If the Kansas City Chiefs are going to be this efficient on offense, it’s shaping up to be a fun season.
Patrick Mahomes played two series and threw two touchdown passes to lead the Chiefs to a 24-14 win against the Washington Commanders on Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium. Both of Mahomes’ TD passes went to tight end Jody Fortson, giving the starters three touchdowns on three drives in the preseason.
“It was good to get those,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “There are some things we can learn from them and do better, but I thought the execution was pretty good there.”
On the Chiefs’ opening drive against the Commanders, Mahomes led the team on an 87-yard, 12-play drive that finished with a 5-yard strike to Fortson. On the second drive, Mahomes guided the team on a 12-play, 82-yard drive that ended with a 7-yard touchdown to Fortson, who wasn’t all that open on either play.
Mahomes said Fortson had already given him plenty of reason to believe that the 6-foot-4, 226-pounder would come down with the ball.
“I think what you’ve seen with Jody is when he’s one-on-one and has a guy behind him you give him that chance,” Mahomes said. “And I’ve built that trust with him now and I think you saw it two times today where he wasn’t necessarily open.
“But when we have a big guy that can catch the ball and make those physical, tough catches you give him a chance. And he makes me look good.”
Fortson, who had four catches for 19 yards, is just glad to be back on the football field. Last October he suffered a torn Achilles against Washington and missed the remainder of the season.
Before he went down with the injury, Fortson played in six games and caught five passes for 47 yards and two touchdowns.
“It’s a blessing,” Fortson said. “I’m just honored to be here. I’m so glad that the support system of the team and the athletic trainers and the coaches that I have here were in my corner and never let me get too down on myself. It just feels awesome to get back out here, especially at Arrowhead in front of the best fans.”
Fortson was listed fourth on the depth chart but could still earn a spot on the 53-man roster. Mahomes, meanwhile, finished 12 of 19 for 162 yards without wide receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster (knee) and Mecole Hardman (groin).
Justin Watson filled in and had two catches for 53 yards, including a 39-yarder from Mahomes that set up the Chiefs’ first touchdown. Marquez Valdes-Scantling had two catches for 14 yards and tight end Noah Gray added one catch for 30 yards.
“The tight ends are going to be special with Travis (Kelce), Jody and Noah,” Mahomes said. “We can kind of throw those guys in interchangeably and then we’ll get Blake (Bell) back and have him as well. So it’s going to make our offense different, but I think we can still go out there and have a ton of success.”
FENTON INJURES GROIN
Cornerback Rashaad Fenton left in the second quarter after sustaining a groin injury. Fenton missed the early portion of training camp while recovering from offseason shoulder surgery.
BOOMING BUTKER
During pregame warmups Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker made a 72-yard field goal. Butker had said earlier in the week his goal was to make a 70-yard field goal in a game when it counted.
Against the Commanders, Butker made a 36-yard field goal but missed a 53-yard attempt wide left in the third quarter.
