KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- In their first blowout victory of the season, the Kansas City Chiefs made sure to get Rashee Rice, their No. 1 receiver, involved as soon as they could against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Once the Chiefs reached the red zone on their opening possession, Rice recorded two receptions behind the line of scrimmage, the latter ending in a 2-yard touchdown, his first score in his season debut after finishing his six-game suspension for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy. Rice celebrated by using his right foot to punt the ball into the stands and pound his chest several times before being congratulated by his teammates.
"Just a lot of passion," Rice said of his emotions at that moment. "I had to get the first one out of the way. I probably won't be punting the ball anymore, but I had to bring the juice, the spark, to the offense for the first touchdown of the game."
In his long-awaited return -- after not playing for more than a year because of his suspension and the season-ending injury he had in late September 2024, when he tore the lateral collateral ligament in his right knee -- Rice gave the Chiefs their full collection of skill-position players this season for quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The results were staggering. The Chiefs scored on each of their first five possessions, which allowed Mahomes and many of the other starters to rest for the entire fourth quarter.
"You don't really know how much you love something until it's gone -- or possibly could be gone," Rice said of his injury and suspension. "I was able to get a glimpse of that. I don't ever want to feel that again. Just being able to be out here with my brothers, that's the most love I've had in a long time."
Known for his route running, strength and quickness, Rice led the Chiefs with seven receptions for 42 yards and two touchdowns.
"You saw the trust that Pat has in him, which is so important," coach Andy Reid said of Rice. "I thought the whole receiving crew did a nice job, but it was great to have him back. The energy he brings is just tremendous."
Rice's longest reception, a 12-yard gain, was also one of Mahomes' best completions.
Just before the two-minute mark in the second quarter, Mahomes unleashed one his signature passes: a no-look throw that fooled two defenders, linebacker Devin White and cornerback Kyu Blu Kelly, to give Rice plenty of space to run after the catch.
"Honestly, I kept telling him that he threw me off with that," Rice said of Mahomes, smiling. "He no-looked the whole team, to be honest. Luckily, I was just ready for the ball."
Sunday's game was the first time that Rice, Xavier Worthy and Hollywood Brown -- the Chiefs' top trio of receivers -- played together. Even without Rice, the Chiefs entered Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday averaging 31.6 points in the previous three games once Worthy returned to the lineup after recovering from a dislocated right shoulder.
Despite having the trio available, the Chiefs played less 11 personnel -- three receivers on the field -- against the Raiders (48.1%) than their season average entering Week 7 (50.4%), according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
Rice ran just 16 routes against the Raiders, a decision Reid made to not overwork the receiver. Rice's 16 routes were efficient, too. He led the Chiefs with 10 targets. Based on the Chiefs' formations, all of Rice's production was generated with the ball traveling less than 10 air yards. Rice was matched up against White or linebacker Elandon Roberts seven times.
Rice's second touchdown was a 3-yard catch in a one-on-one against Kelly, a play that highlighted just how perfect the timing was for the execution of the back-shoulder fade.
"Everybody in this building loves Rashee, man," tight end Travis Kelce said. "Just getting him back out there, we had the full gambit and Pat had a great opportunity to spread the ball around a lot.
"I think it's just a glimpse of what you're going to see from here on out. We're going to get even more and more in sync with having the full arsenal. As long as we keep playing unselfish and getting excited for each other, the sky's the limit for this group."