One game after Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice sustained what appears to be a season-ending injury, a new top receiver seems to have emerged in Kansas City.
Veteran JuJu Smith-Schuster led the team with 130 yards on seven receptions during the Chiefs’ 26-13 victory over the New Orleans Saints in Week 5’s Monday Night Football.
Smith-Schuster’s seven catches and eight targets were second only to tight end Travis Kelce, who recorded nine catches on 10 targets. The experienced wide receiver moved around the formation throughout the game, finding different ways to line up and create separation against New Orleans’ defense.
The Chiefs’ biggest play of the night came in the fourth quarter on a 2nd-and-6, when quarterback Patrick Mahomes connected with Smith-Schuster over the middle for a 50-yard gain, placing the offense deep in Saints territory.
Smith-Schuster could have had an even bigger night, but he bobbled a pass that was intercepted by Saints defensive tackle Khalen Saunders in the end zone, who returned it 37 yards late in the third quarter.
JuJu Smith-Schuster Makes His Presence Felt Again
Kansas City spread the ball effectively in Week 5. Rookie Xavier Worthy made three catches for 25 yards and scored a rushing touchdown from three yards out. Mecole Hardman added four catches for 33 yards, while running back Kareem Hunt led the ground game with 27 carries for 102 yards and a touchdown.
Though he’s a bit older now, the Chiefs reinserted Smith-Schuster into the same role he played during the 2022 season, when he totaled 933 receiving yards. This was the role that Rashee Rice had taken on after Smith-Schuster signed with the New England Patriots during the 2023 offseason.
Despite not being as explosive as he once was, Smith-Schuster demonstrated in Week 5 that he can still effectively fill this role for Kansas City in the near term.
“[Smith-Schuster] stepped up. That’s the best way to describe it,” Mahomes told ESPN after the game. “He’s done this for us before. He knows how to get open, and today was his day. It’s going to be a collective effort, a lot of guys will be in that role, but I’m happy JuJu showed he’s still got it, and I’m happy he’s on our team.”
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid also praised Smith-Schuster following the game.
“JuJu’s a good football player. He’s been doing this for a long time,” Reid said in his postgame press conference, according to Jordan Foote of Kansas City Chiefs on SI. “He had that one tough play in the end zone that got tipped, and he felt bad about it. But then he came back with two big catches. He’s a professional.”
Reactions on X to JuJu Smith-Schuster’s Performance
Users on X, formerly known as Twitter, had plenty to say about Smith-Schuster’s standout game against the Saints.
“The Chiefs lost this generation’s JuJu Smith-Schuster in Rashee Rice to injury, and now they’ve got the original back out there, doing the same job,” Matt Harmon of Yahoo Fantasy posted.
“JuJu Smith-Schuster was the top WR on a Chiefs Super Bowl team, took a 15-month break to earn $16 million from the Patriots, and is now back to being the leading WR on another Chiefs Super Bowl team. finesse king,” David Helman of FOX Sports wrote.
