Finding themselves on opposite sides of blowouts in Week 7, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Washington Commanders appear to be heading in opposite directions. After the Chiefs reveled in a 31-0 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders, the Commanders were pummeled 44-22 by the Dallas Cowboys in Sunday’s late window. To further sour the result, Washington lost star quarterback Jayden Daniels to a hamstring injury that will keep him out of Monday night’s matchup against Kansas City.
But during this week’s preparations for the game, Chiefs’ head coach Andy Reid showed no sign of lowering his guard against the Commanders. He has respect for their head coach Dan Quinn — and clearly remembers the role backup quarterback Marcus Mariota played in Kansas City’s 2017 playoff loss to the Tennessee Titans.
“[They’re] a veteran group of players that are good football players,” remarked Reid on Thursday. “They’ve got a head coach that I consider right at the top of his profession at this time. He’s as good as anybody — and then he’s got good coordinators there. So, offensively, defensively [and on] special teams, they’ve got explosive players. They’ve got good guys up front on both sides of the ball. Mariota, we know, has come in here and won a game, so we get it that he’s a good football player — and we don’t slight that at all.”
When the 2025 schedule was announced, the contest between Kansas City and Washington was hyped as the initial meeting between Daniels and the Chiefs’ star quarterback Patrick Mahomes — who will regret missing out on this showcase matchup between exciting passers. Mahomes is well aware that the Commanders’ offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury — who was Mahomes’ coach at Texas Tech —holds Daniels in high regard.
“You want to go up against the best of the best,” said Mahomes, “and Jayden, with the way that he played last year, he’s in that category. He’s a talented football player [that] I’ve watched play since he was at Arizona State, to LSU and to now in the NFL. Kliff speaks very highly of him as a person.”
Mahomes also remembers Mariota’s postseason comeback in Kansas City, which he watched from the sidelines as a rookie.
“I hope [Daniels] gets healthy sooner rather than later,” he said, “but at the same time, I know Marcus can play, too. I’ve seen it firsthand at Arrowhead in the playoffs. I’ve seen him play throughout my entire career — and [he’s had] a lot of successful games, including this year. We understand it’s still going to be a great challenge going up against a great football team — and a guy that has had a lot of success in the NFL.”
Two of Kansas City’s defensive leaders are focused on the dangers Washington’s running game presents. Rookie running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt and rotational backs Jeremy McNichols and Chris Rodriguez all present the potential for big plays. They’re behind an offensive line that is playing well — and the Commanders will also have wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Terry McLaurin back from injury.
“The offensive tackles have obviously been playing great for them,” noted linebacker Nick Bolton. “They do a great job, [and] they get their pass catchers back. It’s going to be an added boost to those guys, and the running backs are doing great this year. One’s averaging 5.3 [yards], I think, per carry and another one is averaging 4.2 or something like that. It’s going to be a challenge for us up front. [We] need to stop the run early and get them in favorable downs for us and take out the quarterback.”
On Friday, defensive tackle Chris Jones added veteran tight end Zach Ertz to the list of Washington players the Chiefs’ defense should be concerned about.
“They have a really, really, really well-rounded team,” he explained. “They have a lot of weapons — Deebo Samuel, Terry McLaurin, and the running backs; they’ve got a double-headed sword in the backfield. The offensive coordinator, Kliff, he does a really, really good job of scheming. So, we’ve got our hands full there, and then they have a veteran tight end who’s been in the game a while and is still very, very productive. So, we’ve definitely got our hands full on trying to slow these guys down.”
Even if Kansas City’s defenders can handle Washington’s offense, Reid sees Quinn’s defense as an added challenge — particularly with unique looks from the defensive line.
“This group is right there,” noted Reid. “That front is an explosive bunch. And their pass game? They’re as good as anybody at rushing the passer. We’ll have our work cut out for that. Then their linebacker crew is good. They’ve been banged up a little bit on the back end, but I think they’re starting to get people back and in place where they want them.”
