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Matt Gay Questionable for Week 8 | DraftSharks
Commanders K Matt Gay (back) is questionable for Monday night’s game vs. the Chiefs. He was added to the injury report and did not practice on Saturday. With the late kickoff, look elsewhere for your Week 8 fantasy kicker. Washington doesn’t currently have another kicker on its active roster or practice squad.
NFL Announces Punishment for Chiefs WR Xavier Worthy | Yahoo! Sports
With 10 minutes, 10 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Patrick Mahomes
connected with Worthy for a 12-yard first down, drawing a defensive holding penalty on Las Vegas cornerback Darnay Holmes in the process. After the play, Worthy celebrated by staring down the defender, but no taunting penalty was called. Running back Isiah Pacheco would go on to score a touchdown on the drive, increasing Kansas City’s lead to 28-0.
While no flag was thrown for taunting during the game, the NFL still announced Worthy had been fined $11,593 for the incident. A second offense this season could raise the fine to $17,389.
Worthy was one of three players to receive a fine for taunting in Week 7. Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens was fined $11,593 for his actions in a win over the Washington Commanders, while Cowboys offensive lineman Brock Hoffman was charged $6,111. Raiders safety Isaiah Pola-Mao was also fined $17,278 for a “use of the helmet” against the Chiefs.
Why the Chiefs can cover
Kansas City has covered in four of its last five games, highlighted by its historic 31-0 victory over Vegas on Sunday. It was Andy Reid’s 427th regular season game as head coach, and it was the first time that Reid’s team shut out an opponent. Mahomes became the first quarterback since 2000 to have 200 passing yards and three passing touchdowns over his first three drives as the Chiefs offense is clicking on all cylinders with the return of wideout Rashee Rice. He had seven catches for 42 yards and two scores in his first game in over a calendar year.
3) Commanders’ running game vs. Chiefs’ run defense
Washington has an avenue to making life easy on Marcus Mariota: Its rushing offense entered Week 8 tops in the NFL with 5.4 yards per carry. Some of that is, of course, predicated on Jayden Daniels’ proclivity to gash opponents using timely scrambles, but there’s still a system in place to take advantage of Kansas City’s 15th-ranked unit against the run. Jacory Croskey-Merritt must shake off his funk to make it happen, however. After besting all ball carriers with 6.6 yards per carry in Weeks 1-5, he’s since plummeted to 3.1 yards per carry the past two games. He’s been getting the feature back treatment of late, with 14.6 attempts per games the past three weeks, so the task of taking apart K.C.’s D will likely again fall to him, with Chris Rodriguez Jr. and Jeremy McNichols pitching in from time to time. If the Commanders are able to find ground versus the Chiefs, it will hopefully somewhat mitigate the pass rush led by George Karlaftis, the owner of 30 pressures in 2025, and Chris Jones, who has propelled the Chiefs to a 41.5 pressure percentage when on the field.
Why the Commanders might shock everyone against the Chiefs | Sports Illustrated
The Washington Commanders are expected to have a tough game against the Kansas City Chiefs, but things could be easier with the return of wide receivers Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel Sr.
Commanders head coach Dan Quinn explained how much impact they have on the field.
“They add a lot. I think in different ways and so much of their games are similar but different. In other words, where on some of the deep plays with Terry on play passes and over routes and things that are shots down the field where Deebo has some catch and run as well to it,” Quinn said.
Around the NFL
James Cook walked into his postgame news conference on Sunday looking like a guy who’d barely worked up a sweat, let alone run for a career-best 216 yards and two touchdowns.
“I feel like I could go again,” Cook said.
Why not?
After all, of Cook’s 216 yards, 168 came before contact, according to ESPN Research.
That’s a sign of just how well the Bills blocked up front against a Carolina Panthers defense that came into the game ranked eighth in the league against the run and had allowed only 131 yards on the ground over the last three games.
Cook scored on runs of 64 and 21 yards as Buffalo romped to a 40-9 win.
Jonathan Taylor builds MVP case in Colts dominant 38-14 victory over Titans | Pro Football Talk
Taylor accounted for 174 yards from scrimmage in the dominant victory, rushing for 153 yards on 12 carries with two touchdowns.
Taylor’s last play of the game was a 19-yard reception on a pop pass early in the fourth quarter. But his most exciting play was his 80-yard touchdown early in the third, as he evaded defenders and somehow kept his balance to stay in bounds along the left sideline to cash in on a one-play drive.
Taylor has now registered at least 130 yards from scrimmage in each of Indianapolis’ last three games. He’s also scored three touchdowns in two consecutive games and in three of the team’s last four contests.
NFL Week 8 Best Locker Room Speeches: Aaron Glenn Pays Tribute to Nick Mangold | Fox Sports
Aaron Glenn pays tribute to Nick Mangold following first win as Jets coach
Sunday was an emotional day for the Jets. Shortly before their game against the Bengals kicked off, news broke that former Jets star Nick Mangold died from his battle with kidney disease.
Glenn honored Mangold in his postgame speech.
“I didn’t play with this player, but he’s a Jet through and through,” Glenn told his team. “He had a number of kids, and that touches me every time somebody from this organization, especially when they put their heart and soul into making this team a winning team, has passed away. I want everyone to acknowledge that, first and foremost. Make sure you keep his family in your prayers.”
The reigning defensive player of the year was hurt trying to make a tackle just before halftime. He finished with five tackles.
Earlier in the game, Surtain hurt his lower leg while breaking up a pass in the end zone. He stayed down for several minutes before being helped off the field by medical personnel. After a visit to the medical tent for evaluation, he spent a few minutes testing out the leg before returning to the game.
In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride
Even without Jayden Daniels, Chiefs see Commanders as a dangerous foe
Two of Kansas City’s defensive leaders are focused on the dangers Washington’s running game presents. Rookie running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt and rotational backs Jeremy McNichols and Chris Rodriguez all present the potential for big plays. They’re behind an offensive line that is playing well — and the Commanders will also have wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Terry McLaurin back from injury.
“The offensive tackles have obviously been playing great for them,” noted linebacker Nick Bolton. “They do a great job, [and] they get their pass catchers back. It’s going to be an added boost to those guys, and the running backs are doing great this year. One’s averaging 5.3 [yards], I think, per carry and another one is averaging 4.2 or something like that. It’s going to be a challenge for us up front. [We] need to stop the run early and get them in favorable downs for us and take out the quarterback.”
On Friday, defensive tackle Chris Jones added veteran tight end Zach Ertz to the list of Washington players the Chiefs’ defense should be concerned about.
“They have a really, really, really well-rounded team,” he explained. “They have a lot of weapons — Deebo Samuel, Terry McLaurin, and the running backs; they’ve got a double-headed sword in the backfield. The offensive coordinator, Kliff, he does a really, really good job of scheming. So, we’ve got our hands full there, and then they have a veteran tight end who’s been in the game a while and is still very, very productive. So, we’ve definitely got our hands full on trying to slow these guys down.”
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