KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Old-school rivalries in the NFL are becoming hard to find, but one that seems to have endured is the Chiefs and Raiders.
The AFC West foes will play at noon Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium, and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes noticed there was a different feel about Raider Week as soon as he got to the practice facility.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re doing good, or they’re doing good, both doing good, both doing bad,” Mahomes said. “This game means more to everybody, everybody that’s playing in the game, both sides of the football. So you have to have that mentality that it’s a true rivalry game. You don’t have a lot of those in the NFL, and I’m blessed to be a part of it because it really does bring out the best in both teams.”
Mahomes and the Chiefs (3-3) will have one big weapon returning in wide receiver Rashee Rice, who was suspended the first six games for his involvement in a high-speed car cash in Dallas in March 2024. Rice hasn’t played in a regular-season game since Week 4 of last year when he tore his ACL.
Rice had surgery and was able to participate in the offseason and training camp before his suspension was handed down by the NFL.
“I think he’s excited to be back in and going,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “I think getting through practices will be good for him to get him back in the swing of things.”
As a rookie in 2023, Rice caught 79 passes for 938 yards and seven touchdowns as he helped the Chiefs win the Super Bowl. Last year, he caught 24 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns before being injured.
With Rice back, the Chiefs will finally have their top receivers in the same game. Xavier Worthy suffered a shoulder injury in Week 1 and missed two games but since his return the offense has turned it up a notch. Now with the addition of Rice, Mahomes is eager to see the Chiefs offense find another gear.
“I think we’ve gotten better and better,” Mahomes said. “And adding Xavier back and getting Rashee back, we’ll continue to hopefully improve what we can do. All you can ask for is get better each and every week and I feel like we’re doing that.”
Under Reid, the Chiefs are 20-4 against the Raiders and have won eight of the last nine meetings.
“We understand the rivalry, and our fans really understand the rivalry, and they get after it,” Reid said. “But our players understand that, too. It has a little bit of a college atmosphere to it where you have a team that you’ve had a rivalry with over the years, and you feel privileged to be a part of it.”
SIMMONS STILL OUT
The Chiefs will likely again be without rookie left tackle Josh Simmons, who is absent from the team because of personal reasons. Veteran Jaylon Moore played well last week against the Lions filling in for Simmons and will likely start against the Raiders.
