Week 7 Raiders vs. Chiefs game preview: Rashee Rice returns as Chiefs look to build consistency in Raiders' rivalry clash

With the offense surging and the defense eyeing turnovers, Kansas City aims to prove it is back to championship form against a familiar foe.

The return of wide receiver Rashee Rice is getting overshadowed by the mystery surrounding rookie left tackle Josh Simmons, but make no mistake about it.

The Chiefs’ offense has scored 95 points over the last three weeks and quarterback Patrick Mahomes is about to get his number one weapon back.

You could not ask for a better situation for Rice to return to, either. The lowly Las Vegas Raiders (2-4) are struggling under their new, veteran head coach, Pete Carroll.

Still, the Kansas City Chiefs (3-3) are not taking them lightly. An old-school head ball coach like Andy Reid understands and appreciates the long-running history surrounding the two clubs.

Mahomes said you can feel the fact that it is Raiders week when you step into the building and Reid echoed a similar sentiment.

“We understand the rivalry, and our fans really understand the rivalry, and they get after it,” Reid said. “Our players understand that, too. It’s a little bit of that college atmosphere to it where you’ve had a team that you’ve had a rivalry with for many years, and you feel privileged to be a part of that.”

The Chiefs are in a unique position. Both the fan base and the betting markets appear to be pleased with what they see, despite the team’s 3-3 record. In these parts over the last several years, a .500 team would typically not inspire much optimism surrounding the team.

They are currently the co-betting favorites to win Super Bowl LX, along with another struggling ball club in the Buffalo Bills, at +650.

The Chiefs have taken losses to the Los Angeles Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles and Jacksonville Jaguars, but the offense, awaking from its two-plus-year “slumber,” has folks excited.

The reality is that they put themselves behind the eight-ball early in the season, and now, at full strength, they have to show consistency.

“It was the first thing Coach Reid said was about showing consistency,” Mahomes said. “That’s something that is super important in the league. You can have highs and lows and stuff like that. This is a long NFL season. It’s about who can be the most consistent week in and week out.

That is something we have to be better at, and we’ve showcased that we can play against anybody, but we’ve also showcased that we can make mistakes and lose against anybody. For us, it’s about going out there and playing our best football, every single week, getting better at practice today, and continuing that throughout the week. To go up against a Raiders team that is hungry, and that it’s always going to be a tight, contested football game.”

Let’s dive into three key angles to watch for in the Chiefs’ first of three Sunday noon games this season.

Max Crosby vs. Jawaan Taylor

There is a lot of respect in that building at One Arrowhead Drive for seven-year veteran defensive end Maxx Crosby, and for good reason.

He is a two-time All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowler and has racked up 63.5 sacks over that time.

So far this year, he has four sacks, 10 tackles for loss, a forced fumble and an interception.

He and Mahomes have had some infamous battles over the years, where they have been recorded jawing back and forth, but they are friends 50 weeks out of the year.

“It’s a ton of respect,” Mahomes said. “Like you said, when I talk to him (Crosby) outside of football, it’s like we’re friends and you wouldn’t even see what happens on the football field, but he’s the type of competitor like me,” Mahomes said. “When you get on that football field, it’s whatever it takes to win, and you’re going to leave everything on the football field, and I have a ton of respect for that.”

There is a lot of uncertainty right now when it comes to rookie phenom left tackle Josh Simmons and when he will return to the team, but swing tackle Jaylon Moore passed his first test with the Chiefs.

He went up against an edge rusher just as challenging as Crosby after Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson lined up across from them roughly half of the time last weekend.

While you may think he is about to get his second big test in as many weeks, Crosby has actually only lined up on Moore’s side of the line 36 times out of exactly 400 snaps.

Reid paid major compliments to Moore, calling him competitive, commending his ability to be ready and said they have all the trust in him as their backup left or right tackle.

But it is right tackle Jawaan Taylor who will be tasked with slowing down Crosby.

If you take a peek at the Raiders’ defensive depth chart, I would not blame you if Crosby is the only name you recognize, so it is understandable if the Chiefs’ game plan is centered around neutralizing him.

“In the offseason, the Kelce brothers (Travis and Jason Kelce), they did that little deal – that interview with me, and they asked me, ‘Who is one of the most important or toughest defensive players that you go against?’ And Maxx Crosby is right there,” offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said. “ … he goes 100 percent of the time, all the time. He’s relentless. He’s a game changer; he can affect the game. So just a ton of respect. You got to know where he’s at on every play.”

After having a rough go of it the first three weeks, and especially against Brian Burns of the New York Giants, Taylor has rebounded nicely. He has essentially not been called for any penalties and has had his best three performances of the season since then.

A strong performance against Crosby would go a long way in rebuilding trust with fans after a rocky start to the season.

Everybody’s gotta eat

The amount of buzzing coming out of this week’s press conferences regarding Rice’s return is potent and not hard to miss when you listen to almost anybody in the organization involved with the offense.

And while Rice was out, he managed to create a catch phrase for the wide receiver unit: “Everybody’s gotta eat.”

“They don’t worry about that with me,” Reid said while laughing in response to what that phrase means to him.

