Arrowhead Pride
In their Week 8 matchup, the Kansas City Chiefs will play the Washington Commanders on “Monday Night Football” on GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:15 p.m. Arrowhead Time.
The game will pit the 4-3 Chiefs against a 3-4 Commanders squad coming off a lopsided 44-22 defeat to the Dallas Cowboys. In Week 7, Kansas City sent the Las Vegas Raiders home with a stinging 31-0 loss — and is a heavy favorite against this banged-up Washington team.
Since the start of the Patrick Mahomes era, Kansas City has an impressive 8-3 record in Monday’s primetime games, with its only home loss coming in 2022 against the Philadelphia Eagles. This week shouldn’t turn into an all-time classic, but it will give the Chiefs another chance to flex their muscles for a national audience.
Against Las Vegas, Kansas City scored touchdowns on its first four offensive possessions — and by doing so, essentially ended the game at halftime. This gave the team plenty of time to rest starters (and give reserves valuable experience) in the final quarter.
At the start of the season, this MNF game was circled on many calendars as a possible Super Bowl preview. But the Commanders have suffered a slew of serious injuries to key players — including star quarterback Jayden Daniels — and it has had a significant impact on their performance.
Kansas City needs to build on its offensive performance from last week, putting points on the scoreboard right away and building a large lead that will be too great for Washington’s offense to overcome.
In three of the next four weeks, the Chiefs will play top AFC contenders: a road game against the Buffalo Bills next Sunday — and then after the Week 10 bye, the Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts in back-to-back weeks. These games will shape the AFC playoff picture — and Kansas City will need its key players to be rested for them.
Left tackle Jaylon Moore has filled in admirably in back-to-back starts, looking good against elite pass rushers. Moore has been steady, but the Chiefs will very likely need to start another backup on Monday night.
In Week 7, right guard Trey Smith exited the game with a back injury and was replaced by Mike Caliendo, who played well to finish it out. After missing practice all week, Smith was listed as doubtful for the game.
If Smith cannot go, Caliendo will get the nod at right guard — his fourth career regular-season start. He also started at left guard in all three playoff games last season.
Having backups with starting experience is a good problem to have. Wanya Morris has likely moved up the depth chart and will probably be the next man up if another lineman goes down. Washington’s front four has not been strong this season, so even with backups in place, Kansas City should be able to run the ball and protect Mahomes....
