The Kansas City Chiefs played with fire again in Week 3, but the two-time Super Bowl champions still managed to open the 2024-25 season with a victory.

Sunday night’s win over the Atlanta Falcons had a little bit of everything. Both sides of the ball had their moments, though the defense was the unit that ultimately secured the victory. As a result, Kansas City is 3-0 and has plenty of momentum on its side heading into a Week 4 trip to Los Angeles against the Chargers.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the Chiefs’ biggest winners and losers in the third week of the regular season.

There’s not much to say about Rashee Rice that hasn’t already been announced this season. He’s excellent. Three games into his sophomore campaign, the former second-round pick has 24 receptions on 29 targets for 288 yards and a pair of touchdowns to boot. In Sunday’s win, he eclipsed the 100-yard mark again, with 75 yards after the catch. According to Next Generation StatisticsRice leads all NFL pass catchers in post-catch yardage and leads all wideouts in missed tackles forced with nine. Some of his volume is out of necessity, but that shouldn’t stop Rice from making the most of the increased opportunities.

Some expected Week 3 to be a breakout opportunity for rookie Xavier Worthy, but instead the first-round pick flew under the radar. In addition to his three carries for 13 yards, he had just two grabs for 17 yards in the passing game. It wasn’t a bad outing by any means, but it still felt like a bit of a letdown. On Kansas City’s final drive, Worthy slowed down on a crossing route and quarterback Patrick Mahomes didn’t seem to expect it. The rookie is still finding his way early in his young NFL career.

In the Chiefs’ first game of the season without Isiah Pacheco, the offense performed quite well in the run game. Carson Steele was a big part of that success, racking up 72 yards on the ground and moving the chains multiple times. A few chunk runs helped even out his average, and a critical pass protection pickup paved the way for a 27-yard completion from Mahomes to Rice. While Steele was far from perfect, it was a promising debut for the undrafted free agent.

After a shortened training camp and no preseason due to injury, Justin Reid is already injured to start this season. His play through three weeks has been erratic, regardless of whether the two are related. Man coverage, as it has been during his Chiefs tenure, remains a sore spot on his profile. That reared its ugly head on a 50-yard connection to Kyle Pitts in the second quarter, as well as a Drake London reception late. That, combined with an offsides penalty on that same late drive, made the bad far outweigh the good Reid did on Sunday.

Defensive lineman Tershawn Wharton might be the biggest unsung hero on the Chiefs roster right now. The veteran pass rusher is playing a lot of snaps and taking advantage of them, and looks to be the best version of himself in his 26th season. He had a nice run on Sunday, also playing a role in a Kirk Cousins ​​interception near halftime and forcing a field goal with a critical push in the fourth quarter. Wharton’s mix of motor, skill and finishing ability shouldn’t go unnoticed.

Patrick Mahomes hasn’t been able to find that form since his stellar debut season. The NFL’s best signal-caller looked anything but that in Week 3, missing several semi-routine throws and not giving his receivers a chance to make plays. One throw he missed did lob up was intercepted, which is another example of poor decision making. Mahomes threw two touchdowns and seemed to improve in the second half, but he knows he has to get better if the Chiefs want to keep this run going.

Read More: Chiefs’ Ability to ‘Trust the Work’ on Defense Paved the Way for Week 3 Win