Monday Night Football Thriller: Commanders and Chiefs Locked in a Fierce 7-7 Standoff at Halftime—Who Will Break the Deadlock?

What a puzzling spectacle unfolding under those Monday Night lights! The Commanders and Chiefs are scripting a game that defies expectations — no punts yet, but only a 7-7 deadlock at the half. You’d think with that many interceptions—Mahomes with a pair, Mariota tossing one themselves—the scoreboard might tell a different tale. Kareem Hunt punched in a short-yardage touchdown, only to have Terry McLaurin ignite the crowd moments before the break with a stunning score that almost slipped through the refs’ fingers. And just when you thought the drama was on pause, a late Mahomes grounding call sealed the half’s chaos. The Commanders have racked up more yards yet stumbled at crucial moments, turning it over on downs twice. Meanwhile, Mahomes’ stat line looks surprisingly modest; even Travis Kelce’s blunder didn’t help. Oh, and the Commanders had to shuffle their line a bit with Tunsil limping off—every snap counts in a rollercoaster clash like this. Stick with me—there’s plenty more twists coming. LEARN MORE

The Commanders and Chiefs are playing one of the weirder games of the season on Monday Night Football.

Neither team has punted. Yet, the teams are tied only 7-7 at halftime.

Patrick Mahomes has thrown two interceptions, and Marcus Mariota one. The Commanders also turned it over on downs twice after reaching the Kansas City 40 and 28.

Kareem Hunt scored the Chiefs’ touchdown on a 1-yard run with 5:46 remaining in the second quarter, and Terry McLaurin answered with a spectacular 11-yard touchdown with 58 seconds left in the half on a play that was initially ruled incomplete.

The half ended with a grounding call on Mahomes with the Chiefs at their own 40.

The Commanders outgained the Chiefs 194 to 156. They crossed midfield on all four possessions and were at the Chiefs 18 when Mariota’s pass to Deebo Samuel that bounced off the facemask of the receiver and was picked by defensive lineman Mike Danna.

Mariota is 14-of-17 for 155 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Jeremy McNichols has three catches for 52 yards.

Mahomes is 8-of-15 for 89 yards and two interceptions, one of which was the fault of tight end Travis Kelce. Mahomes also has 31 yards on three rushes. Kelce has four catches for 51 yards.

Commanders left tackle Laremy Tunsil missed 15 snaps while having his right hamstring worked on. Brandon Coleman replaced Tunsil before he returned in the second quarter.