Rice scores twice in return, Chiefs shut out Raiders

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs so thoroughly dominated the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday that they probably didn’t need Rashee Rice, who had come back from a torn ACL and a six-game suspension to give them yet another dynamic weapon.

The rest of the season? Well, the Chiefs think Rice may be the last piece they need to chase another championship.

“We have a lot of weapons. We have a lot of guys and they all love each other, and they want each other to succeed,” said quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who threw for 286 yards and three touchdowns — two of them to Rice — in a 31-0 victory so lopsided that the two-time league MVP got to spend the entire fourth quarter watching it from the bench.

“We want to be better than what we are now,” Mahomes said, “but this was a good step in the right direction.”

Rice finished with seven catches for 42 yards in his first game since Week 4 last season, when he tore up his knee in a collision with Mahomes. Rice made it back from the injury in time to participate in the offseason and training camp, then was suspended before the start of the season for his role in a high-speed car crash on a Dallas highway in March 2024.

Rice’s return sparked an offense that scored on its first five possessions against Las Vegas and finished with 434 yards in all.

“I think it’s a glimpse of what’s possible,” Rice said, “and what’s to come.”

It didn’t help ailing Las Vegas to play most of the game without star pass rusher Maxx Crosby, who left late in the first half with a knee injury. The Raiders also lost defensive tackle Adam Butler to a back injury during the game.

The Chiefs (4-3) were nearly as good on defense, though, holding the Raiders to three first downs and 96 yards while beating them for the 10th time in the last 11 matchups. Geno Smith finished 10 of 16 for 67 yards, while Ashton Jeanty, one of the NFL’s top rookies, carried just six times for 21 yards.

It was the fourth and most lopsided shutout by Kansas City in its 133-game history against the Raiders.

“This was a game I didn’t see coming,” Raiders coach Pete Carroll said. “We prepared really well. We were tuned in. I couldn’t imagine the guys that weren’t able to play in this game would have been that much of a factor.”

In truth, the Chiefs had started to hum the past couple of weeks, including in a 30-17 rout of the Lions last week. And with Rice, it looked like the high-flying attack that Mahomes made famous with Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill so many years ago.

Rice had a pair of catches on their opening drive, including a 2-yard touchdown reception to finish off the 92-yard march. He had two more on the next drive, an 84-yard trek that Marquise Brown finished with a TD catch. And Rice capped the Chiefs’ big first half with a 3-yard touchdown reception with 10 seconds left to make it 21-0 at the break.

“I think you saw the trust that Pat has in him,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid. “The energy he brings is infectious.”

The lopsided nature of the first half was staggering.

The Chiefs had a 21-2 advantage in first downs. They had a 275-51 edge in yards, and that includes six meaningless yards that Jeanty gained on the final run of the half. And the Chiefs became the first team since at least 2000 to start a game with three TD drives of at least 80 yards, allowing them to consume nearly 21 minutes of the first half.

Oh, and the Chiefs got to receive the second-half kickoff.

They proceeded to march 65 yards for another touchdown, this time with Isiah Pacheco doing the honors on the ground to finish it off. And after another three-and-out by the Raiders, a 66-yard march produced a field goal that made it 31-0.

Mahomes and several starters took a seat by the end of the third quarter, allowing Gardner Minshew to finish the rout.

“Very seldom do you have a fourth quarter where you don’t throw the ball. It doesn’t happen very often,” Reid said.

The only question remaining was whether the Raiders would make it back across midfield again. They made it for two offensive plays on the first drive of the game, when a holding call on Jackson Powers-Johnson led to them eventually punting.

The answer: They did not come close.

“They’re a terrific team,” Carroll said. “They did everything like they do. And the played really well in all phases, and they kept us totally at bay. We couldn’t make a first down and couldn’t get off the field. They just did like they do.”

Injuries

Las Vegas: WR Jakobi Meyers (knee) and TE Brock Bowers (knee) were inactive. Crosby and Butler only added to the problems.

Kansas City: LT Josh Simmons was inactive due to personal reasons. LG Trey Smith left with a back injury, DT Omar-Norman Lott hurt his knee and RT Jawaan Taylor banged up his shoulder.

Up Next

The Raiders are off next week before facing Jacksonville on Nov. 2.

The Chiefs play Washington next Monday night.

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