Chiefs still have real reason to fear Commanders without Jayden Daniels

The Kansas City Chiefs are on a roll and hope to continue rocking and rolling in Week 8 when they host the Washington Commanders on Monday Night Football. The Commanders' chances in that game took a massive hit when star quarterback Jayden Daniels was injured in Week 7 against the Cowboys, putting his status for this game in doubt.

While Daniels for sure won't be playing as the Commanders play it safe with their franchise signal-caller, backup quarterback Marcus Mariota might have some additional help when he starts against the Chiefs at Arrowhead. That's because wide receivers Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel both practiced on Thursday and could return to the field to face Kansas City.

The two wide receivers haven't both been healthy together much this season but obviously Chiefs fans know just how important it is to get your starting wideouts back on the field. Daniels might not be the one throwing the passes this week but Mariota is a reliable backup (plus he's won in Arrowhead before) and now might have two stellar weapons at his disposal to throw to.

Commanders might not have Jayden Daniels but Chiefs shouldn’t relax yet

McLaurin, or Scary Terry as he's sometimes referred to as, hasn't played for the Commanders since Week 3. During those first three weeks, however, he had 10 catches for 149 yards but didn't find the end zone. He's coming off a season where he tallied nearly 1,100 receiving yards and scored 13 touchdowns so obviously he's capable of doing some damage.

As for Samuel, Commanders traded a fifth-round pick for him over the offseason and he's played in all but one game for his team so far this season, missing last week's game against the Cowboys. Samuel has 34 catches for 315 yards and three trips into the end zone. He also has rushed for 45 yards and a score and can be a playmaker in the kick return game as well.

In other words, the Chiefs defense might not have to account for Daniels and all that he can do but now they will be tasked with trying to ensure that McLaurin and Samuel don't have big games. Maybe both guys don't end up playing or maybe one does and the other doesn't but the Chiefs now have to prepare as though they'll face both players and formulate a plan to stop them. Luckily, Steve Spagnuolo is the perfect guy to do just that.