Patrick Mahomes: Rashee Rice 'went to high school in Texas, so I knew he was going to be a dog'
A former Texas high school football standout was one of the stars of the AFC Wild Card round in the one of the coldest game in NFL history.
Rashee Rice, a rookie wide receiver from North Richland Hills, Texas, caught eight passes for a career-high 130 yards and a touchdown — an 11-yard strike from QB Patrick Mahomes — to help the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Miami Dolphins, 26-7, on Saturday night.
It's the most receiving yards by a rookie in Chiefs franchise history, and it took place in the fourth coldest NFL game ever.
For a team which has been plagued with shaky wide receiver play at times during an up and down season, Rice's career day didn't appear to come as a surprise to the two-time Super Bowl-winning QB from Whitehouse, Texas.
"He went to high school in Texas, so I knew he was going to be a dog," Mahomes told NBC on the live broadcast after the game.
It was the second consecutive game that Rice, who went to SMU, went for more than 100 receiving yards. On Dec. 31, he turned five receptions (out of six targets) into 127 receiving yards, including a 67-yard reception.
At North Richland Hills Richland (Texas), Rice was a three-star prospect whose best season was as a junior, when he caught for 1,386 yards and 19 TDs and helped the Royals go 11-3, reach the 5A Division II regional finals and nabbed all-district honors.
Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice (4) runs against the Miami Dolphins during the second half of the 2024 AFC wild card game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
Photo by Jay Biggerstaff, USA TODAY Sports
The 6-foot-1, 204-pound pass-catcher was drafted in the second round — 55th overall — by the Chiefs in April after leading the NCAA in receiving yards per game (112.9) as a senior.
And he's earned the trust of his superstar quarterback.
"(Rice) continued to work every single day," Mahomes told NBC. "A lot of young players, man, they want to take it off, they have long seasons compared to what they did in college, but he continued to get better and better and asked the right questions."
Mahomes' East Texas roots are deeply woven into the NFL standout's lore. He led Whitehouse (Texas) to a 12-1 season and District 16-4A title as a senior, throwing for 4,619 yards and 50 touchdowns and rushing for 948 yards and 15 more TDs.
The Chiefs (11-6) advance to the divisional round of the NFL playoffs, where they will face the Bills or the Texans.
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-- Andy Buhler | andy@scorebooklive.com | @sblivetx
