victory over Commanders on Monday Night Football

By Ben Morse, CNN

(CNN) — Patrick Mahomes overcame the worst start to a game in his storied career to lead the Kansas City Chiefs to a 28-7 victory over the Washington Commanders on Monday Night Football.

Mahomes threw two interceptions on the first two Chiefs drives of Monday’s game, the first time that’s happened during his time in the NFL.

But after that slow start – Kansas City head coach Andy Reid called the first half “weird” – Mahomes and the Chiefs offense seemed to click into gear at Arrowhead Stadium.

A one-yard touchdown run from Kareem Hunt broke the deadlock with 5:46 left in the second quarter before the Commanders leveled the score with back-up QB Marcus Mariota connecting with Terry McLaurin. In the second half, Kansas City scored 21 unanswered points to romp to a comfortable victory.

Mahomes ended the game with 299 passing yards and three touchdown throws – one apiece to Travis Kelce, Rashee Rice and Hunt – and explained that, after a slow start to the year, the Chiefs as a whole are improving.

“It shows the growth that we’ve had as a team,” the 30-year-old told reporters. “Offense, defense and special teams, I think we’re getting better and better each and every week.

“Even though we didn’t start the way we wanted to today offensively, it showed that we can battle through adversity and still continue to play the brand of football that we want to play. We’ll have to continue to get better and better.”

The victory was the Chiefs’ fifth win in their last six games as they surge back from an 0-2 start to the season.

The team now boasts a healthy compliment of offensive weapons for Mahomes to target, with all of Kelce, Rice, Xavier Worthy and Marquise Brown providing different aspects for the team to utilize.

The return of Worthy from an injury and Rice from a six-game suspension has allowed Kelce to thrive with the space those speedy receivers make for him.

The 36-year-old had six catches for 99 yards and a touchdown against Washington and is back to providing an important safety blanket target for Mahomes.

His score on Monday was his 83rd total NFL touchdown, tied with Priest Holmes for the most in Chiefs franchise history. It was also his 80th career touchdown catch, becoming just the fifth tight end in league history to reach that mark.

The Chiefs, now with a 5-3 record, face a difficult few weeks of games which will prove if they are truly back to their best. They first travel to play the Buffalo Bills in Week 9 and then after a bye, go to Colorado to meet their AFC West rivals, the Denver Broncos, and then host the high-flying Indianapolis Colts.

“This is going to be a great challenge this next week and we’ll have to start faster,” Mahomes said, “but I was proud of how the guys responded in that second half.”

For the Commanders, they slip to 3-5 having had to play for the third time this season without starting quarterback Jayden Daniels through injury.

Daniels missed Monday’s game with a hamstring injury and, in his absence, Mariota struggled to move the offense consistently, throwing one touchdown but two interceptions.

The run game also suffered in Daniels’ absence, with the team only able to rack up 60 yards on the ground.

Having lost in the NFC Championship to the eventual Super Bowl-winning Philadelphia Eagles last year, it’s a disappointing campaign for Washington but getting its star second-year quarterback healthy again will be the top priority.

The-CNN-Wire
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