Chiefs 31, Washington Football Team 13: Top 10 Observations

The good and bad from a humbling Week 6 loss for WFT

If you were to tell Washington Football Team fans their team and the Kansas City Chiefs would enter Week 6 with the same record, they probably would've been excited. 

Well, Week 6 arrived, and both teams had matching 2-3 records. Less than exciting. 

Following a 31-13 final game that wasn't as close as the score indicates, there will be a little more optimism for the Chiefs and much, much less for the WFT.

1. Continuing trends from earlier in the season, the Washington defense just can't get going in the early moments of the game. 

Kansas City's first-drive touchdown was the fourth time in six games the WFT defense had allowed that exact result on their opponent's first possession, and it's the fifth time in six tries an opponent has put up points on their first try.

2. The Chiefs came into the game as one of the most turnover-prone teams in the NFL, a big reason they started the year 2-3. Washington cornerback Kendall Fuller dropped the first takeaway opportunity on the Chiefs' first possession, but came through deep in Washington territory when wide receiver Tyreek Hill had a Patrick Mahomes pass bounce off his hands. Then, Kam Curl recovered a fumble from Chiefs wide receiver Mecole Hardman later in the first half. Later, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes made a terrible decision trying to throw a muffed snap, sending a fluttering duck into the air which was happily intercepted by Washington safety, Bobby McCain. 

The turnovers made this game the second in a row the WFT defense had come up with at least two takeaways in the first half. Despite the three gifts deep in its territory, the fact that Washington led only 13-10 at halftime was ominous.

Said coach Ron Rivera: "When you have a chance, you got to take advantage of it. And we didn't."

3. Taylor Heinicke's fan-favorite status has been waning a bit through up and down performances. Early in this game, the quarterback was low on several passes - in contrast to being high on many, in previous games - and looked tentative when looking to complete passes. 

His assertiveness appeared to improve as the game grew, but the start against a vulnerable Chiefs defense had many on edge, and only got worse as the game progressed.

4. When the inexperienced quarterback is struggling, teams often look to their star position players to make big plays. However, both running back Antonio Gibson (fumble) and wide receiver Terry McLaurin (dropped pass) had moments where they hurt their team instead of helping it. Fortunately, the McLaurin drop was made up for by running back J.D. McKissic, but the stars have to step up when the team is struggling, and can't expect other role players to be there to pick up the slack, moving forward.

Said McLaurin: "I think you just got to be honest with yourself. I think it's easy to point fingers, but I think you got to look at yourself first.”

5. Last week, the Washington offense converted two takeaways into 10 points. This weekend, they converted three into seven, in the first half alone. Regression isn't how to get better, even as the WFT entered halftime with a three-point lead.

6. You can call this 2021 Washington Football Team a lot of things, but you can't call them complimentary. 

Washington's offense got the ball off a turnover or punt five times. On the five subsequent drives, the offense put up a total of seven points, and gave one back on a fumble of their own. 

7. Not sure if it was Heinicke trying to prove he could do it as a conventional quarterback, or if Washington offensive coordinator Scott Turner self-contained his athletic passer in the pocket. Whatever it was, Heinicke seemed to refuse to run, and it hurt his team. 

In an era of football where mobile passers are all the rage because of the extra dynamic they bring to the field, Washington's didn't run the ball at all on Sunday. Zero.

8. Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick got two red-zone pass attempts under his belt before getting injured in Week 1 of the 2021 NFL season. After five starts this season and filling in for the majority of Week 1, Heinicke has 16. … Just 14 more than a quarterback who hasn't played since the second quarter of the first game. 

Meanwhile, Mahomes had eight red-zone throws in this game alone. 

Maybe it's Heinicke, maybe it's Turner. Whatever it is, this offense is striving for subpar, and falling short.

Said Heinicke: "It's frustrating. We just didn't execute well. We felt like we had a good game play. We just didn't execute it well."

9. As well as the WFT defense did to keep the Chiefs offense at bay in the first half, it was only going to last so long. 

Entering the game, while Kansas City was near the top of the league in giveaways, they were also top-five in passing yards. Both were on display in this one as early turnovers allowed Washington a chance to get a win at home, and the second-half saw the Chiefs offense do what they do best, produce at alarming rates. 

10. On a day that honored one of the best defensive players in Washington history - Sean Taylor - the second half was an embarrassing performance by WFT's unit. 

Missed tackles by linebackers. Blown assignments in the secondary. And a front four that neither pressured nor contained Mahomes. The official count on missed tackles isn't in yet, but it's going to be high. The result? Around 70 percent third-down conversion rate for the Chiefs offense, 400-yards passing for Mahomes, and just below 500 yards of offense in all, allowed on Sunday. 

It's how WFT was outscored 21-0 in the second half.

Said Rivera: "We needed to make plays in the second half, and we didn't as a football team. That's pretty much it."

The Washington Football Team falls to 2-4 as the Kansas City Chiefs advance to 3-3. Next up for the WFT, is a road trip against the Green Bay Packers, in Lambeau Field.