Nate TaylorDec 15, 2025, 06:40 AM ET
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Inside Arrowhead Stadium, one area where Kansas City Chiefs fans can get as close as possible to players is a small walkway between the tunnel to the field and the team's locker room. Over the past few years, that walkway has been a place for celebrations, for coronations.
In two of the past three Januarys, the walkway was the place where the Chiefs had impromptu parades. Players high-fiving fans. Players smiling when they heard a chorus of cheers. Coach Andy Reid waving to the adoring crowd. As the NFL's most recent dynasty, those parades included the Chiefs holding the Lamar Hunt Trophy, the trophy to honor the legacy of the man who founded the franchise, the same trophy given each year to the AFC champion.
Next month, no such moment will occur at Arrowhead.
The most successful era of the franchise ended Sunday with a 16-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers that eliminated the Chiefs from postseason, a loss that ended several historical streaks -- 10 consecutive 10-win seasons (third-longest streak in NFL history), a 10-year streak of making the playoffs (second-longest streak in league history) and seven consecutive conference championship appearances (second-longest streak in league history).
In the final minute of Sunday's game, quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the franchise's greatest player -- a two-time MVP award winner and a three-time Super Bowl MVP -- entered the walkway with a towel covering his bowed head. Mahomes needed two staffers to help him leave the field, walk through the walkway and enter the locker room after experiencing the most significant injury of his nine-year career: a season-ending torn ACL in his left knee late in the fourth quarter.
"Love you!" one fan, a young boy, shouted at Mahomes.
"Love you, Pat," a woman said to him.
"Love you!" a number of fans shouted in unison.
On the fifth snap after Mahomes exited, backup quarterback Gardner Minshew threw an intermediate pass intended for tight end Travis Kelce that was intercepted by Chargers safety Derwin James Jr., ending the Chiefs' comeback chances and their hopes at reaching the postseason for an 11th consecutive season, which would've tied the longest streak in NFL history.
Even before Mahomes' injury, one that will require him to have surgery before the season ends, the Chiefs -- for much of the past three weeks -- have had to contemplate why they, considering their standard of excellence, have experienced so much failure this season.
"We're in unprecedented territory, someplace that we haven't been since I've been here," Mahomes said last week. "I always say I have a lot left in my career, but we've built something special here in Kansas City. I don't take that for granted."
At various points this season, the Chiefs' group of future Hall of Famers -- Reid, Mahomes, Kelce, pass rusher Chris Jones and kicker Harrison Butker -- have each had to acknowledge and wrestle with the fact that their performance, unlike previous years, couldn't lift the team to more victories.
Mahomes' most critical mistakes occurred when the Chiefs were close to the end zone. This past summer, Kelce rededicated himself, training to recapture some of the speed, agility and quickness he felt he had lost over the past two seasons. The noticeable improvement in athleticism helped, but he also had uncharacteristic drops that were pivotal in some losses. Some of Reid's coaching decisions were puzzling. Butker's reliability -- he missed a career-high eight field goals -- wasn't the same and Jones had an embarrassing moment in a primetime game.
For weeks, even once it became clear his players were consistent in how inconsistent they were from game to game, Reid tried to provide a stabilizing voice in the Chiefs' locker room and during news conferences.
"We're really close," Reid said two weeks ago. "We just have to take care of business. Whatever I say here, it's what you do. That's where you're at and you have got to do it and fix the issue because we're very close."
Instead, the issues for the Chiefs continued to mount the more the season progressed.
Prior to this year, Mahomes had never lost three consecutive games in the same season as the Chiefs' starting quarterback. That streak ended Sunday. With each loss -- to the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day, the Houston Texans in prime time and the Chargers on Sunday -- the atmosphere inside the Chiefs' locker room went from worried to dejected to sorrowful.
