Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are preparing for their divisional matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 7. More than that, they are also raving about the fact that wide receiver Rashee Rice will make his season debut and the quarterback explained why he is so crucial.
During his Wednesday press conference, Mahomes explained what makes Rice so important. Rice catches passes underneath and then adds yards after catch like a master. Hence, Mahomes warned the Raiders, “Are you going to sit back and let us throw stuff underneath, or are you going to come up and have to deal with all that speed running down the field? And so that’s a good problem to showcase towards defenses.”
Now, Rice hasn’t played since Week 4 of last year after suffering a season-ending injury and then getting suspended by the NFL due to off-field issues. Therefore, it’s fair to wonder how fit will Rice be for this game. He’s been off the field for a long time.
Rice’s numbers are underrated
Rice is in his third year in the NFL. During his rookie year, he had 79 catches for 938 yards and seven touchdowns. In his second year, he was averaging 72 yards per game and had two touchdowns.
He also is clearly a guy who racks up yards and has Mahomes’ confidence. He averages 9.4 yards per target. Mahomes has a 122.2 passer rating when targeting Rice too. The Chiefs will be way better with him on the field.
The Chiefs’ offense has improved rapidly this season
Mahomes and the Chiefs started somewhat slow this season due to injuries and some adjustments. However, the last three weeks have seen the best of this offense and arguably the best version of Mahomes since 2022.
They scored 37 against Baltimore, 28 against Jacksonville and 30 against the Lions. Now you add Rashee Rice to that unit and the Chiefs might become the best offense in the NFL.