Patrick Mahomes threw an interception before leaving his number one receiver Rashee Rice seemingly seriously injured on the same play, with head coach Andy Reid confirming the injury ‘does not look good’.
After throwing a pick to Los Angeles Chargers safety Kristian Fulton after sailing a pass over Travis Kelce, Mahomes looked to make a play as he went low to tackle the ball carrier. But his tackling form saw him land on Rice, who made the play to punch the ball out of Fulton’s hands from the opposite direction but was hit on his planted right leg by Mahomes‘ tackle attempt.
Rice left the field on a cart appearing seriously injured. He was inconsolable with a towel on his head as he was carted to the locker room to undergo tests to determine the severity of the injury.
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Rice has been the Chiefs go-to receiver in his second season in the league, ranking fourth in the NFL in yards with 288 and two touchdowns.
Mahomes knew he had made a mistake instantly after the tackle attempt, with medical officials attending to Rice as he struggled to get up off the field.
Rice has become the Chiefs number one option on offense with Kelce putting in three subpar performances to begin the year – having just 69 yards in his first three games.
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Patrick Mahomes’ tackling attempt on the Chargers ball carrier accidentally injured Rashee Rice
And it now appears the Chiefs will need Kelce more than ever this season, especially if Rice’s injury is to be as serious as it had looked on the field.
Rice is not the only receiver the Chiefs lost this week, with Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown being ruled out for the regular season without playing a game after suffering a shoulder injury in preseason.
Kansas City drafted a receiver, Xavier Worthy, in the first round in this past year’s draft, but have struggled to consistently get the ball to him after his exciting debut in which he scored two touchdowns against the Baltimore Ravens.
Head coach Andy Reid and Mahomes will now be sweating on the results of Rice’s scans, as they find themselves down to the Chargers in the first half.
