Commanders reveal official game status for Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel ahead of Week 8 matchup against Chiefs
Help is back for the offense, while the defense could lose its best player remaining.
The Washington Commanders are set to take on the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football as heavy underdogs.
To pull off a much-needed win, they’ll need a full team effort. Veteran Marcus Mariota is getting the start over Jayden Daniels, who is dealing with an injury, and he has help on the way. The offense has only had two games as a full unit together this season, and Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel are set to make their return against the Chiefs to give the team a boost.
McLaurin and Samuel will need to make this game a shootout to compete with Patrick Mahomes, going against an awful Commanders’ defense that is going through changes. A big-time performance by those two can help save the season and start meeting expectations that were set for the offense.
The Chiefs’ defense won’t make it easy, though, and they allow the fifth-lowest passing yards per game, and only 17 points per game as well. The Commanders need to get back to running the ball as well, and a balanced offense with McLaurin and Samuel back will absolutely help open the run game.
The offense is getting a major boost this week, but the defense might take a late hit with an injury to the best remaining defender.
Daron Payne’s game status is still unknown
Daron Payne has been playing at a high level again this season, even with a majority of the defense being the liability of the team. The defense already lost Deatrich Wise and Dorance Armstrong for the season, and they can’t afford to lose another defensive lineman, especially Payne.
Head coach Dan Quinn said that Payne is dealing with a toe injury, and he doesn’t have an exact game status yet. It sounds like he will travel with the team, and they will take as long as possible to decide whether to play or not.
“Yeah, he [Payne] is dealing with a toe that’s bothered him,” Quinn said. “So just kind of working through that to get him into that spot, but I’ll know more over the next day and a half.”
The Chiefs are dealing with their own injuries and have already ruled out left tackle Josh Simmons again, with guard Trey Smith listed as doubtful. The one way the Commanders can have a chance to win is by getting to Mahomes and not allowing him to find his open receivers downfield. It would be a big missed opportunity if the Commanders don’t have Payne against a weaker Chiefs’ offensive line.
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