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John Keim
ASHBURN, Va. — The Washington Commanders will finally have both of their top two receivers available Monday, as Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel will play against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Both players were full participants the past three days at practice, and coach Dan Quinn said they will play. McLaurin has missed the past four games with a right quad injury while Samuel missed last week with a bruised heel that bothered him the previous game as well.
It’s a boost for a team that has dealt with numerous injuries, one reason it is 3-4 heading into the game against the Chiefs (4-3). The wide receivers’ return helps backup quarterback Marcus Mariota, who is making his third start this season in place of the injured Jayden Daniels (out with a right hamstring injury).
McLaurin said Friday that he was close in recent weeks but wanted to make sure he was 100% — something he didn’t feel he was until Monday.
“Being able to accelerate and run by people and slam on the brakes, that’s my game,” he said. “My injury hindered a lot of that, but I feel really good right now.”
McLaurin has caught 10 passes for 149 yards and zero touchdowns in three games. Samuel leads Washington with 34 catches for 315 yards and three touchdowns. Another receiver, Noah Brown, hasn’t played since Week 2 and was placed on injured reserve Oct. 15.
Washington’s offense has been productive for most of the season even with its injuries. The Commanders rank 10th in scoring and 13th in yards. They are also seventh in yards per play but 24th on third downs.
They also remain second in rushing yards per game, but in the past two weeks, their running backs have averaged 3.6 yards per carry — compared to 6.06 in the first five games — and 66.5 yards per game. In those games, both Chicago and Dallas, which rank 28th and 30th, respectively, in rushing yards per game, crowded the box and dared them to throw.
“There’s no doubt there’s certain coverages that teams aren’t willing to play when you have guys like that on the field,” Washington offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury said. “So they can definitely help open things up.”
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