Final score: Chiefs top Commanders 24-14 with another strong day from starters

For the second straight week of the Kansas City Chiefs’ preseason, the first-team units made a statement with their performance. The starting offense scored on both of their long, methodical possessions — while the defense forced three punts in their work. The backups defended the early 14-0 lead and secured a 24-14 victory with a late-game touchdown.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes finished with 12 completions on 19 attempts for 162 yards and two touchdowns; he earned a passer rating of 125.3. Backup quarterback Shane Buechele led the team in rushing with 35 yards. Tight end Jody Fortson had two touchdown catches among his four receptions. Defensive linemen George Karlaftis and Khalen Saunders each got a sack, while depth cornerback Chris Lammons nabbed a fourth-quarter interception.

Kansas City started by kicking off to Washington. The Commanders began their drive at their own 23-yard line. They got a conversion quickly, using a wide receiver screen to get an easy 12 yards. A nine-yard run on first down set up another conversion. On the ensuing second-and-5, linebacker Nick Bolton shot through the line for a tackle for loss. Then cornerback L’Jarius Sneed broke up a pass to force a punt.

The Chiefs took over, methodically marching for an opening-drive touchdown: 12 plays with 87 yards, five first-down conversions and a great touchdown reception by tight end Jody Fortson from five yards out. The possession was highlighted by third-down conversions courtesy of running back Jerick McKinnon and wide receiver Justin Watson; quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ 39-yard throw to Watson came in the face of a free blitzer.

Down 7-0, Washington started their next possession with a big completion to wide receiver Terry McLaurin. However, that was followed up with two incompletions — one being a throwaway caused by safety Justin Reid, the next a pass breakup by Bolton. The stop forced another punt — and was the last full possession for the starters.

On offense, Kansas City picked up where it left off. On second down, a patient Mahomes found tight end Noah Gray on a deep target to gain 30 yards. Two plays later, a scrambling Mahomes twisted around to make an incredible throw to Watson for a third-down conversion. After a few more first downs, Mahomes made more magic — this time, throwing on the run to Fortson in the front corner of the end zone for another touchdown connection. The toe-tapping catch made it the score 14-0.

With a few minutes gone in the second quarter, Washington’s starters stayed on the field — with Kansas City’s second team defending. The Commanders started gaining steam, getting chunks of yards through the air and moving the sticks on the ensuing short-yardage situations. But a run-stuff by defensive tackle Khalen Saunders led to a third down, where rookie defensive end George Karlaftis beat two blockers and earned a sack. Washington was forced to punt for the third consecutive drive.

With quarterback Shane Buechele taking the reins, the Chiefs quickly got into third down — where Buechele took off up the middle to gain 13 yards. But after that, the offense stalled after that; a third down resulted in a sack.

With three minutes remaining in the first half, the Commanders drove down the field, overcoming a nice pass breakup by rookie cornerback Joshua Williams to continue getting chunk gains. They were also aided by a questionable roughing the passer flag on defensive tackle Khalen Saunders, who had beaten his blocker impressively. A few plays later, Washington scored on a touchdown throw over the coverage of cornerback DiCaprio Bootle.

The game went into halftime with the Chiefs leading 14-7.

Kansas City received the ball in the second half, with Buechele still in control of the offense. He started with a deep shot to wide receiver Daurice Fountain down the sideline, who corralled it to gain 27 yards. An unnecessary roughness flag got the Chiefs closer to scoring territory, but they couldn’t finish the drive. They settled for a field goal, making the score 17-7.

In the Commanders’ next possession, they quickly got into a third-and-4. They tried to convert with a deep shot down the sideline, but Bootle had tight coverage to force the incompletion.

Buechele started another possession by throwing to wide receiver Corey Coleman, who made an impressive sideline catch for 14 yards. They got closer to a score after a big scramble by Buechele — but a holding penalty on right guard Nick Allegretti pushed them back. After a failed third-down attempt, the Chiefs attempted (and missed) a long field goal.

On Washington’s next possession, the Kansas City third-string defense appeared to be on the field. Khalen Saunders broke through to get a sack early, putting the Commanders behind the sticks. A few plays later, cornerback Chris Lammons was targeted deep in coverage — but made an impressive play, swatting the ball away to force a punt.

The Chiefs took over, but were quickly turned away. On third down, left tackle Gerron Christian was soundly beaten around the outside, leading to a possession-ending sack.

Washington’s next drive started well with two runs — but a holding penalty followed them; rookie linebacker Leo Chenal’s penetration forced the flag. Their drive went into the fourth quarter.

The last period opened up with a tackle for loss by Chenal. Two plays later, the Commanders faced a third-and-10; edge rusher Joshua Kaindoh was able to get a hand on the pass, leading to an incompletion and a punt.

The next Chiefs drive got going with an 11-yard scramble by Buechele on third down. After two runs by Derrick Gore, the Chiefs ended up in a third-and-2 — but the pass to Cornell Powell fell incomplete, leading to a punt.

Washington took over, looking to close their 10-point deficit. An 18-yard pass got them going early. Then a dump-off pass took advantage of an all-out blitz to gain 34 yards and get deep into Kansas City territory. On the next play, a hard pass to the sideline gained 22 yards and got Washington to the 1-yard line. After a run-stuff by Kaindoh, Washington scored, narrowing the score to 17-14 with seven minutes to go.

Chiefs’ fourth-string quarterback Dustin Crum came in the game with a three-point lead, eating up four minutes of game time before ultimately being sacked on third down near midfield. Washington received the ball with under three minutes remaining.

After a pressured throw on first down, a second-down throw was intercepted by Chris Lammons and returned to Washington’s three-yard line. Three plays later, running back Tayon Fleet-Davis punched it in to extend the lead to 24-14.

The ensuing kickoff took the game past the two-minute warning. With Washington trying to put something together, Chiefs’ defensive linemen Azur Kamara and Taylor Stallworth combined to take down the quarterback for a sack. Three plays later, a fourth-down pass fell incomplete with Lammons in coverage — essentially ending the game.

Two kneeldowns later, the Chiefs walked off the field with a 24-14 victory.

Injuries

In the second quarter, cornerback Rashad Fenton left the game with a groin injury. The team quickly announced that he would not return.

Special teams

Kicker Harrison Butker converted both of his point-after attempts. He made a 36-yard field goal in the third quarter — but missed a 53-yard attempt later in the same period.

Punter Tommy Townsend had four attempts to punt; three traveled inside the 20-yard line, with the longest punt going for 56 yards.

The only kick return of the day was made by rookie Isiah Pacheco, who took it 26 yards.

Rookie Skyy Moore had two opportunities to return; one was a fair catch, while the other only gained one yard. Veteran Corey Coleman got two chances to return punts, one going 16 yards. Undrafted rookie Jerrion Ealy had one punt return for three yards.

Statistics