The Kansas City Chiefs return to the national stage on Monday night for a prime-time clash against the Washington Commanders.
Here are five things to keep in mind heading into game day.
1. Here's a look at the final injury report for both teams.
The Chiefs will be without offensive tackle Josh Simmons (personal reasons) on Monday, and offensive guard Trey Smith (back) is listed as "Doubtful" for the game, putting Jaylon Moore (at left tackle) and Mike Caliendo (at right guard) in line to likely start.
In some good news, neither tailback Kareem Hunt (ankle/knee) or cornerback Jaylen Watson (back) – who each spent time on the injury report this week – are carrying an injury designation into Monday's game.
As for the Commanders, they'll be without starting quarterback Jayden Daniels on Monday night due to a hamstring injury. Veteran Marcus Mariota will make his third start of the season in Daniels' place.
Mariota is getting some reinforcements on the Commanders' offense, however, as wide receivers Terry McLaurin (quad) and Deebo Samuel (heel) are both set to return to the field after recent absences.
Defensively, it's worth pointing out that Washington placed edge-rusher Dorance Armstrong – who leads the Commanders in sacks and pressures – on Injured Reserve this week due to a knee injury. Additionally, Daron Payne (toe) didn't practice during the week and is listed as "Questionable" for the game.
The status of Commanders' kicker Matt Gay, who was added to the injury report on Saturday with a back injury, will also be something to watch.
2. The Chiefs are coming off one of the most dominant, all-around performances in recent memory.
Kansas City put together a truly historic performance against the Raiders last week, yielding zero points, 95 total yards and just three first downs across the entirety of the contest. Las Vegas' three first downs marked the fewest for any team in a game since 2008.
It was the Chiefs' first regular-season shutout since 2011, and due to the Raiders' lack of first downs, Las Vegas only ended up running a grand total of 30 offensive plays – the second-fewest by a team in the Super Bowl Era. The Chiefs' offense, meanwhile, piled up 31 points through its first five drives before tallying 17 consecutive running plays to close out the game.
It was a true three-phase victory in every sense of the phrase, and now entering Week 8, the Chiefs are the only team in the NFL to feature a top-five total offense (370.6) and defense (280.3). Kansas City has also scored 28+ points in each of its last four games (marking the longest active streak in the league) while holding the opposition to 20 or fewer points in five of six games overall this season.
The Chiefs will now aim to keep both of those trends going on Monday.
3. Kansas City will need to slow down Commanders' tailback Jacory "Bill" Croskey-Merritt.
Washington has dealt with a slew of injuries at the skill positions so far this season, losing players such as tailback Austin Ekeler and wide receiver Noah Brown to Injured Reserve while also missing impact pass-catchers Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel for multiple games already this year. Those absences, not to mention Jayden Daniels' injuries, have been a primary factor behind the Commanders' 3-4 start this season.
A bright spot amongst all of that adversity, however, has been Croskey-Merritt, a seventh-round draft pick who has quickly emerged as the Commanders' lead tailback. Croskey-Merritt is averaging 5.2 yards-per-carry this season, and while the Cowboys managed to hold him in check last week, it was only three weeks ago that he racked up 111 yards and two touchdowns on just 14 carries against the Chargers.
Fortunately, the Chiefs continue to stack strong performances against opposing running backs this season. Kansas City rendered Raiders' tailback Ashton Jeanty a relative non-factor last week, yielding just 21 yards on six carries, and they'll aim to do the same against Croskey-Merritt on Monday night.
4. Tight end Zach Ertz has four touchdown catches this season.
Ertz has remained a constant in the Commanders' passing game this year amidst Washington's injuries, hauling in 23 catches for 229 yards and four touchdowns. All four of those scores have taken place in the red zone, and in the context of his peers, Ertz's four red-zone touchdowns are tied for the fourth-most of any player in the NFL.
For what it's worth, however, Ertz's target share has differed significantly between Daniels and Mariota. His 26 targets in Daniels' five starts trail only Deebo Samuel, but he tallied only seven targets across Mariota's two starts this year, catching five passes for 59 yards.
Regardless, the Chiefs will need to contain Ertz on Monday – especially in the red zone. The Commanders are 21st in the NFL in terms of red-zone drives this season (with 18), but when they've gotten there, they've almost always finished with touchdowns, finding the end zone at the second-best rate (77.8%) in the league. Ertz has been a major part of that success, and the Chiefs will need to slow him down on Monday.
5. The Commanders' defensive line can get after the quarterback.
Washington has generated the fifth-highest pressure percentage in the NFL this year (at 38.8%) according to Next Gen Stats, but as discussed above, the Commanders lost Dorance Armstrong – their leader in sacks (5.5) and pressures (22) this year – to a season-ending knee injury last week.
That's obviously a major loss, but the Commanders' defensive front still features a bunch of playmakers, notably veteran Von Miller, who has four sacks and 17 pressures on the year. Miller is coming off a season-high six pressures last week as part of a Commanders' pass-rush that pressured Cowboys' quarterback Dak Prescott on 42% of his dropbacks. Edge-rusher Jacob Martin recorded seven pressures as part of that performance, and while it didn't impact the final score much, it's still noteworthy.
Fortunately, the combination of the Chiefs' offensive line and quarterback Patrick Mahomes' lightning quick release time has contributed to a league-low 22.6% pressure rate when Mahomes drops back to pass this year (according to Next Gen Stats). Mahomes is getting rid of the ball in just 2.56 seconds on average this year (again, according to Next Gen Stats), and if he can evade the Commanders' pass-rush on Monday, it's worth pointing out that Washington has allowed the fourth-most passing plays of 25+ yards in the NFL (with 14).
The Chiefs are the only team in the league to feature seven different players with at least 250 yards from scrimmage this season (no other team has more than five), and with an opportunity to win their fifth game in their last six tries, Kansas City will look to keep things rolling on Monday night.