On Thanksgiving in Dallas, rookie left tackle Josh Simmons, the team's first-round pick, exited the locker room with a cast on his left wrist and arm in a sling. Test results later showed that Simmons sustained a dislocated and fractured left wrist, a season-ending injury. After falling to the Texans, Mahomes sat in front of his locker with a towel over his head, his eyes watery when he went to take a shower. Across from Mahomes was Kelce, his favorite teammate. Kelce was one of the last players to take off his uniform. He sat in front of his locker for several minutes with his hands on top of his bowed head.
After Sunday's game, several players did their best to offer prayers, support and encouragement toward Mahomes, who was not in the locker room when reporters were allowed to enter.
Jones, who was more concerned about Mahomes' injury, didn't know the Chiefs were eliminated from the postseason until his postgame media session, when reporters informed him.
"OK," said Jones, who nodded for a few seconds. "Success is rented every year. Sometimes it don't go the way you planned for it to go."
OPENING NIGHT DIDN'T go the way the Chiefs planned, either.
In early September, the Chiefs began their season in São Paulo for a standalone, prime-time game against the Chargers. Two days before the game, the Chiefs' arrival in the city's airport was reminiscent of rock stars on a world tour. Hundreds of fans from Brazil and throughout South America -- many of whom had never seen an NFL game in person -- arrived hours before the Chiefs walked through the terminal to be in position to greet and touch several members of their favorite team. The large crowd cheered, recorded videos and chanted the last names of Mahomes and Kelce.
After three straight trips to the Super Bowl, the Chiefs, led by Reid and general manager Brett Veach, didn't make major changes to the roster, hoping continuity would once again be a deciding factor in games.
Late in the fourth quarter against the Chargers, the Chiefs were in a familiar situation. Although the Chiefs trailed by six points, their defense was just one play away from getting the ball back to Mahomes, who has built a career on leading his teammates to a last-minute, game-winning drive. But Jones, the team's best defender, made a mistake on the Chargers' third-and-14 snap just before the two-minute warning: He lost outside contain while rushing from the edge, which allowed quarterback Justin Herbert to beat the Chiefs' man-to-man coverage by scrambling for a 19-yard gain.
Immediately after the snap, linebacker Drue Tranquill yelled at Jones, leading to an argument between them.
"Do your job, man!" Tranquill shouted at Jones. "Do your job!"
The scene was the opposite of what the Chiefs experienced a year ago, when they seemed to always make the game-winning play -- or capitalize on the opponent's mistake in the final minutes -- to finish with a franchise-record 15-2 record. Last year, the Chiefs won 11 one-score games, the most in a single campaign in league history. But that night in São Paulo was the start of the trend of close games going in the wrong direction for the Chiefs.
One of the major reasons the Chiefs were unable to reach the postseason this year is largely because they couldn't win one-score games. The Chiefs' 1-7 record in one-score games this season, including Sunday's, ranks last in the league.
"It sucks losing; It's new to me," cornerback Jaylen Watson said. "We're just not finishing. It's a play or two -- or three. We're just not finishing. It's frustrating."
In Week 2, a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Chiefs were just six yards away from taking a 17-13 lead early in the fourth quarter. Mahomes was leading the Chiefs on a methodical drive to put pressure on the NFL's reigning champion. But the drive's 14th play ended in disaster. Kelce -- Mahomes' most-reliable pass catcher -- dropped a quick pass, the ball bouncing off his hands and into the arms of rookie safety Andrew Mukuba, who returned the interception 41 yards.
The Eagles capitalized on the game's lone turnover. Quarterback Jalen Hurts completed a 28-yard pass to receiver DeVonta Smith to beat the Chiefs' Cover 0 blitz. That highlight set up Hurts' 1-yard touchdown via the tush push.
A few weeks later, Jones had his most embarrassing moment of the season. With 30 seconds left and the Jacksonville Jaguars at the 1-yard line trailing by four, quarterback Trevor Lawrence stumbled under center but was able to get up and scamper across the goal line for the winning score. Jones, who led the Chiefs' defensive line with 48 snaps, watched the sequence from the middle of the field and didn't make a considerable effort to pursue and tackle Lawrence.
