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The Chiefs’ worst-kept secret is how bad most of their receivers are. No one dropped more passes than Kansas City this season (44). They are the greatest factor Patrick Mahomes delightedin the worst total analytical year of his profession consideringthat 2019, when he missedouton 2 videogames with a patellar tendon dislocation.
But besides Travis Kelce, other ability gamers haveactually been reputable too. If anything, novice third-round receiver Rashee Rice hasactually been the meaning of trustworthy, the secret cog who has assisted the Chiefs’ lower-power offense down along as required.
Rice’s function established gradually this year, just seeing a handful of targets throughout the early phases of the Chiefs’ title defense. But by midseason, Mahomes and Reid began funneling Kansas City’s passing attack through Rice, who changed into one of the NFL’s finest yards-after-the-catch playmakers. Only the Dallas Cowboys’ CeeDee Lamb (680) and the Detroit Lions’ Amon-Ra St. Brown (668) — both All-Pros — had more backyards after the catch than Rice’s 653 this season. That’s some exceptional business to keep for any experienced, let alone a novice like Rice.
There are still subtleties to Rice’s videogame he will have to polish up in the future, especially as a path runner. But within the boundaries of this Chiefs’ offense that insomecases simply requires the train to keep rolling for a Mahomes dagger to Kelce, Rice is the best No. 2 weapon. He is what provides the Chiefs another much-needed measurement.
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Fun truth: The Chiefs’ defense was infact muchbetter than their offense this year.
That’s best, the high-flying Chiefs, recognized for scoring points in lots with the finest of them, were probably a defense-first team en path to their Super Bowl title defense. The realities, consistingof a No. 7 DVOA performance score for the defense compared to a No. 8 ranking for the offense, puton’t lie, folks.
If you desired to compensate for an offense with less skill, investing more in the defense would be the method to do it. Which is specifically what the Chiefs haveactually done in current years.
In 2020, Kansas City prepared Pro