The Kansas City Chiefs are 3-0 through their first three games, and yet, the national focus has been on Patrick Mahomes’ four early-season interceptions and Travis Kelce’s lack of production. When asked about the latter on Monday, September 23, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid cleared up why he believes Kelce only has 8 catches for 69 yards heading into Week 4.
“Well, I’ve mentioned to you [that] how Rashee [Rice’s] game goes is kind of how Kelce’s goes,” Reid said. “So, what [defenses are] doing is they’re working hard at taking Kelce out of the picture. And Kelce is going — ‘Hey, listen. If they’re going to do that then Rashee’s going to get a lot of catches.’ He knows that, but somewhere that levels off.”
In other words, the Chiefs offense forces opposing defenses to pick their poison between Kelce and Rice — two masters of the intermediate passing game. According to Reid, they’re currently choosing to double team Kelce rather than Rice.
Of course, the early by-product of that trend is that Rice has been putting up ridiculous numbers. Through three games, the second-year wide receiver has 24 catches for 288 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Coach Reid doesn’t expect that to continue all season, however.
“Rashee, he’s a force in there. I mean, he’s a good football player and he’s tough when he has the ball in his hands,” the Chiefs HC went on. “So, I’m sure he’ll be getting a lot more attention as we go.”
You heard it here first, don’t sell those Kelce shares just yet. As teams begin to prioritize the 24-year-old Rice, things should open up more for the future Hall of Fame tight end. And it’s only a matter of time before defenses start switching that gameplan.
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