"I can't think the play is over," Jones said days after the game. "It's a learning lesson. I thought it was over. I thought we had him down, so I kind of stopped and was about to celebrate. Then I realized he wasn't down."
Throughout the season, the Chiefs' collective energy, concentration and focus waned at times, usually in critical moments. In losses, the Chiefs often committed more penalties than their opponents, they dropped the ball (26 total for second-most in the league) or made a mental, unforced error. One executive for an AFC team suggested such issues were the cumulative effect of the energy the Chiefs have expended in the previous seven years. Even in the last four seasons, the Chiefs played 81 games, the most of any team in the league.
"They've just looked tired," the executive said.
0:29
Derwin James Jr. ends Chiefs' playoff hopes with an INT
Gardner Minshew is picked off by Derwin James Jr. to seal the Chargers' win over the Chiefs.
ONE OF THE most disappointing aspects of the season was that the Chiefs offense never reached its potential to become one of the league's potent units -- a goal many in the organization felt was possible.
Wide receiver Rashee Rice began the year serving a six-game suspension for his role in a 2024 multicar crash that left multiple people injured. Then just three plays into the season, the Chiefs had to operate without Xavier Worthy, their fastest receiver. Worthy suffered a right shoulder injury while running a crossing route to gain separation against the Chargers' man-to-man coverage. He collided with Kelce, who was running a crossing route in the opposite direction. The first two weeks also featured Kelce having a heated sideline exchange with Reid. During the exchange in a win over the New York Giants, Reid bumped Kelce with his left shoulder.
Despite the offense struggling at times, the Chiefs split their first six games without Rice. Once Rice returned, the offense had its most successful stretch in October, leading the Chiefs to be the outright Super Bowl favorites, according to ESPN Analytics, even though Simmons was in the midst of a 22-day absence from the team, missing four games for what the team called a "family situation."
In early November, Mahomes finally had his five best pass catchers -- Kelce, Rice, Worthy and receivers Hollywood Brown and Tyquan Thornton -- healthy and available against the Buffalo Bills.
"I feel like there are just more eyes going on somebody else," Worthy said in late October. "Everybody in this offense can make plays. Nobody is selfish. Everybody is willing to do the dirty work, and everybody is willing to do their best and what's best for the team."
The Bills, though, were the first opponent to expose a flaw in the Chiefs' offense: They put more defensive backs on the field and still pressured Mahomes without blitzing.
"When they're playing man-type coverages, and [we're] trying to get some guys open down the field, they did a good job of pushing the pocket," Mahomes said after that game. "I have to be better at working [within] the pocket, finding different lanes to step up through. I've got to be more consistent with that."
Several opponents -- the Denver Broncos, the Texans and the Chargers -- used a similar strategy to prevent the Chiefs from scoring 20 points. Even when linebackers dropped into coverage when the Chiefs ran run-pass option plays, Mahomes most times still elected to pass the ball, which led to Reid's offense becoming more predictable than in previous years. Mahomes had 81 pass attempts this season under 1.5 seconds (the next closest quarterbacks are Josh Allen and Aaron Rodgers, who each have 49). Mahomes also leads the league in attempts (244) and completions (184) on throws when releasing the ball in under 2.5 seconds, according to Next Gen Stats.
The Chiefs also couldn't run the ball effectively from the shotgun, whether the play featured an RPO or not. Although running back Kareem Hunt was excellent in short-yardage situations, the Chiefs have failed to create explosive gains on running plays at a historic rate. Entering Sunday's game, Chiefs had the lowest explosive rush rate -- rushing plays of 20 yards or more -- on running back carries among all seasons since 2000 (2.6%). Against the Chargers, the trio of Hunt, Isiah Pacheco and rookie Brashard Smith combined to produce just 34 rushing yards on 19 attempts.
Perhaps the biggest juxtaposition for the Chiefs was Reid's decisions on fourth down and his playcalling. Earlier this month, the Chiefs led the league in fourth-down success rate, converting 80.8% of their 26 attempts. But against the Cowboys, Reid elected to punt the ball in the third quarter when the Chiefs faced a fourth-and-4 snap on their opponent's 44-yard line. The strategy failed, as the Cowboys used the possession to extend their lead.