When wide receiver Xavier Worthy, Mahomes, Reid and offensive assistant coaches were all asked what the phrase means and it really embodies what most of them described as an unselfish wide receiver unit.

Now that they have Rice, Worthy, Hollywood Brown, Tyquan Thornton, JuJu Smith-Schuster and even Travis Kelce all available on the depth chart, Mahomes can truly exploit a defense’s weakness, rather than force-feed any one or two pass catchers.

“I mean it’s – nobody is selfish,” Worthy said. “It’s a selfless team; everybody is willing to do the dirty work, and everybody is going to do their best and what’s best for the team.”

Do you think the Chiefs are excited about getting their number one wide receiver back on the field? Some comments were more tempered than others, but check out what top-ranking members of the organization had to say.

Reid: “I think he’s (Rashee Rice) excited to be back in and going,” Reid said. “I think getting through practices here will be good for him to kind of get back into the swing of things. We’ll see how everything goes from there. He’s been working hard, and he’s in good shape.”

Mahomes: “He’s (Rashee Rice) going to want to be out there every single play,” Mahomes said. “That’s just the mentality that he has. I think it’s going to be our job as teammates and coaches to kind of build him back the right way. It’s going to be hard to keep him off the field for sure.”

Nagy: “Rashee (Rice), his growth from rookie year to last year, unfortunately getting hurt to now, this year the word is just exciting, optimistic. The kid has done so much on and off the field to better himself, both as a person and a player. I think you feel that and see that with the love and friendship that these guys have internally. You see that (and) you feel it. I half get goosebumps just thinking about when he goes out there and what he does to this offense … I think it’s been stated that there hasn’t been a whole lot of plays and games that the three of those guys have played together, and now we get to do that.”

Worthy: “Just another threat. Like he (Rashee Rice) said, ‘everybody eats. I feel like there are just more eyes going on somebody else,” Worthy said. “I feel like everybody in this offense can make plays and go in on one-on-ones. Just another explosive guy on the offense.”

Those comments do not exactly scream “ease him” through his first game since Week 4 of the 2024 season.

With the injury and suspension behind him, Rice may just pick up right where he left off, which was leading the NFL in receptions through the first three weeks of the season last year.

Can the defense be opportunistic?

The scariest part of the Raiders offense is who they drafted with the sixth overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Heisman runner-up Ashton Jeanty is an explosive running back who has tremendous contact balance. Through his first six games, the running back has totaled 424 yards and three touchdowns.

That being said, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s unit has put a cap on Omarion Hampton, Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry, Travis Etienne Jr., Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, for the most part.

What makes stopping a team’s rushing attack even easier is racking up a big lead and the Raiders have made that easy for opponents to do.

The Raiders are averaging just 17.2 points per game and much of that has to do with them coughing the ball up 11 times through the first six games.

Geno Smith, who was traded to provide them with competent quarterback play and was given a hefty contract to do so, has thrown 10 interceptions to pair with just seven touchdowns. The other turnover was a Jeanty fumble.

Kansas City is middle of the road when it comes to takeaways, but they have proven capable. An opportunistic game by the defensive backs could quickly result in this game getting out of hand.

Defensive tackle Chris Jones says the key to taking the ball away more often is simple. The defensive line has to play better.

“Four-man pass rush,” Jones said. “We got to get the front four going. Creating havoc, and if we can get pressure on the quarterback well (with) our front four defensive linemen, then we can force them to throw the ball quick or throw eerie throws and feed the DBs.”

The defensive line also has an opportunity to wreak havoc, as the Raiders’ offensive line ranks in the bottom 10 in sacks allowed.

The bigger the lead the Chiefs’ offense can gain, the more the defensive line will be able to pin their ears back to either take down Smith, or force him to make a bad decision. The Chiefs have not necessarily been in a position where they could take advantage of a foul offensive line this year.

Another thing aiding the Chiefs is that Smith does not have any strong weapons at his disposal right now. Maintaining the Raiders’ trends will enable the Chiefs’ defense to play some fun, complementary football.

“We love to be in that mode all the time,” Spagnuolo said. “It does make a huge difference. I call it a little bit differently. I think the guys on defense think a little bit differently, and they should. And most teams offensively, when they get down two possessions, certainly down three possessions, you’re going to see a lot more passes, and I think our guys can pin their ears back and play it as such. It goes back to the heading towards the one-dimensional, and that’s a team thing.”

Key injuries

Chiefs: Aside from Josh Simmons (non-injury-related/personal), everyone was a full participant at practice on Thursday.

Raiders: Notably, Brock Bowers (knee) and Jakobi Meyers (knee/toe) have not practiced at all yet this week.

Key game details

Location: GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri

Date: Sunday, Oct. 19

Kickoff: 12:00 p.m. CT

TV/Streaming: CBS

Broadcasters: Jim Nantz and Tony Romo

Radio: 96.5 The Fan

Head Referee: Clete Blakeman

Betting Line: Chiefs -12.5 | Moneyline: -1000 | Over/Under: 45.5

Weather Forecast: Sunny skies, high of 67°, winds around 10-15 mph, 0% chance of rain