Because it's so hard to hear through the crowd's roars, false starts and delay of game penalties are common for the opposition in Kansas City. Through the 2024 regular season, opposing teams committed five delay of game fouls and four false starts in eight games at Arrowhead.
This season alone, the Commanders have committed [13 false starts](https://www.nflpenalties.com/penalty/false-start?year=2025&view=team) (T-3rd most in the league) and [two delay of game](https://www.nflpenalties.com/penalty/delay-of-game?year=2025) penalties in seven games this season, losing a total of 75 yards on those penalties combined. Eleven of those penalties were committed on the road.
Communication issues have plagued the Commanders' offense in its past two weeks and have led to slow starts. Leading up to Monday night's game, getting on the same page during practice is imperative for the offense to succeed.
The Commanders' offense will get a boost at the wide receiver position, as Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel Sr. will be active come Monday night after a full week of practice. McLaurin has missed the past four games with a quad injury, while Samuel was out against the Cowboys in Week 7 with a heel injury. The return of veterans can help streamline communication and tighten up the offense to provide Mariota with more weapons.
While having both McLaurin and Samuel back on the field will give the offense a boost, using injuries as an excuse for a lack of production isn't part of the Commanders' identity either.
"Injuries are not the reason we lost," head coach Dan Quinn said after the Week 6, 44-22 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. "Others may talk about who we did have and who we didn't have today, and I'm here to say it doesn't matter who you have or who is out when you don't give yourself a chance out there. The turnover margins, penalties, missed tackles and drops; Dallas beat us and we beat ourselves as well, and we're the ones that got ourselves into the hole and we're the same ones who have got to dig ourselves out. Make no mistake; we're not playing to the standards we've set."