The Kansas City Chiefs know they caught a break with Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels out of tomorrow night’s game, but the Chiefs didn’t get completely lucky going into this one.
They’ll still have to account for a pair of Washington stars. Receivers Terry McLaurin and Deebo Smith will be available for tomorrow night’s game despite struggling with recent injuries.
McLaurin’s injury situation has been especially ironic given his recent contract squabble. One of the arguments against giving the Washington receiver the extension he signed before the season was his age, 30, and the possibility of injury. Sure enough, McLaurin has struggled early on with a quad injury.
"Being able to accelerate and run by people and slam on the brakes, that's my game," he said in an ESPN story written by John Keim. "My injury hindered a lot of that, but I feel really good right now."
Samuel, meanwhile, is a big, physical receiver who always seems to be nicked up a little now that he’s approaching 30. His latest issue is a hip problem, but he’ll play through it.
“Terry and Deebo have both had good weeks, and we’re excited to get them back out on the field,” head coach Dan Quinn said, via the team’s website in a story written by Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk.
They’ll need both of them, but the question is whether backup quarterback Marcus Mariota will be able to get them the ball. Mariota is a serviceable backup who can win a game or two in an emergency, but he got badly exposed in Washington’s 44-22 loss to the Dallas Cowboys last week, and at 3-4 the Commanders are in danger of slipping out of the NFC East race due to Daniels’ ongoing struggles to stay healthy.
Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury is definitely looking forward to having more options with his two main wideouts back on the field.
"There's no doubt there's certain coverages that teams aren't willing to play when you have guys like that on the field," Kingsbury said. "So they can definitely help open things up."
For the Chiefs, this news is a reminder that they can’t afford to rely on the snooze alarm at any point during this game. On paper the Commanders are a mismatch, and Kansas City is coming off a 31-0 shutout win against the Las Vegas Raiders, but letting an inferior opponent hang around could easily undo all the hard work the Chiefs have done recently to overcome their tough start.
Other players listed on the injury report included tight end Colson Yankoff, who’s out with a hamstring injury, and defensive lineman Daron Payne and kicker Matt Gay are both questionable with toe and back issues, respectively.