The Kansas City Chiefs claimed a 31-0 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday afternoon, improving to 4–3 on the season. The Chiefs dominated every phase of the game — and the offense continued to look extremely potent.
The game’s biggest storyline was the return of wide receiver Rashee Rice after serving a six-game suspension. It was also his first game since September 29, 2024, when he tore his ACL in a Week 4 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers.
In his first game back, Kansas City got
him involved in the game plan — while also easing him back into action and ensuring he was fully prepared to play. He finished the game with seven receptions on 10 targets for 42 receiving yards and two touchdowns — both scored in the red zone. He played 33 snaps and exited for good early in the fourth quarter, when most of the Chiefs’ starters also left the game.
It was clear that Kansas City wanted to get Rice into the end zone, but the team also managed his snaps carefully to ease him back into rhythm. With several pre-loaded plays designed to get Rice the ball, parts of this game felt like a preseason matchup that intended to get him touches — while also featuring him as the primary red-zone target.
The performance was a great building block for the rest of the season and showed a glimpse of what the Chiefs’ offense could look like in the coming weeks.
Red zone touchdowns
The Chiefs wasted no time getting Rice into the end zone, using their signature jet-sweep flip pass to perfection.
Here, Kansas City motions Rice away from the double–tight end set on the right side of the offense — but before the ball is snapped, he comes back across the formation. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes quickly flips him the ball, and Rice doesn’t waste any time reading his blocks and getting upfield.
Good blocking from tackle Jawaan Taylor and center Creed Humphrey opens up the running lane, where Rice shows off his elite yards-after-catch ability by running through a face mask and darting into the end zone for his first touchdown of the season.
While this play is highly scheme-based, the Chiefs do an excellent job of mixing and matching which players they use in jet motion — and now Rice will be in that mix.
For his second touchdown of the game, Rice showed off his ability as a pass catcher.
One-on-one from the 5-yard line on this rep, Rice is single-covered by the Raiders. Kansas City uses a late motion by running back Kareem Hunt as “eye candy” to shift the safeties and pull attention away from Rice. At the snap, the wideout uses sharp footwork to freeze the defender before quickly breaking upfield.
Mahomes recognizes the separation right away, throwing a pinpoint pass that only Rice can catch. He locates the ball and hauls it in for six points.
Both of Rice’s scores came on very simple plays — and that’s not a bad thing.
Attacking zone defense
The Chiefs kept Rice’s workload very simple. The Raiders respected Kansas City’s deep-ball threat and played softer coverages, but this left Rice with favorable matchups underneath.
Lined up in the slot on this play, Rice is patient with his route. The Las Vegas linebacker flies into the flat area where Rice is positioned, covering from the flat to the middle of the field. Rice waits until the defender commits to the flat coverage, then quickly breaks back inside as Mahomes hits him in stride.
This was not the only time Kansas City utilized Rice underneath the coverage to create favorable matchups.
On this snap — lined up on the same side of the field as wide receiver Xavier Worthy — Rice runs a quick hitch route. Mahomes does a great job holding the linebackers with his eyes — and with Worthy working vertically up the field, most of the defense’s attention follows him.
With Mahomes and Worthy distracting the coverage, Rice is all by himself. He does a nice job picking up a first down after the catch.
Extending the running game
Ever since his rookie season, Rice’s yards-after-catch ability has made him a staple in Kansas City’s RPO and screen game. With good vision and a slippery running style, these change-up plays have been a great way to supplement the team’s running game — and an ideal method to get Rice ramped back up.
Here, as Rice motions across the formation, tight ends Travis Kelce and Noah Gray release from the line and work into the second level to block the Raiders’ secondary. Mahomes quickly pulls the RPO read, firing a pass to Rice. With good blocking ahead, Rice collects the ball and heads upfield for a first down — and a nice gain.
When Kansas City’s running game has not been up to par, the team has used these looks to keep defenses honest, taking advantage of deep coverages designed to prevent long completions. Rice is the perfect target for these concepts — and it appears he still has his old burst and tackle-breaking ability.
The bottom line
The Chiefs could not have picked a better week for Rice to make his return. A blowout victory over an overmatched Raiders team — along with a slate of pre-loaded plays to ease Rice back into the offense — made for a perfect reintroduction.
Kansas City’s next step will be incorporating him more naturally into the flow of the offense. But if this week was any indication of how things will go, there shouldn’t be many issues.
