KANSAS CITY — The Commanders’ trip to Kansas City was supposed to be a Monday night showdown between a perennial contender and one on the rise, a matchup of a three-time Super Bowl MVP and the latest dual-threat star quarterback to step under center.
The storylines have certainly changed.
Oh, the Chiefs are still Super Bowl contenders, as evidenced by the way they’ve rolled to three wins in the past four games, but Patrick Mahomes might still be the best QB in the league, too. The two-time NFL MVP already has thrown for 1,800 yards and 14 TDs with only two interceptions this season, and he just might be the hottest player in the game right now.
Then there’s Washington, which has lost three of its last four, and watched Jayden Daniels limp off the field with a hamstring injury last week. His injury means Marcus Mariota will start Monday night at Arrowhead Stadium, where the Commanders — who went 12-5 last year and made the NFC championship game — are trying to avoid a 3-5 start.
“We’ll find out a lot about our team in these weeks ahead. We need everyone to step up,” Washington coach Dan Quinn said. “Our focus needs to be sharper. That’s the bare minimum. And we’re going to dig in and find out how we improve upon that.”
Kansas City (4-3) seems to have ironed out its own problems. It started the season with a pair of losses but is coming off a rout of the Lions and a shutout of the Raiders, the first shutout by an Andy Reid-coached team in Kansas City.
Mahomes threw for 286 yards and three scores in that game while sitting out the entire fourth quarter.
“(They’re) about as good as you can get it, just looking at the numbers,” Quinn said. “That doesn’t bother me, either, knowing that if we play like we’re capable of, to the right standards and being more consistent, we’ll like the results.”
In the case of the Chiefs, the turnaround stemmed largely from getting players back. Xavier Worthy is at full speed after hurting his shoulder in the season opener, and fellow wide receiver Rashee Rice is back after serving a six-game NFL suspension.
“It seems like we’re coming together as a team,” Mahomes said. “That’s what you want to do is be a team as the season goes on, and keep getting better. We’re still early and we have everything out in front of us. How can we be better this next week going up against a good football team?”
Big plays, big problems
The Commanders’ defense is giving up an NFL-worst 7.8 yards per pass attempt and allowing 364.3 yards per game, 27th in the 32-team league. The big problem is the number of explosive plays Washington’s opponents are accumulating: There have been eight pass plays of at least 40 yards, for example, tied for the most in the NFL. Last week, the Cowboys put together a 70 yard-plus drive in 35 seconds, including a 44-yard pass and 33-yard run, for a touchdown that made it 27-15 at the break.