KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Commanders’ trip to Kansas City was supposed to be a Monday night showdown between a perennial contender and one on the rise, a matchup of a three-time Super Bowl MVP and the latest dual-threat star quarterback to step under center.

The storylines have certainly changed.

Oh, the Chiefs are still Super Bowl contenders, as evidenced by the way they’ve rolled to three wins in the past four games, but Patrick Mahomes might still be the best QB in the league, too. The two-time NFL MVP already has thrown for 1,800 yards and 14 TDs with only two interceptions this season, and he just might be the hottest player in the game right now.

Then there’s Washington, which has lost three of its last four, and watched Jayden Daniels limp off the field with a hamstring injury last week. His injury means Marcus Mariota will start Monday night at Arrowhead Stadium, where the Commanders — who went 12-5 last year and made the NFC championship game — are trying to avoid a 3-5 start.

“We’ll find out a lot about our team in these weeks ahead. We need everyone to step up,” Washington coach Dan Quinn said. “Our focus needs to be sharper. That’s the bare minimum. And we’re going to dig in and find out how we improve upon that.”

Kansas City (4-3) seems to have ironed out its own problems. It started the season with a pair of losses but is coming off a rout of the Lions and a shutout of the Raiders, the first shutout by an Andy Reid-coached team in Kansas City.

Mahomes threw for 286 yards and three scores in that game while sitting out the entire fourth quarter.

“(They’re) about as good as you can get it, just looking at the numbers,” Quinn said. “That doesn’t bother me, either, knowing that if we play like we’re capable of, to the right standards and being more consistent, we’ll like the results.”

In the case of the Chiefs, the turnaround stemmed largely from getting players back. Xavier Worthy is at full speed after hurting his shoulder in the season opener, and fellow wide receiver Rashee Rice is back after serving a six-game NFL suspension.

“It seems like we’re coming together as a team,” Mahomes said. “That’s what you want to do is be a team as the season goes on, and keep getting better. We’re still early and we have everything out in front of us. How can we be better this next week going up against a good football team?”

The Commanders’ defense is giving up an NFL-worst 7.8 yards per pass attempt and allowing 364.3 yards per game, 27th in the 32-team league. The big problem is the number of explosive plays Washington’s opponents are accumulating: There have been eight pass plays of at least 40 yards, for example, tied for the most in the NFL. Last week, the Cowboys put together a 70 yard-plus drive in 35 seconds, including a 44-yard pass and 33-yard run, for a touchdown that made it 27-15 at the break.

The Chiefs may be without left guard Trey Smith because of back spasms, pushing Mike Caliendo into the starting lineup. They also will be without left tackle Josh Simmons for the third consecutive game, though Jaylon Moore has played well in his place.

“We’ve always looked at Mike as a starter,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “I think all the guys do.”

Washington has fallen into a double-digit first-half deficit in five of its first seven games. It has trailed 10-0 twice, 13-0, 14-0 and, last week, 20-8. The Commanders are 1-4 in those games and 2-0 when avoiding that sort of early problem. They are letting the opponent score 7.6 points per first quarter; only one club has giving up more in that period in 2025.

Commanders cornerback Marshon Lattimore has drawn plenty of attention for all of the wrong reasons, whether being beaten by opposing wide receivers or whistled for penalties. General manager Adam Peters sent third-, fourth- and sixth-round picks in the 2025 draft to New Orleans and got a fifth back along with Lattimore in November 2024. The four-time Pro Bowl selection missed a lot of time while injured last season and has struggled this season.

Mahomes again will be going against Kliff Kingsbury, his old coach at Texas Tech and now the offensive coordinator for the Commanders. It was Kingsbury who took a chance on Mahomes to play QB when other colleges wanted him to play safety.

“He’s one of the first people I would say truly believed in me,” Mahomes said. “He helped me get to where I am today because he didn’t put me in a box and tell me to play quarterback this way. That’s something that is special about him as a coach.”

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