Patrick Mahomes reveals initial reaction to Rashee Rice's injury after collision

The Kansas City Chiefs moved to 4-0 with a win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, but it came at quite a cost: Leading receiver Rashee Rice suffered what appeared to be a serious knee injury after colliding with Patrick Mahomes while both players attempted to make a tackle following a Mahomes interception.

We're still waiting for an official diagnosis, but initial indications aren't good: Andy Reid sounded awfully concerned in his postgame press conference, while ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that the Chiefs fear Rice tore his ACL. Mahomes was closer to the play than anyone, and his reaction should have every Chiefs fan nervous.

Patrick Mahomes' initial reaction after Rashee Rice collision: 'I knew it wasn't good'

Mahomes' first move was to take responsibility for the play: The collision itself was a fluke accident, but it was his interception that set things into motion, after all.

“Rashee really made a good play," Mahomes said, h/t ProFootballTalk. "I was trying to tackle the guy and obviously rolled up on him. If I don’t turn the ball over that never happens."

Mahomes then offered his own perspective on what happened, adding that Rice is a tough player and it's always a concern to see a teammate carted off.

“I didn’t know exactly what happened because I was trying to make the tackle,” Mahomes said. “I knew it wasn’t good.”

If Rice's injury does wind up being the worst-case scenario, it would obviously be a huge blow to both him and his team.

Kansas City remains undefeated, but that 4-0 start is just a few bounces away from being 2-2 or even 1-3. The offense has put up increasingly worrying performances over the past few weeks; the much-anticipated return of the vertical passing game was short-circuited by Hollywood Brown's injury, and losing Rice would remove the leading source of the tough intermediate throws that Mahomes has become increasingly reliant on. Travis Kelce looked a bit more like his old self in Sunday's win, but with Brown and Rice on the shelf (not to mention running back Isiah Pacheco), the Chiefs' margin for error is about to get perilously thin.

Chiefs will receive an official prognosis on Rice after undergoing an MRI on Monday.