The Kansas City Chiefs might just be officially back after their 31-0 win over the Las Vegas Raiders at Arrowhead Stadium in Rashee Rice’s return.

The star receiver played a crucial role in the Chiefs getting out to a big lead early (21-0 at halftime) as he caught two touchdowns and had 42 yards from his seven receptions to return to the NFL in style.

We weren’t sure of Rice’s snap count and how much he would play, given he had missed so much time, but he was involved early and often for Andy Reid’s offense. Still, Reid detailed his thought process over Rice’s usage during the game.

“I was a little cautious with him on how many plays and all that, but I thought he came out and functioned at a high level for being gone for all this time,” Reid said. “It’s crazy that he can come back and do what he did and do it at the level that he did it at. But we’ll gradually build him, we’ll build him up.

“We’ll get his reps up here a little bit as we go. You got to be careful with that when somebody’s been off for a while.”

More: Chiefs’ Andy Reid reveals 6-word response to Rashee Rice’s return

Are Chiefs officially back?

Good luck finding people who think otherwise.

With the win over the Raiders, Kansas City now has the same record as the highly touted Los Angeles Chargers at 4-3 and is right in the thick of the division race, something many thought might be tough to do just a few weeks ago.

Now, with a couple of games left until their bye, the Chiefs can really ram home their momentum and put themselves into a position to attack the second half of the season.

Of course, some will point out that it was “only” the Raiders, but still, Las Vegas always plays Kansas City tough…just not this time, as Pete Carroll’s team was held scoreless in what is an embarrassing look for the AFC West franchise.

But are the Chiefs truly back? It sure feels like it.

More Chiefs news:

• Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes credits State Farm for crucial play vs. Raiders | Sporting News
• Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs’ offense better than ever with Rashee Rice return | Sporting News
• Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes fooled the Raiders in the most brilliant, NSFW way imaginable | Sporting News
• Is Patrick Mahomes hurt? Why Chiefs star didn’t play fourth quarter vs. Raiders | Sporting News