Week 8 Preview - Washington Commanders at Kansas City Chiefs

By: Sam Myer 10/22/2025

In week 8, the Washington Commanders will travel to Kansas City to face off against the Chiefs on Monday Night Football. These two teams are currently heading in complete opposite directions with Washington reeling with injuries and defensive woes, and the Chiefs with a strong defense and an offense that is hitting its stride. The Commanders will unfortunately be without Jayden Daniels for a third time this season and will hope Marcus Mariota can rekindle some of his old magic in Arrowhead. Unfortunately for them, the Chiefs are coming off a shutout performance against the Raiders and are possibly the hottest team in the NFL the last three weeks. Kansas City are currently 10-point favorites at most sports books and depending on the availability of Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel, they could be even bigger favorites.

The Commanders are coming off their worst performance in week seven against their division rivals, the Dallas Cowboys, losing 44-22 and losing Jayden Daniels and Dorance Armstrong in the process. Head coach Dan Quinn did not mince his words after the loss and hinted at expected either personnel or scheme changes. After losing leading pass rusher Dorance Armstrong to a torn ACL, Washington will need to look outside the box in order to manufacture a pass rush. Currently, they are blitzing at one of the lowest rates in the league but will likely need to drastically change this in order to help their struggling secondary. Marshon Lattimore may have had his worst game as a Commander against the Cowboys as he was consistently getting beat by George Pickens on the outside. While he was usually in good position, he was never able to make any plays on the ball without also drawing a pass interference penalty. Quan Martin continued to struggle as well, as he misplayed multiple routes and run plays down the middle of the field. It wouldn’t come as a shock to see more of Darnell Savage and Percy Butler rotating in at safety. Additionally, it can be expected to see more of Bobby Wagner and Frankie Luvu in pass rush situations and Jordan MacGee in coverage situations.

Washington will need to clean up their defensive struggles in a hurry since the Chiefs’ offense is starting to find its groove. Patrick Mahomes is playing his best ball in years and finally has his full complement of receivers with the return of Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice. Mahomes has a TD-Int ratio of 14-2, while also averaging 35 rushing yards per game with 4 touchdowns on the ground (which leads the team). Given the struggles in the secondary for Washington, the two-time MVP is sure to be chomping at the bit to face the Commanders. Washington will likely bring lots of blitz packages to help their struggling secondary, but it will be difficult to disguise against the best quarterback in the league. The best hope for the Commanders defense is to step up in the run game and put Kansas City in long second and third down situations. This will allow them to get creative with their pass rush, which will be necessary without their sack leader Dorance Armstrong. There is a narrow path to defensive success for Washington, but it will likely be difficult to tread over a full four quarters against the thriving Chiefs offense.

On the other side of the ball, Washington has dealt with a slew of injuries to their most important players including Jayden Daniels, Deebo Samuel, and Terry McLaurin. Daniels has already been ruled out for the week eight matchup in Kansas City, leaving Marcus Mariota the keys to the offense in a hostile environment. Washington had a tough time in Dallas moving the ball without any of their top receivers as the rush lanes were clogged up and the receivers they had left had difficulty creating separation against the Cowboys man-to-man defense. If McLaurin and Samuel can return, it should not only help the passing game, but the rushing attack as well. In the last two weeks without their top wideouts, defenses have been stacking the box and limiting Washington’s top of the league running game. If the Commanders can get their running game going again, they’ll finally be able to get their offense moving the ball as it was against the Chargers and the Bears.

The matchup between the Chiefs and the Commanders on Monday night is almost certainly not going to be what the NFL was anticipating when the schedule was released back in May. The Chiefs have held up their end of the bargain and look like the offense they had back when Mahomes was throwing for over 35 touchdowns per year. However, the Commanders have been battling injuries on both sides of the ball causing their playoff hopes to dwindle after each loss. This game is sure to provide a surge of momentum for both teams, either towards playoff and Super Bowl hopes; or, towards the doubt of what this season will become.