In Week 8’s edition of “Monday Night Football,” the Kansas City Chiefs collected a 28-7 victory over the Washington Commanders, improving to 5-3 for 2025.
The first half was close, but the Chiefs dominated
the second half with an offensive explosion and a smothering defense that has allowed just seven points over the last eight quarters. Defensive ends George Karlaftis and defensive end Mike Danna each had big games on Monday.
Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota is an effective runner, so these two players needed to be prepared to read quarterback runs and play contain against Washington’s offense. Karlaftis did both — and was rewarded with one of his best games of the season.
Let’s take a look at how he and Danna did it.
Rushing the passer
In the modern NFL, containing mobile quarterbacks is one of the greatest challenges a defense can face — and finding the line between all-out pressure and calculated containment can be difficult. While Mariota is in the twilight of his NFL career, his mobility is a key aspect of his effectiveness — and on Monday night, the Commanders leaned into it.
Washington ran a heavy RPO menu, so on true passing downs, Karlaftis and Danna both needed to take advantage of their chances to rush the passer.
On this snap, Karlaftis goes with a bull rush, landing a perfect shot on the right tackle. Using leverage and power, he walks the tackle into the pocket — which forces Mariota to step up. Working back inside, Karlaftis disengages from the block but misses his initial attempt to get the sack.
Mariota tries to dance away from the pressure — but from the ground, Karlaftis grabs his ankle at the last second to collect the sack anyway.
Later in the game, Danna is rewarded for his dirty work with a rare free rush at the quarterback.
The Chiefs elect to blitz, but Washington has a miscue in protection. The right guard slides, the right tackle stays in to help against Karlaftis and both blitzers drop — leaving Danna free to run at a frustrated Mariota.
Staying active against quick passes
It’s rare for defensive ends to enjoy games in which the quarterback releases the ball quickly — but on Monday night, Danna and Karlaftis found ways to impact the game without rushing the passer.
Danna earned his first career interception with a heads-up play on the game’s opening drive.
Here, Danna quickly diagnoses the play as a screen and hustles over to defend. The ball bounces off wide receiver Deebo Samuel’s hands and comes directly to the defensive end.
Karlaftis also stayed active against quick throws, doing a nice job of getting his hands up in passing lanes.
On this play, Washington sets up a screen look to the right. The play has the potential to be a big gain — but at the last second, Karlaftis throws his hand up, tips the pass and forces an incompletion.
Stopping the quarterback run
Early in the game, Washington attempted to get its run game going with Mariota’s legs — but the Chiefs played sound, disciplined defense. That started with Danna and Karlaftis.
Against zone-read looks, defensive ends have among the most important jobs on the field. It is their responsibility to defend the read — and Danna and Karlaftis did a great job of identifying the plays and preventing Mariota from breaking long runs.
On this snap, Mariota shows a handoff but pulls the ball to follow the lead blocker. Karlaftis is the read man on this play — and does a fantastic job of reading the play-call. After confirming the keep, Karlaftis goes from his surf technique to actively chasing down the quarterback.
With Karlaftis in pursuit — and the rest of the defense doing their jobs — they bring down Mariota for only a small gain.
Danna mirrored Karlaftis’ effort when the plays came to his side.
Mariota takes the snap, shows a handoff, then pulls the ball and follows his lead blockers to the outside. Danna is the read man and plays the surf technique. He sees the pull and hustles to take away the cutback lane — and then helps cornerback Trent McDuffie chase the quarterback out of bounds.
The bottom line
The Chiefs defense plays well as a unit — and it starts up front with the play of their defensive ends. The Commanders are a depleted team — and with Mariota in for star quarterback Jayden Daniels, it was always going to be a long shot for them to win Monday’s game.
Taking away zone reads, disrupting quick passes and finishing snaps against true pocket passes were significant factors in Kansas City’s win — and Danna and Karlaftis led the way. Week in and week out, both handle this dirty work. Karlaftis is on pace for the best season of his career — and seeing both of them make big plays was a great outcome.
While Mariota is far from an elite talent, Monday’s matchup should serve as a good warmup for the teams the Chiefs will face in the coming weeks. The Buffalo Bills, Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers all have mobile quarterbacks. Kansas City’s defensive ends must continue to play sound football against them.
