The Kansas City Chiefs will have a huge advantage in Week 8 when they host the Washington Commanders.
The advantage comes from star quarterback Jayden Daniels being ruled out with a hamstring injury. Backup QB Marcus Mariota will start for Washington.
As if Kansas City needed an advantage; their offense has been red-hot over the past few weeks and the lineup got a boost when star receiver Rashee Rice returned from his suspension in Week 7.
Rice caught seven passes for 42 yards and two touchdowns in the Chiefs’ 31-0 rout of the Las Vegas Raiders. His immediate impact opens up the running game and also spreads out Mahomes’ targets.
Kansas City was so dominant on offense last week that they may have established themselves as the team to beat in the American Football Conference.
“Led by QB Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs have averaged 31.5 points per game over their past four games, which has allowed the defense to get plenty of breaks,” ESPN’s Nate Taylor wrote Friday. “The biggest example occurred last week, when the Chiefs had 30 first downs and the Raiders had just 30 plays on offense. ‘Obviously, it helps us a lot,’ LB Nick Bolton said. ‘I was just joking around with those guys. Just don't score in three minutes. Keep the eight-minute, nine-minute drives out there, so we're always fresh. But yeah, man, scoring points, man, I think it's giving us a lot of juice.’”
As great as the passing game is looking for Kansas City, the running game is still being highlighted by Mahomes. The two-time Most Valuable Player is second on the Chiefs in rushing with 250 yards, just 21 yards behind Isiah Pacheco
If the offense wants to expand and take a step forward, they need one of Pacheco, Kareem Hunt or Brashard Smith to start taking games over on the ground.
ESPN’s Seth Walder boldly predicts Pacheco will top his season-high in touches against Washington.
“Chiefs RB Isiah Pacheco will record a season-high 17 or more rush attempts,” Walder wrote Friday. “The Commanders have a run-inducing defense with a minus-7% pass rate over expectation. With Kareem Hunt banged up with an ankle injury last week, that could mean more carries for Pacheco.”
Pacheco has 271 yards on 66 carries with just one touchdown. Mahomes barely trails him with 24 less carries and also has three more rushing touchdowns.
If the Chiefs offense keeps rolling, it’s going to be awfully difficult trying to stop them moving forward.