The Kansas City Chiefs found a way to win on Sunday against the Chargers. But even with the strong finish, the turnover-plagued start was about as ugly as it could have been. To make matters worse, wide receiver Rashee Rice suffered a gruesome knee injury feared to be season-ending. Andy Reid mentioned on the broadcast that it was not looking good.
Given the severity of the injury and the importance of Rice to the Chiefs' success, the loss of Rice for any length of time is going to come with a significant impact. What will this mean for the Chiefs? Here are five takeaways as the Chiefs attempt to charge forward.
1. The Chiefs' passing game is back to where it was last season
Rashee Rice had an amazing start to the season. His production was so consistent that it bailed the Chiefs out of some precarious situations. At the same time, Rice was looking even faster and more confident as a route runner to open this season.
Without him, Kansas City is essentially back to where they were last season as a passing offense. You have no true threat of a WR1-like target in the wide receiver room. Beyond the experience and leadership of Travis Kelce, finding out who the Chiefs can depend on is likely going to be difficult.
So many of the wide receivers on the team offer specific skill sets. There is really no wide receiver who can handle the full responsibilities that Rice was beginning to garner within the passing attack. Xavier Worthy has had some impressive plays. However, the rookie does not need to have immediate pressure placed on his shoulders.
Patrick Mahomes is already feeling antsy in the pocket and working through some early struggles. Now without Rashee Rice, players who are better served as a third or fourth option in the passing game are going to have to handle bigger roles.
2. Patrick Mahomes needs to learn to trust others
What does the Rashee Rice injury mean for Mahomes specifically? Finding trust in other wide receivers is going to be crucial. To say that this was a major work in progress last year would be an understatement. Players like JuJu Smith-Schuster and Justin Watson can come through in occasional spots when the Chiefs need it, but can they do so with consistency?
Gaining more trust in other wide receivers will depend on what Mahomes sees and how comfortable he can remain in the pocket. At least initially, trying to find an early rhythm will be a focal point. The Chiefs finally started to hit on some quick passes late Sunday. Perhaps more of that may be on tap in order for Mahomes to find more trust in the current cast of pass catchers.
3. Kareem Hunt's return becomes even more vital
Kareem Hunt's return to the Chiefs offense was pretty impressive on Sunday. He seemingly gained four yards or so every carry. It was a necessary lift for the offense to overcome the Chargers. It was a necessary lift after the Isiah Pacheco injury. It was a necessary lift after Carson Steele's second career fumble lost. But now with Rashee Rice gone, Hunt's return to Kansas City is going to be even more vital.
The burst that Hunt displayed on Sunday was encouraging. He still has an ability to break tackles as well. And with Pacheco absent for a while longer, there is going to be belief in Hunt as another pass-catching option, especially as an underneath option. To think how the first run of Hunt with the Chiefs ended, he is now squarely in one of the top roles of the offense in the immediate future.
4. New year, same script?
The Chiefs still have hope that they can clean some things up offensively, obviously. But in the last three games, the script has gone very similar to last year. The offense does just enough. But in the end, the full performance of the Kansas City defense cannot be understated.
After the Chargers jumped out to a 10-0 lead, Kansas City outscored the Bolts 17-0 the rest of the game. For nearly the last 49 minutes of game clock, the Chiefs defense shutout the Chargers offense. LA missed a field goal in that span and turned it over on downs inside the KC five-yard line.
The pressure from Chris Jones was game-wrecking. Jaylen Watson was sticky in coverage in key spots. And going into a contest against one of the NFL's best rushing attacks, the Chiefs corralled the LA rushing offense for much of the day. Steve Spagnuolo has a stout and smart unit. Without Rashee Rice, his group will once again face some added pressure to come through. Can they continue to come through like they did last year?
5. Rashee Rice's development is halted
The aforementioned added quickness and confidence of Rashee Rice are tough items to lose. But for the wide receiver, the fallout of this injury is going to be a tough pill to swallow just as much for himself, as it is for entire offense. He was growing into the offensive centerpiece as a young weapon. Young wide receivers had historically started slow under Andy Reid in Kansas City. And becoming that in a unit that has Mahomes distributing you the ball is even more rare.
The production he was serving up was truly efficient from last year to early this season. Who knows how much more his numbers and volume would have grown by the end of this season. But now, Rice is going to have to return in his third career season. Finding comfort off of a knee injury can come at varied points, depending on the player. To have that while being even closer to the end of his rookie deal, it is just a challenging hurdle for a wide receiver in the Chiefs' system.