The Kansas City Chiefs found a way to win against the Chargers on Sunday. But despite the strong finish, the turnover-plagued start was as ugly as it could have been. To make matters worse, wide receiver Rashee Rice suffered a horrific knee injury that was feared would end the season. Andy Reid mentioned on the show that things weren’t looking good.

Given the severity of the injury and Rice’s importance to the Chiefs’ success, the loss of Rice will have a significant long-term impact. What does this mean for the Chiefs? Here are five takeaways as the Chiefs look to charge forward.

Rashee Rice has had a fantastic start to the season. His performance was so consistent that it got the Chiefs out of some precarious situations. At the same time, Rice appeared to be even faster and more confident as a route runner at the start of the season.

Without him, Kansas City is essentially back to where it was last season as far as the passing offense is concerned. They have no real threat of a WR1-like target in the wide receiver room. Aside from Travis Kelce’s experience and leadership, it will likely be difficult to figure out who the Chiefs can rely on.

Many of the wide receivers on the team have specific skills. There really isn’t a wide receiver who can handle the full responsibility that Rice began to take on as part of the passing attack. Xavier Worthy made some impressive plays. However, the rookie does not need to be put under pressure immediately.

Patrick Mahomes is already nervous and is struggling with some early difficulties. Without Rashee Rice, players who are better served as a third or fourth option in the passing game will now have to take on larger roles.

What does Rashee Rice’s injury mean specifically for Mahomes? Gaining trust in other wide receivers will be crucial. To say this was a major work in progress last year would be an understatement. Players like JuJu Smith-Schuster and Justin Watson can come through on the occasional pitch when the Chiefs need it, but can they do so consistently?

Whether Mahomes gains more confidence in other wide receivers depends on what Mahomes sees and how comfortable he can remain in the pocket. At least initially, the focus will be on finding an early rhythm. Late Sunday, the Chiefs finally started making some quick passes. Perhaps more of this is in the works so that Mahomes can gain more confidence in the current lineup of pass catchers.

Kareem Hunt’s return to the Chiefs offense was pretty impressive on Sunday. He seemed to have gained about four yards with each run. It was a needed boost for the offense to beat the Chargers. It was a needed boost after Isiah Pacheco’s injury. It was a needed rebound after Carson Steele lost his second career fumble. But now that Rashee Rice is gone, Hunt’s return to Kansas City becomes even more important.

The breakout Hunt showed on Sunday was encouraging. He also still has the ability to break tackles. And with Pacheco out for a while, Hunt will be believed to be another pass-catching option, especially as an under option. Considering how Hunt’s first run with the Chiefs ended, it’s clear that he clearly has one of the top roles on offense in the immediate future.

Obviously, the Chiefs still have hope that they can clean up some things offensively. But in the last three games the script was very similar to last year. The offense is just enough. But in the end, the full performance of Kansas City’s defense cannot be underestimated.

After the Chargers took a 10-0 lead, Kansas City outscored the Bolts 17-0 the rest of the game. For nearly the final 49 minutes of the game, the Chiefs defense stalled the Chargers offense. LA missed a field goal in that span and converted it on downs inside KC’s five-yard line.

Chris Jones’ pressure was decisive in the game. Jaylen Watson remained in coverage at key spots. And when facing one of the NFL’s best rushing attackers, the Chiefs held the LA rushing offense in check for most of the day. Steve Spagnuolo has a strong and intelligent unit. Without Rashee Rice, his group will again be under added pressure to advance. Can they continue to hold out like they did last year?

Rashee Rice’s aforementioned added speed and confidence are hard to lose. But the consequences of this injury will be as hard to swallow for the wide receiver as it will be for the entire offense. As a young weapon, he developed into the heart of the offense. Young wide receivers had started slowly in the past under Andy Reid in Kansas City. And that in a unit where Mahomes distributes the ball to you is even rarer.

The production he provided was really efficient from last year to the start of this season. Who knows how much more his numbers and volume would have grown by the end of this season. But now Rice must return for his third career season. Relief from a knee injury can occur at different times depending on the player. Achieving that while still getting closer to his rookie deal is just one challenging hurdle for a wide receiver in the Chiefs’ system.