Redskins’ play leaves impression on Chiefs
‘MNF’ meeting features teams with momentum
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith has seen the Oakland Raiders enough over the past few years in the rugged AFC West that he knows quite well how difficult it is to be beat them.
The fact that the Washington Redskins dismantled the Raiders last week?
Well, that certainly left an impression.
“That doesn’t happen often at all,” Smith said. “That’s a really, really good unit, run and pass, and they just got suffocated. They got behind, became one-sided and weren’t able to get anything going.”
Now, the Redskins (2-1) will try to carry the momentum from that 27-10 win over Oakland into a marquee Monday night matchup in Kansas City.
The Chiefs (3-0) are the lone unbeaten team in the NFL, which means another chance for Washington to prove it’s for real.
“This is a big test for us, a national stage,” Smith said. “Any time you get this opportunity, you have to go out and re-prove yourself. It doesn’t matter what you did the last three weeks.”
Those last three weeks have been remarkable, though.
As impressive as the Redskins’ win over Oakland was the Chiefs’ season-opening victory in New England, when they swatted Tom Brady and Co. on the night they raised a Super Bowl banner.
The Chiefs were solid a week later against Philadelphia, then ground out a 24-10 road win over the Chargers last week. So it’s safe to say both teams have some momentum heading into Monday night.
“Every game is its own entity,” Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins said. “We’ve been able to win the last couple games, but things in this league are fickle, and you really have to go have a great day the very next
day to make it in this league.
“We don’t feel like it’s a momentum thing or riding a wave. We just have to come to work this week and go into Kansas City with the right mindset to have a chance.”
The Redskins have the league’s fifth-rated defense after holding the Raiders to 128 yards in total offense. At its epicenter is a front seven, led by Ryan Kerrigan, that dropped Derek Carr four times and produced six tackles for loss.
“They’ve got a very good pass rush, their defense is playing very well. Starts up front for them,” said Chiefs coach Andy Reid, whose own offensive line has struggled in pass protection.