Rice is back, and Kansas City needs him to be exactly what he was before the hamstring took him out

Rashee Rice is active for Sunday's game against Denver, returning from the hamstring injury that had kept him out. It's straightforward good news for an offense that scored three points last week and badly needs bodies Mahomes trusts.

The receiving corps has held together reasonably well in Rice's absence — Tyquan Thornton has 224 yards and two touchdowns in five games, and Noah Gray has been reliable in the short area — but the group is thin enough that losing your WR1 for any stretch shows up. Denver also gets RJ Harvey back on their side of the ball, with the Broncos running back ruled out this week with a knee injury, so Kansas City's defense catches a break there too.

The next 10 days are a reasonable reset point. Denver is a divisional game, which carries its own weight, and the Chiefs are still sitting on top of the AFC West at 5-1. Rice returning doesn't fix the Seattle film, but it gives the offense a piece it was missing. That's where the story starts this week.