After their stunning loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Kansas City Chiefs were 2-3, and the argument could have been made that their season was on the brink with a showdown against the Detroit Lions on deck. Well, Kansas City won that game handily, then blew out the Las Vegas Raiders in Rashee Rice's return from suspension.
Monday night, the Chiefs played about as ugly a first half of football as any fan could have imagined. The difference between this matchup and those early-season losses, though, was having a game-breaking wideout like Rice available to make key plays when Kansas City needed them the most.
Rice finished the 28-7 win with nine receptions on nine targets for 93 yards and a touchdown. The wideout also added two carries for 12 yards to his total production on the night. While the raw numbers themselves are impressive, the breath of life he provided the offense during the second half helped the Chiefs run away with the game, turning what was a back-and-forth battle for the opening 30 minutes of play into a laugher down the stretch. The wideout truly is the straw that stirs the drink for this Kansas City offense.
Rice Has Unleashed New Confidence from Kansas City's Offense
Patrick Mahomes has a wealth of weapons at his disposal, especially on the outside. However, there was a distinct difference in how this offense looked before Rice's return compared to what Chiefs fans have seen over the last two weeks. When this group is firing on all cylinders, they are just as hard to slow down as the Kansas City teams that have represented the AFC in the Super Bowl in recent years.
One play in particular during the second half stuck out as a moment where the confidence Mahomes has in Rice was evident, and it helped lead to a touchdown for Kansas City. With Washington showing a heavy blitz was on the way, Mahomes checked the play at the line of scrimmage and screamed out "Dart" before ultimately snapping the ball and completing a pass to Rice out of the backfield for a nine-yard gain. Two plays later, Mahomes completed a TD pass to Travis Kelce to give the Chiefs a two-score lead.
As Jesse Newell of The Athletic quickly pointed out, this was the same audible Mahomes called against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII, which also helped Kansas City beat a blitz. To call that audible, in that moment, only reinforces what Rice means to this offensive attack.
With a monumental matchup against the Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park, NY, on deck for Week 9, the Chiefs will need Mahomes and Rice to keep this strong connection going. Given that Rice has recorded 16 receptions for 132 and three touchdowns in just two games, Kansas City will need him to show up in a big way once again if they want to go on the road and knock off Josh Allen and the 5-2 Bills.