Patrick Mahomes has erased that slow-starting narrative by accounting for 10 touchdowns over the past three weeks.
What he’d like to do next is get the Kansas City Chiefs over the .500 mark.
Mahomes and the Chiefs lost their first two games of the season but now feel above water as they host the Las Vegas Raiders in an AFC West battle on Sunday afternoon.
Kansas City (3-3) is one game behind the Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos in the division race but the club is encouraged after last weekend’s solid 30-17 victory at home over the Detroit Lions. It was the Chiefs’ third win in four games.
And Mahomes suddenly looks like one of the league’s best quarterbacks again. On the season, he has thrown for 1,514 yards and 11 touchdowns against two interceptions.
The Chiefs have won 13 of their past 15 meetings with the Raiders, so optimism is soaring that the Kansas City run will continue.
Las Vegas (2-4) is coming off a 20-10 home victory over the Tennessee Titans to halt a four-game slide.
And now the Andy Reid-coached Chiefs are up next as the Raiders look to build some momentum.
“It just happens to be Kansas City that’s next, and so we’ll do everything we can to prepare and … really drill into the challenge that they bring,” Raiders coach Pete Carroll told reporters. “It’s a tremendous program that Andy’s been running for a long time, and we’re going to have to play really well to have a chance.”
Las Vegas quarterback Geno Smith has been intercepted a league-worst 10 times while passing for 1,350 yards and seven touchdowns. It remains to be seen whether star tight end Brock Bowers (knee) can return from a two-game absence as he sat out Wednesday’s practice.
Rookie running back Ashton Jeanty (424 rushing yards) had 75 against the Titans for his second-highest output of the season. He has scored five touchdowns (three rushing, two receiving).
“He’s running over guys, running past guys,” Smith said of Jeanty. “He’s great out of the backfield and in the catching game. He’s also great in protection. It’s a great draft pick. I think they did a phenomenal job with getting Ashton, and he’s only going to get better.”
Meanwhile, Mahomes produced four touchdowns (three passing, one rushing) against the Lions and now will have top target Rashee Rice on the field for the first time this season.
Rice missed the first six games due to a suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy, stemming from his role in a multicar crash on a Dallas freeway in 2024 that left multiple people injured.
Rice practiced for the first time on Wednesday. He hasn’t played in a regular season in 12-plus months due to a major knee injury in Week 4 of last season.
“He’s excited to be back in and going,” Reid told reporters. “I think getting through practices (this week) will be good for him to get into the swing of things. He’s been working hard. He’s in good shape.”
Rice had 79 receptions for 938 yards and seven touchdowns as a rookie in 2023. He added 26 catches for 262 yards and one score in four playoff games while helping the Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl.
“He’s going to want to be out there every single play,” Mahomes said of Rice. “That’s the mentality that he has. It’s going to be our job, as teammates and coaches, to build him back the right way.”
Chiefs offensive tackle Josh Simmons (personal reasons) and running back Brashard Smith (illness) missed practice Wednesday. Simmons, the team’s first-round pick this year, left the team prior to Sunday’s win over the Lions for his hometown of San Diego.
In addition to Bowers, receiver Jakobi Meyers (knee/toe) and running back Dylan Laube (hamstring) missed practice Wednesday for the Raiders.
