After an up-and-down Week 1 of the preseason, the Kansas City Chiefs got back on track on Saturday with a 38-10 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
All Chiefs quarterbacks had a great game, including 25-year-old Shane Buechele. Now entering his third season, Buechele seems to be comfortable in his role as the team’s No. 3 passer.
During Saturday’s game, Buechele succeeded partly thanks to the help of rookie receiver Rashee Rice, a player who Buechele looked to six times in the first half of the game.
“Just having him here has been great,” Buechele said of Rice after the game. “Helping him learn this offense because it’s tough on a rookie. I’ve kind of taken him under my wing and am trying to get him up to speed in this offense.”
Rice finished the day as the Chiefs’ most productive receiver, earning eight receptions for 96 yards. Not all was great, though – Rice had a drop for the second week in a row, and fumbled the ball on a 25-yard catch. Luckily, the ball bounced right back into Rice’s hands.
The best thing about the preseason is that Rice can get those mistakes out of the way and learn before the real games begin. And despite those early mistakes, Buechele is confident that Rice can brush those off and become a quality contributor in the NFL.
“He can be a really good player, he shows that,” Buechele said. “He’s just got to start a little bit quicker, and he knows that, too. He’s a great player. That was fun having that drive and going back-to-back to him.”