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Instant analysis of Chiefs’ Week 5 win over Washington

Charles Goldman
·5 min read
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The Kansas City Chiefs got back in the win column against the Washington Football Team in Week 6. The team was down in the first half after shooting themselves in the foot with a number of turnovers on offense, but they managed to come out in the second half and get things sorted out. The big story here is an improved defensive unit, forcing turnovers, punts and holding a team under 20 points for the first time this season.

So what else did we learn about the Chiefs in Week 6?

Final score: Chiefs 31, Washington 13

AP Photo/Patrick Semansky

The Chiefs kicked off the game showcasing a resurgent defense after making several personnel changes on the defensive side of the ball. The offense started the game out strong capitalizing on a quick three-and-out forced by the defense. After the opening touchdown for Kansas City, they struggled with a run of poor play on the offensive side of the ball. A string of turnovers and punts lasted through the middle of the third quarter, but they finally starting clicking and made a three-touchdown run late in the third and fourth quarters of play.

Weekly awards

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  • Chiefs Wire Game Ball: RB Darrel Williams

  • Harrison Butker Rookie of the Game: LB Nick Bolton

  • Casey Wiegmann Veteran of the Game: TE Travis Kelce

  • Jamaal Charles Offensive Player of the Game: WR Tyreek Hill

  • Bobby Bell Defensive Player of the Game: CB Rashad Fenton

  • Morten Andersen Special Teams Player of the Game: Harrison Butker

  • Otis Taylor Play of the Game: Tyreek Hill 2-yard touchdown reception.

  • Wesley Roesch Stat of the Game: 4 punts by Washington Football Team.

Quick-hitting observations and analysis

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  • The Chiefs’ defense came out ready to play in this game, forcing a quick three-and-out to start the game. You could still count on one hand the number of times they had done that this season.

  • For most of the game, the defense was executed to perfection, save for a bad coverage call on the Ricky Seals-Jones touchdown. Washington’s drives on offense were as follows: Punt, Field Goal, Punt, Field Goal, Fumble, Touchdown, Missed Field Goal, Punt, Punt, Punt, Interception.

  • Things went downhill for the Chiefs’ offense after their first turnover in the red zone. Their drives on offense were as follows from that point onward until they got back into the end zone: Interception, Field Goal, Punt, Fumble, Interception, Punt.

  • Mike Remmers did a good job in place of Lucas Niang. People will try to blame him on the sack, but Mahomes’ internal clock was off on that one. He ran Chase Young around the arc on that play, which is exactly his job. He wasn’t perfect by any means, but you can see why they made the switch on Sunday.

  • Juan Thornhill starting at free safety made a noticeable difference in this game. He was great playing downhill and did a good job on the back end in coverage. Playing Daniel Sorensen at dime linebacker also made a noticeable difference. He had a few nice blitzes and generally looked more comfortable. That was a needed adjustment from Steve Spagnuolo.

  • Losing Anthony Hitchens mid-game is a tough loss for the defense. The most experienced player outside of Hitchens is Ben Niemann, who took over the green dot on defense. Willie Gay Jr. has ceded some snaps to Niemann because of that.

  • Seeing Jody Fortson go down with a non-contact injury is soul-crushing. He has been a huge bright spot for Kansas City this season with his work in the red zone. His story too, working his way up to the 53-man roster, you just can’t help but feel awful for the kid if the Achilles injury turns out to be season-ending.

  • Joe Thuney played the entire game with a cast on his fractured hand and didn’t miss a beat. That’s pretty remarkable considering how dominant Washington’s defensive line is known to be.

  • Speaking of injuries, Chiefs TE Travis Kelce looked like he got battered and bruised during the course of the game, but he toughed it out. He was out there and battling for a full four quarters and made some key contributions in the comeback win.

  • Chiefs rookie TE Noah Gray was thrust into action with the injury to Fortson. He held his own as a blocker in place of Fortson and played quite a few snaps in his absence. They’ll likely lean on him more in the coming weeks. He’ll make a huge impact with veteran Blake Bell dealing with a back injury and Fortson likely out.

  • Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes had a rough start to the game but he finished strong. Despite throwing two interceptions he finished the day with a season-high in passing yards with 397.

  • Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill popped up the first interception of the day, but he battled through a quad injury to really put together a nice day. Without his toughness and contributions, I’m not sure Kansas City has the internal fortitude to come back and gut out a tough win.

  • The Chiefs had a stretch of seven consecutive third-down conversions to end the game. That’s when it felt like the offense was really starting to click after a game where they really hadn’t clicked early on.

Up next

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The Chiefs will hit the road for the second consecutive week, this time heading to Nashville, Tennessee to face the Titans at Nissan Stadium. The last time Kansas City traveled to Tennessee was in 2019 and they lost in a disappointing fashion. That game helped turn the Chiefs’ season around and propelled the team to a winning streak that extended through Super Bowl LIV.

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