Zach Ertz confident Commanders can put it all together, but "the clock is ticking"
Commanders head coach Dan Quinn lamented his team's inability to capitalize on early Chiefs turnovers in Monday night's 28-7 and the team can't afford to miss too many more opportunities if they want to make it back to the playoffs this season.
That message was central to tight end Zach Ertz's comments after the game. Ertz said that the 3-5 Commanders have struggled to put together a complete game through the first eight weeks of the season. Injuries to players like Jayden Daniels, Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel have not helped that cause, but Ertz said he believes the team is capable of putting things while cautioning that it needs to happen sooner rather than later.
“It’s just too many highs and lows,” Ertz said, via Nicki Jhabvala of TheAthletic.com. “Just haven’t executed consistently enough in all three phases in a game. Play a half really well and then don’t play the second half well. Play a game well in one phase, don’t play well in another. I thought we had a really good week of practice, honestly, and I’m confident that if we can continue to practice like we do, that’s going to turn. But
The Commanders face the Seahawks and Lions in the next two weeks and then go to Madrid to play the Dolphins before a Week 12 bye. If things have not fallen into place by that point, the Commanders may find that the clock has run out.
Travis Kelce Assigns Blame for Crucial Mistake During Chiefs Game
The Kansas City Chiefs won their third consecutive game with a dominant 28-7 victory over the Washington Commanders on Monday Night Football.
Next up, the Chiefs prepare for a highly anticipated matchup against the Buffalo Bills in Week 9. While Kansas City has a 4-0 record against Bills quarterback Josh Allen and Co. in the playoffs, when it comes to the regular season, the Chiefs are 0-4.
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce knows they face a tough challenge when they travel to Highmark Stadium on Sunday. “We got a big one this week against Buffalo on a short week, man,” Kelce said on the latest episode of his “New Heights” podcast.
“And the Bills got rolling again this past week. They were part of some of those blowout games that we saw on Sunday.” Buffalo crushed the Carolina Panthers 40-9 last week. Bills running back James Cook was the star of the game, recording a career-high 216 rushing yards on 19 carries and two rushing touchdowns.
“Getting [James Cook] the ball is a pretty good strategy,” Kelce said. “Yeah, so hopefully we can slow that down and keep putting up points like we’ve been putting up over the past couple of weeks.”
GettyChiefs tight end Travis Kelce at Arrowhead Stadium on October 27, 2025.
As for Kelce, he put up a season-high 99 yards and a touchdown against the Commanders, tying the record for most regular-season touchdowns (83) in franchise history. While the 10-time Pro Bowler has a lot to celebrate, Kelce couldn’t help but mention the big mistake made against Washington.
Chiefs TE Travis Kelce Sounded Off On His Turnover Against Washington
While the Chiefs easily blew out the Commanders, Kelce didn’t shy away from mentioning a few realities of the game. “Obviously, the Commanders, missing their QB (Jayden Daniels), he’s the kind of player where if he’s playing, that game is probably a little bit closer.”
Early in the second quarter, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes targeted a wide-open Kelce on third-and-4, but the ball bounced off his hands and got picked off by Commanders linebacker Bobby Wagner. While the turnover gets marked as an interception for Mahomes, Kelce took full responsibility for the turnover.
“I’ve got to stop [expletive] handing the [expletive] other team the ball, man,” the 35-year-old said. “[Expletive]. That’s the thing, everyone’s like, ‘You made up for it. You had 99 more yards.’ And I’m like, ‘No, that doesn’t take away from the fact that I turned the ball over.'”
This marked Kelce’s second turnover of the season. During the Chiefs’ loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2, Kelce bobbled the ball in the end zone and got picked off by Andrew Mukuba. The Eagles went on to score what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown on the ensuing drive.
Travis Kelce Ranks No. 2 in Tight End Receiving Yards Thus Far This Season
Kelce’s older brother, and podcast co-host, Jason Kelce, reminded him how incredible it was for him to tie Holmes’ record, and the tight end agreed. “That’s some pretty crazy stuff because Priest Holmes, that was the heart of our childhood and our fandom in the NFL, all the video games,” Travis said.
Jason also pointed out that he’s recorded the second-most receiving yards for tight end (474) thus far this season. But at age 36, Travis is also at least 11 years older than everyone else in the Top 5, which made the veteran laugh out loud. “I feel younger than ever, too,” he responded.
