Rashee Rice Was Far From a Rookie in KC Chiefs’ Wild Card Win vs. Dolphins
In years past, the Kansas City Chiefs' formula for playoff wins was a steady diet of Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. In their first postseason outing of the 2023-24 campaign, Mahomes still got his moments in but the team also leaned on its defense and a non-Kelce offensive weapon to help get the job done.
In a 26-7 win over the Miami Dolphins, it was rookie Rashee Rice who stepped up to the plate on Wild Card Weekend.
According to head coach Andy Reid, however, it's getting more and more difficult to believe that Rice is still in his first season.
"Rice, for his day, it's hard to believe that he's a rookie," Reid said. "Eight catches for 130 yards, that's tremendous."
After a regular season that saw him make 16 starts, get targeted 102 times, and record 79 receptions for 938 yards and seven touchdowns, Rice was once again excellent. In his playoff debut, all he did was log another 12 targets, eight receptions, a career-best 130 yards and a score with a separate touchdown getting wiped away due to a penalty. Seventy-five of Rice's yards came after the catch, which shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. He feasted against Miami's off coverage. In the process, he broke a rookie franchise record for receiving yards in a playoff game.
Following the conclusion of Saturday's contest, Reid was asked if there was a time he began to know how rare of a find Rice was. He wouldn't admit to that, but he did say the second-round pick is standing out because of the work he puts in.
"Well, we were hoping he was as good as what we saw at SMU," Reid said. "I'll tell you, the best part about him is he just keeps working. He's relentless with that, and he's got a good relationship [with Mahomes]. He's got Pat's respect and he wants to do it the right way. I know how many times I stood up in front of you and said, 'We're this close with him.' He's getting better every week. I think we've seen that the last four games, five games."
Early in the season, Rice's workload fluctuated. In his first 10 games, he averaged less than five targets and four receptions per game on just over 32 snaps per outing. From Week 12 to the conclusion of the regular season, those averages rose to 9.3, 7.2 and 50.2, respectively. At times during the year, offensive coordinator Matt Nagy used the metaphor of Rice drinking from a fire hydrant as a representation of him trying to pick up the offense. Reid's system is one of the more complicated ones in the league for any receiver to learn, let alone a rookie. As Rice has continued to progress off the field, it's led to more of an opportunity on the field.
Mahomes, like Reid, says Rice's arrow is pointing up.
"Yeah, I mean, he's doing great," Mahomes said. "He's getting better and better every single week. Some of those guys hit that rookie wall, and it seems like he kind of just pushed right through it. He's just continued to get better and better. He's a great player. He has that right mentality. He comes to work every single day, and he made a lot of great plays for us today that helped us win the football game."
Rice played it cool on Saturday night, describing this weekend as "another game" in a long season he and his teammates are still going through. He isn't worried about accolades, praise or living up to his draft status. He still has a lot of room to grow, and he'll be the first to admit that. With that said, his Chiefs career couldn't be getting off to much better of a start. With a record-setting performance in the books, Rice's focus is now on the Divisional Round of the playoffs. He's glad to be making a solid first impression, though, as someone who's playing at a level above that of a typical rookie.
"It feels great," Rice said. "I'm going out there to just get a win, first of all, but everything else just comes with it. I looking forward to keep putting my name down as much as I can in this program and stay here."
