Who Should I Start? Marcus Mariota or Kimani Vidal

Saturday, October 25, 6:21 PM

Washington Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota will make his third start of the season on Monday Night Football against the Kansas City Chiefs. With Jayden Daniels (hamstring) ruled out early in the week, Washington will rely on the 31-year-old quarterback for a big primetime matchup. Mariota led Washington to a 1-1 record and has been solid in both of his starts, completing 31 of 48 pass attempts for 363 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception while also adding value with his legs, with eight carries for 60 yards and a rushing score. And he'll be getting a big boost in Week 8 with both top wide receivers, Terry McLaurin (quadriceps) and Deebo Samuel Sr. (heel), cleared from the injury report and set to play on Monday. Mariota will face a Chiefs defense that just pitched a shutout in Week 7 against the Raiders, but has been mediocre against the pass outside of that game, ranking 21st in dropback success rate (48.9%). The veteran QB has value as a streamer in a potential high-scoring matchup, ranking as RotoBaller's QB14 for Week 8.

Friday, October 24, 12:17 AM

Los Angeles Chargers running back Kimani Vidal totaled 23 carries, 117 rushing yards, and one rushing touchdown during Thursday's Week 8 win over the Minnesota Vikings. He also caught one of his two targets for an additional 10 receiving yards. The 24-year-old capitalized on a positive game script and turned in a high-volume, high-efficiency performance on primetime. He has been quite effective since taking over for Omarion Hampton (ankle), averaging 16.7 rushing attempts, 2.7 receptions, 100 scrimmage yards, and 0.7 touchdowns per game over the last three weeks. Los Angeles is rumored to have serious interest in an external running back addition, but until that comes to fruition, Vidal will remain the Bolts' lead back. He has firmly established himself as the preferred option over Hassan Haskins, who had just one carry for three yards on Thursday Night Football.