Momentum is now on the side of the Kansas City Chiefs. After routing the Las Vegas Raiders by a 31-0 margin in Week 7, the Chiefs are getting their offensive mojo back. Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes want to build off that explosive performance Monday night when the Chiefs host the Washington Commanders.
Chances are the Chiefs will be able to pick up where they left off against the Raiders. The team gained significant offensive momentum and confidence in that game. The Chiefs struggled in losses to the Los Angeles Chargers and Philadelphia Eagles during the first two weeks of the season followed by a Week 5 Monday night loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
However, the Chiefs have responded with a season-changing win over the Detroit Lions prior to their victory over the Raiders. The win over the Lions was huge because that team appears to be the NFL's best at this point.
The Chiefs put 30 points on the board in that game, and they have not scored less than 28 points in any of their last four games. The offense appears to have regained its big-play ability this season after a couple of years where the defense was dominant for the Chiefs. It is essential that the offense continues to produce in the next two games before the Chiefs hit their bye in Week 10.
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Mahomes hits his stride and dominates while Rice serves as the X-factor for the Chiefs against the Commanders in Week 8 of the 2025 NFL season.
Mahomes will pass for 275-plus yards and 2 touchdowns
It's hard to hold a good quarterback down, and Mahomes and the Chiefs' offense have come back to life at that point.
He has not quite gotten back to the explosive numbers he put on the board in the early part of his career, but his production is much greater than it has been in either of the past two years.
Mahomes has completed 164 of 248 passes for 1,800 yards with a sensational 14-2 TD-interception ratio.
He has a full array of talented receivers at this point in the year, and the Commanders don't appear to have the defensive personnel to shut down the Kansas City attack.
The combination of wideouts Xavier Worthy, Hollywood Brown and the explosive Rashee Rice along with tight end Travis Kelce have given the Chiefs a dangerous edge once again.
The Kansas City quarterback will approach 300 yards and will hit Rice with a long TD pass of 40 yards or more and also connect with Kelce for a red zone TD.
Rice will tear apart the Washington secondary with 90-plus receiving yards
Washington head coach Dan Quinn is a defensive specialist. That's the reason the team hired him before the start of the 2024 season and that was a big part of the reason the Commanders were able to get to the NFC title game last year against the Eagles.
However, the Washington defense has taken a step backwards this year and there are questions about their ability to deal with speed on offense. That is the main weapon that Rice brings to the table and it will be on display Monday night. Rice is the X-factor in the game for the Chiefs.
Rice was targeted 10 times in the victory over the Raiders in Week 7 and he caught 7 passes for 42 yards and 2 touchdowns. While the 6.0 yards per catch was not impressive, his quick movements allowed him to get free. In this game, the expectation is that his long speed will be too much for the Washington defense and he will get open on at least two big plays.
Rice's deep speed will also open things up for the other members of the Kansas City receiving crew.
Karlaftis will punish Washington offense with 2 sacks
The Commanders might be able to push the Kansas City defense to the limit if second-year quarterback Jayden Daniels was in the lineup. However, his hamstring injury will keep him out of this game and Quinn will be forced to go with backup Marcus Mariota.
Mariota appears to have settled in to the backup QB role, but he simply is not consistent enough to keep his team in the game. Mariota is likely to panic and put the ball up for grabs when he is pressured by the Chiefs defensive line.
Kansas City defensive end George Karlaftis is a game-changing player and he leads the team with 3.5 sacks this season. That's not an overwhelming number, but he should be inspired by the Monday night cameras. Look for him to dominate this game with 2.0 sacks and one pass batted down.
Chris Jones will also be a factor for the Chiefs defense and he is their best all-around defensive player. However, since the Commanders may spend most of their time trying to keep Jones out of the backfield with double teams, Karlaftis will earn the headlines in this game with his aggressive performance.
