The game has arrived, and the Kansas City Chiefs need to win to keep their season alive. Losing in Week 14 to the Houston Texans wasn’t ideal, as the Chiefs now have to win out along with other scenarios for them to become a 2025 playoff team.

And for the Chiefs to be victorious today, Patrick Mahomes will need to find this wide receiver more times than others, and that’s Rashee Rice. Easily the best wide receiver on the roster, Rice has been a great addition to the franchise since returning in Week 7.

However, when it comes to the thick of things in the Chiefs’ wide receiving room, how much does Rice mean to the franchise? Luckily, Pro Football Focus compiled a list of the top wide receivers entering Week 15, which features Rice holding down spot 20.

The Reasoning

• “The Texans’ defense held Rice to 34 receiving yards on four catches in one of his quietest outings of the season. He dropped a critical fourth-down pass late in the fourth quarter that would have moved the Chiefs into Texans territory while trailing by seven,” PFF’s Lauren Gray wrote.

• “The third-year receiver from SMU has 46 catches for 520 yards and five touchdowns this season. Most of his targets (25) have come within nine yards of the line of scrimmage, where he has 14 catches for 129 yards and nine first downs. Three of his touchdowns have come from short targets, and he has earned a 91.5 PFF receiving grade on those plays.”

• “However, Rice does most of his damage at the intermediate level, where he has secured eight of 15 passes for a team-high 207 yards. He boasts an 89.6 PFF receiving grade on passes 10-19 yards downfield.”

What Rice Must Do vs Chargers

As mentioned by Gray, Rice’s Week 14 performance wasn’t all too jaw-dropping, as he brought in 34 yards in four receptions. In this game vs the Chargers, Rice needs to perform with what’s working in his favor: his speed and adaptation.

Rice, along with Xavier Worthy, might be the fastest wide receiving duo the Chiefs could ask for in today’s game, as finding Juju Smith-Schuster and Travis Kelce over the middle would be perfect to get those speedsters going.

Keep in mind, the Chargers didn’t see Rice in Week 1 as he was suspended, which could work in the Chiefs’ favor today. Rice has fared well against the Chargers in three games, as this Week 15 matchup will be the first time Rice plays against the Chargers since his season-ending injury against them in Week 4, 2024.