Week 8: Chiefs vs. Commanders – Offense, Shutout, “Bill” Croskey-Merritt, More | Six Stats to Know

Week 8: Chiefs vs. Commanders – Offense, Shutout, “Bill” Croskey-Merritt, More | Six Stats to Know

The Chiefs put together one of the most complete games for any team in recent memory on Sunday. And now finally above 500, they’re back in prime time this week for a matchup against the Commanders on Monday Night Football. Well, the Chiefs dominated in all three phases on Sunday, and I’m not even sure that does it justice. Kansas City outgained Las Vegas by a mark of 434 to just 95. and they essentially did that in only three quarters before running 16 consecutive running plays to close out the game. The Chiefs began the game by going eight of nine on third down. They ran 77 plays and racked up 30 first downs while the Raiders went 0 of7 on third down and picked up just three total first downs. That marked the fewest first downs gained in a regular season game since 2008 when the Jammarcus Russell led Raiders only had three first downs against the Falcons. That lack of first downs meant that the Raiders only ran 30 offensive plays, marking the second fewest plays by a team in the Super Bowl era. Only the expansion Cleveland Browns in week one of the 1999 season ran fewer. In other words, the Raiders ran 30 plays while the Chiefs picked up 30 first downs and only three quarters of action. It was awesome. And what a fitting debut for Rasheed Rice, who drew 10 targets, catching seven of those for 42 yards and two touchdowns. Rice was one of nine players to catch a pass on Sunday that matched a season high for the Chiefs. And eight of those players recorded double-digit receiving yards, helping the Chiefs become the only team in the NFL to feature seven players with at least 250 yards from scrimmage this year. No other team has more than five. And that collective production has paid off. Since week four, the Chiefs lead the NFL in yards per game with more than 400, first downs per game with more than 26, and points per drive at 3.3. And for the season, Kansas City now owns the number five total offense in the league and the number six scoring offense. They’re also the only team in the NFL to score at least 28 points in each of the last four weeks, piling up 126 points in that span. They’re most in a four-game stretch since midway through the 2022 season. And what a start Patrick Mahomes is off to this year. He currently leads the NFL with 18 total touchdowns. And get this, Mahomes is the first player in NFL history with at least 1,800 passing yards, 200 rushing yards, and fewer than four giveaways through the first seven games of a season. The Chiefs two giveaways are the fewest in the league right now. And they’ll try to keep all this going this week against a Commander defense that currently ranks 24th in the NFL in terms of scoring. They’ve allowed 14 passing plays of at least 25 yards. That’s fourth in the NFL, and 95 total plays of double-digit yardage, also fourth most in the league. They’ve allowed an average of 32 points per game in their four losses this year. And they just lost their top pass rusher as well and former KU star Dorrence Armstrong who led this team in sacks and pressures before suffering a season ending knee injury just last week. It was only three weeks ago that the Commanders held the Chargers to only 10 points though. And even without Armstrong, they still have some guys who can get after the passer. Notably Von Miller, who’s off to a good start this year with 17 pressures and four sacks. Plus, he’s coming off a season high six pressures just last week. Defensive tackle Don Payne also has 15 pressures this year. So, this defensive line is impressive, even without Armstrong, and the Chiefs will need to keep it at bay on Monday. The good news for the Chiefs is that their offensive line has been excellent this season. Patrick Mahomes has actually faced the lowest pressure percentage of any quarterback in the NFL this year, according to NextGen stats. His release time also has something to do with that as he’s getting rid of the ball in only 2.56 seconds on average. Again, according to NextGen stats, which marks the fastest release time in the NFL, he’ll try to keep all of that going on Monday against Washington. And on the other side, the Chiefs defense will aim to continue its run as one of the league’s top units this season. Kansas City is coming off its first regular season shutout since 2011. And in five of the last six weeks, the Chiefs have held the opposition to 20 or fewer points. That’s tied for the second most such games of any team in the NFL this year. The Chiefs now own the number three scoring defense in the league at only 17.7 points allowed per game. And how about this? In terms of yards, the Chiefs are now the only team in the NFL to feature a top five total offense and defense. Pretty impressive. The Chiefs defense will now look to maintain that performance on Monday against a Washington offense that has a bunch of playmakers, but has battled injuries all season long. That includes running back Austin Eckler and wide receiver Noah Brown, who are both on injured reserve, but also quarterback Jaden Daniels, who already missed two games earlier this year with a knee injury, and he’ll miss this week’s game, too due to a hamstring injury. Daniels is an electric player who set a rookie record with a 69% completion percentage last year, while also trailing only Lamar Jackson in terms of rushing yards by a quarterback. He also leads the NFL in quarterback scrambles this year despite missing two games. So, that’s obviously a huge loss. It’ll instead be veteran Marcus Mariota who’s 1 and one in his two starts this year. It also remains to be seen who the Commanders will have at wide receiver on Monday. They’ve been without their top pass catcher and Terry McLaren since week three and Debo Samuel missed last week’s game due to a heel injury. Those two obviously make a huge difference, so their availability will be something to keep an eye on all week long. One player we know will be out there though is rookie running back Jakori Kroski Merritt, otherwise known as Bill. And he’s been great this year. He’s averaging over five yards per carry. And if you’re wondering how he can change the game, look no further than his performance against the Chargers back in week five. He rushed for 111 yards and two touchdowns on just 14 carries in that game, leading the Commanders to 27 unanswered points. The Chiefs did a great job of shutting down Ashton Genty last week, and they’ll need to do the same against Crosky Merritt on Monday night. So, we’ll keep an eye on the other games in the meantime. If the Broncos lose, the Chiefs will have a chance to move into a tie for first place in the division on Monday night. But regardless, the Chiefs are playing some great football right now, and they have an opportunity to keep the good times rolling in front of a national audience on Monday Night Football.

Senior Team Reporter Matt McMullen is here to provide you with six key stats as the Kansas City Chiefs head into their NFL Week 8 matchup against the Washington Commanders on Monday Night Football.

TUNE IN to Week 8 👇
📺: Commanders vs Chiefs at 7:15 p.m. CT | ESPN/ABC
📻: 96.5 The Fan (eng) & TICO Sports (esp)

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