Winners and Losers from the Chiefs' Week 3 Victory Over the Falcons

In the Kansas City Chiefs' Week 3 win over the Atlanta Falcons, multiple players stood out for good and bad reasons alike.

Sep 22, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice (4) scores a touchdown past Atlanta Falcons cornerback Dee Alford (20) during the first half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

The Kansas City Chiefs played with fire yet again in Week 3, but the back-to-back Super Bowl champions escaped with another victory to open the 2024-25 campaign.

Sunday night's triumph over the Atlanta Falcons had a little bit of everything. Both sides of the ball had their moments, although the defense was the unit that ended up sealing the win. As a result, Kansas City is 3-0 and has plenty of momentum on its side ahead of a Week 4 outing in Los Angeles against the Chargers.

With that in mind, let's point out some of the Chiefs' biggest winners and losers from the third week of the regular season.

Winner: Rashee Rice

There isn't a ton to say about Rashee Rice that hasn't already been made known this season. He's been excellent. Three games into his sophomore campaign, the former second-round pick has 24 receptions on 29 targets with 288 yards and a pair of touchdowns to boot. In Sunday's win, he topped the 100-yard mark again and had 75 yards after the catch. According to Next Gen Stats, Rice leads all NFL pass catchers in post-catch yardage and is tops among all wideouts in missed tackles forced with nine. Some of his volume is by necessity, but that shouldn't take away from Rice making the most of increased opportunities.

Loser: Xavier Worthy

Some expected Week 3 to be a good 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 game by any stretch, yet 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 appear to expect that. The rookie is still finding his way early in his young NFL career.

Side note: During his media availability on Monday morning, head coach Andy Reid explained that someone else ran the wrong route on Worthy's "slowed down" mishap. The rookie was attempting to avoid conflicting with the play.

Winner: Carson Steele

In the Chiefs' first game of the season without Isiah Pacheco, the offense fared quite well in the run game. Carson Steele was a huge part of that success, gaining 72 yards on the ground and moving the chains on multiple occasions. Some chunk runs helped balance 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 starting debut for the undrafted free agent.

Loser: Justin Reid

After an abbreviated training camp and no preseason because of an injury, Justin Reid is already banged up to begin this season. His play through three weeks has fluctuated, regardless of whether the two are related. Man coverage, as it has been throughout his Chiefs tenure, remains a sore spot in 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, piled up the bad more than the good Reid did on Sunday.

Winner: Tershawn Wharton

Defensive lineman Tershawn Wharton might be the biggest unsung hero on the Chiefs' roster right now. The veteran pass rusher is playing plenty of snaps and taking advantage of them, looking like the best version of himself in his age-26 season. He had a quality run stuff on Sunday, also factoring into a Kirk Cousins interception near halftime and forcing a field goal with a critical pressure in the fourth quarter. Wharton's blend of motor, skill and finishing ability shouldn't go unnoticed.

Loser: Patrick Mahomes

Since his excellent season debut, Patrick Mahomes hasn't been able to find that form again. The NFL's top signal-caller looked like anything but that in Week 3, missing multiple semi-routine throws and not giving his receivers chances to make plays. One throw he did lob up got intercepted, serving as another example of poor decision making. Mahomes tossed two touchdowns and seemed to improve in the second half, but he knows he needs to be better if the Chiefs want to sustain this run.

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