The Kansas City Chiefs are riding high, having won four out of their last five and disposed of contending opponents like the Baltimore Ravens and Detroit Lions, in addition to dismantling and shutting out division rivals, the Las Vegas Raiders at home in week 7, 31-0.
Heading into week 8, the team was already relatively strong favorites to take care of business against what has been an up-and-down Washington Commanders team, who are coming off of a 22-point loss against the Dallas Cowboys last Sunday.
Now, it seems like the Chiefs’ NFC East opponents will be without their franchise signal caller, Jayden Daniels, who – per Ian Rapoport – will not play on Monday night.
“Commanders QB Jayden Daniels, who suffered a low-grade hamstring strain on Sunday, is going to be out for MNF against the Chiefs, sources say.” Rapoport reported on Wednesday, through his post on X. “Marcus Mariota gets the start.”
Chiefs Will Face Marcus Mariota On Monday Night
Marcus Mariota will be the stand-in on Monday, according to Rapoport. And whilst he is certainly not the quarterback Daniels is, he has been a competent backup whose play-style broadly mimics that of Daniels’, making the offensive transition from one QB to the QB other fairly seamless.
The former #2 overall pick is 1-1 in his two starts this season to-date; as Jayden Daniels’ injury woes continue to form a major cloud over this Washington season; and over three games played has 426 yards passing, 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions for a 85.8 passer rating, in addition to 94 yards rushing, with one further touchdown on the ground.
Although Mariota is a slight downgrade for Washington, and perhaps an easier opponent for the Chiefs, the Commanders will be buoyed by the returns of former All-Pro wideouts, Deebo Samuel Sr. and Terry McLaurin, who both sat out in week 7, but are both expected to have full weeks of practice leading up to the bout against KC.
What Is The State Of The Chiefs’ Offense After 7 Weeks?
The Chiefs saw the return of WR1, Rashee Rice, in the drubbing of the Raiders last weekend, who caught 7 passes for 42 yards and 2 touchdowns in week 7. Rice was having a career year in 2024 before a week 4 knee injury saw him miss the remainder of the season.
The former SMU star was then suspended for the first six games of the 2025 season in response to his involvement in a multi-vehicle crash the previous year, so Sunday marked his first game back in action in over a full calendar year.
Through the offensive struggles of the early season in 2025, which saw the Chiefs start 2-3, the defense remained one of the better units in the league, ranking 5th in total defense – including 4th in passing defense.
And now with the return of their better offensive pieces, including Rice and former first round pick, Xavier Worthy, who returned to the fold in week 4 after missing the bulk for the first three games due to a dislocated shoulder, Patrick Mahomes and the offense have started to hum once again.
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