The Washington Commanders were already bracing for a tough battle in Week 8, knowing they were going to have to go into Arrowhead Stadium to keep pace with their NFC East rivals. Now, they'll have to do without their best player with the news that quarterback Jayden Daniels will sit out the game.
Daniels has been dealing with a hamstring injury that already had him questionable coming into the game. Now, NFL reporter Ian Rapoport has word that the Commanders will play it safe with Daniels and roll with Marcus Mariota as their starting quarterback against the Chiefs.
Daniels has already missed two games this season with sprained left knee, an injury suffered in Week 2 against the Green Bay Packers. The second-year quarterback went on to miss the next two games before returning for Week 5 against the L.A. Chargers. Then came Week 7, when Daniels hurt his right hamstring in a game versus the Dallas Cowboys.
The Commanders will be facing the Chiefs at Arrowhead without their best player in Week 8.
The loss of Daniel is a monumental one for the Commanders in terms of their ability to keep up with the Chiefs' offense, which is the NFL's hottest after getting receivers like Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice back from injury and suspension, respectively. The Chiefs have averaged over 31 points per game for the last month, and Patrick Mahomes is back in the MVP conversation once again.
Daniels was a sensation a year ago as the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year. He finished seventh in MVP voting after leading Washington to the NFC Championship in his first season under center after throwing 25 touchdown passes and rushing for nearly 900 yards and another 6 touchdowns on the ground.
The Commanders are 3-4 overall in the standings and rank 9th in overall points scored. But they've also dealt with serious injuries among their playmakers, including wide receivers Terry McLaurin, Noah Browns, and Deebo Samuel. Now Daniels hitting the shelf will make it even more difficult to keep pace with Kansas City.
The Commanders and Chiefs are scheduled to face off on Monday Night Football to close out Week 8 of the NFL's slate.