Just like that, the Kansas City Chiefs seem back. Following a 28-7 victory over the Washington Commanders in Week 8, they’re 5-3 and have won five of their last six contests with a significant scoring advantage.

It didn’t look like a lock, though, early on. Head coach Andy Reid’s crew stumbled out of the gate, putting things in jeopardy before ultimately clicking as a group.

Following the game, Reid addressed yet another tumultuous start.

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Andy Reid Sounds Off on Chiefs’ Slow Start to Monday Night Football Game

Speaking to the media after Monday Night Football, Reid saluted his team for a tremendous second half. At the same time, he made a concerted effort to point out how underwhelming quarters one and two were.

“I thought our guys played, again, a great second half,” Reid said. “First half, we lacked a little bit but second half, we came around on both sides of the ball — and special teams — did a nice job there.”

To say the Chiefs “lacked a little bit” in the first two frames would somehow be an understatement. For starters, their first two offensive drives ended in turnovers.

On the first possession, a nine-play sequence came screeching to a halt when quarterback Patrick Mahomes and wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown couldn’t connect on a back-shoulder concept. On the ensuing series, tight end Travis Kelce dropped a pass that found its way into the hands of a Commanders defender.

Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s group never lost faith, even amid the struggles. Kansas City went into halftime tied 7-7, only to go on a 21-0 run out of the locker room. Reid seems incredibly encouraged by his crew’s resilience.

“Yeah, it’s a great thing,” Reid said. “They complement each other, and that’s a positive. At this level, you need everybody. They stayed positive. That’s the part I appreciate. Even though it’s kind of up-and-down, they stay positive and create energy with that. We were able to come around and make some plays [on] both sides of the ball.”

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Reid Tips Cap to Kansas City’s RB Group for Solid Showing in Week 8

After opening with an ugly half of play, Mahomes went 17-of-19 in the second half. He accompanied that passing effectiveness with 210 yards and 3 touchdowns. That’s a stat line most signal-callers would be just fine with in an entire game, yet No. 15 put it up in merely a handful of drives.

It wasn’t just Mahomes, Kelce, Rashee Rice or even the defense that caught Reid’s attention, though. He believes the halfback trio of Isiah Pacheco, Kareem Hunt and Brashard Smith got the job done and set the table for everyone else.

“It starts up front, and then Pop [Pacheco] is getting into a groove,” Reid said. “And then Kareem, when he has an opportunity to get in there and go, he goes. He’s a jump-starter, so he doesn’t need a whole lot of carries before he gets going. And then we’ve added 24 [Smith] into the mix and tried to get him just a few plays a game, and he’s responded to that. He had one taken away from him that was a pretty good run there.”

Advanced box score data from rbsdm.com backs that up. The Chiefs averaged 0.10 EPA/play on all rushes, good for an 85th-percentile mark. On late-down rushes, a Hunt and Mahomes specialty, their 100% success rate paired with a sparkling 1.49 EPA/play to highlight an efficient attack overall.

Pacheco led the team in carries and rushing yards with 12 and 58, respectively. Hunt’s 9 rushes for 40 yards included a touchdown and some key short-yardage gains. Smith had a beauty of a 15-yard scamper that displayed plenty of burst, but a holding penalty on Rice wiped it out.

In all, the Chiefs averaged 4.9 yards per carry and 6.4 yards per play. It may not have been the wire-to-wire dominance some — including Reid — demanded, but it was more than enough to take down a now 3-5 opponent.

As the season approaches its midpoint, the rest of the NFL better watch out.