KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs rookie wide receiver Rashee Rice showed the complete package during Sunday’s win at Las Vegas.
He’s been tough and elusive all season with the ball in his hands — and continued to be en route to career-highs for catches (eight) and receiving yards (107).
Rice also showed breakaway speed, out-running the Raiders’ defense and turning a short crossing route into a 39-yard touchdown.
“My objective was to get to the other side of the field and right in Pat’s vision so he could see me,” Rice said. “He just put it right where I needed it for me to try to run that 200-meter dash.”
One drive later, he showed off his hands, his body control and his awareness with a leaping 19-yard grab along the sideline.
“He’s a guy who wants it,” Patrick Mahomes said of Rice after his breakout game. “I think that’s the biggest thing. He has the talent; he wants to be great. But it’s going to take us to stay on top of it every single week. He’s going to be a great receiver in this league.”
There also was another drop — his sixth on 56 targets this season. It’s an issue that has plagued Rice early in his career, but the good far outweighs the bad through 11 NFL games.
The even better news, Rice seems destined to get better.
He’s still mastering Andy Reid’s notoriously complex offense, the Chiefs’ staff is still learning what he excels at on the field, and Mahomes is still developing a rapport with him.
“There’s little things here and there we’re going to continue to work on, but, for the most part, he learns from his mistakes and continues to get better every single week,” Mahomes said. “... He can take that step. He has the ability.”
Rice said the game is slowing down and now he’s “having fun.”
He credited his preparation — working at practice, staying in the playbook and staying in veterans’ ears for advice — for helping flatten the learning curve.
“He’s a smart kid and he works tremendously hard at his profession here,” Reid said. “He’s got the trust of the quarterback.”
That may be the most important thing — not just for Rice as a rookie, but for the Chiefs as an offense in search of a threat defenses have to respect to relieve the pressure on tight end Travis Kelce.
“We’ve only scratched the surface, honestly,” Mahomes said. “... I think he can do some of the vertical-threat stuff. He has speed, he has burst. You can see it when he has the football in his hands.”
On an afternoon when Kansas City was without Kadarius Toney and Skyy Moore got hurt, at the end of week that saw Mecole Hardman Jr. land on injured reserve and with Justyn Ross still away from the team, Rice has emerged as the best wide receiver alongside Justin Watson in the quest for a Super Bowl repeat.
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