In the loss to the Eagles, the Chiefs' first possession in the third quarter ended on a perplexing playcall. On fourth-and-1, with the game tied, Reid's play required center Creed Humphrey to pull on a trap for Hunt. The Eagles' defensive line crushed the Chiefs' offensive line, and the snap resulted in a one-yard loss. The Eagles used the short field to take a three-point lead on kicker Jake Elliott's 51-yard field goal.
Earlier this month, in the fourth quarter of a must-win game against the Texans, Reid made a decision he had never made over a 27-year career -- one that proved to be the turning point in the team's eventual loss. With 10 minutes remaining and the score tied at 10, Reid decided to keep the Chiefs' offense on the field facing fourth-and-1 from their own 31-yard line. Instead of calling for Hunt -- who has been one of the NFL's most reliable running backs in short-yardage situations -- Reid had Mahomes operate from the shotgun with receiver Hollywood Brown in the backfield. The play backfired. Mahomes' pass in the middle of the field for Rice fell incomplete. It marked the first time in Reid's career that he went for it on fourth down with the score tied in the fourth quarter or overtime and with his offense inside its own 40-yard line. A few minutes later, the Texans scored to go ahead 17-10.
"I take full responsibility for that," Reid said after the game. "I thought we could get it. It's important that you take advantage of opportunities. In hindsight, it was wrong. I messed that one up."
Reid and offensive coordinator Matt Nagy had several moments where they struggled to find answers when Mahomes faced man-to-man coverage. Mahomes tried to do his best when his receivers couldn't get open by scrambling to extend the play in hopes of creating a highlight. But this season, Mahomes completed just 41% of his passes when under duress, the lowest such completion percentage in his career.
In Sunday's game, the Chargers never blitzed Mahomes on any of his 35 dropbacks, the first time in his regular-season career that he wasn't blitzed at least once, according to Next Gen Stats. The Chargers still pressured Mahomes 17 times, a 49% clip that was the highest pressure percentage he faced in a game this season. Mahomes completed just four of his 10 attempts when pressured for 53 yards with an interception.
Another major theme for the Chiefs this season is their game-swinging giveaways inside the red zone. A month ago, Mahomes threw a critical interception in the loss to the Broncos. Against the Jaguars, Mahomes threw an interception -- instead of a touchdown to receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster -- that was returned for a 99-yard touchdown by linebacker Devin Lloyd.
"They just got me with the coverage," Mahomes said that night of Lloyd's interception. "They had played zero [coverage] around the 10-yard line in previous games and they hadn't shown the poppers with the linebackers popping out. I saw the [pre-snap Cover 0] look and checked to the play with the in-[breaking] routes, but credit to them.
"He popped right underneath where I was throwing the ball. It was a great call by them and a great play by [Lloyd]. I've got to find a way to tackle him or slow him down after he gets the interception."
The biggest mistake Mahomes committed in Sunday's game was in the fourth quarter, when he threw an interception inside the red zone on a third-and-12 snap when an incompletion would've allowed Butker to attempt a game-tying field goal. The turnover was the fourth time this season Mahomes was intercepted in the red zone, the most in his career.
"We've got to do better when you get opportunities in the red zone or [with favorable] field position," Reid said Sunday. "You've got to take advantage of that."
ALTHOUGH THE CHIEFS' season ends in three weeks, they will enter the upcoming offseason under the worst circumstances since Mahomes joined the team in 2017 and Veach was promoted to general manager a few months later.
Even before Mahomes' injury, the Chiefs know they are going to need to address several areas of their roster -- their lackluster pass rush, the poor production they've received from their running backs and possibly having to find a starting tight end if Kelce retires. The Chiefs' priority list, though, will now have to include quarterback. The team doesn't have another quarterback under contract for the 2026 season.
Mahomes will miss the team's offseason program, and his availability for the start of next season is in question.
"That dude put so much into it," Minshew said of Mahomes. "I don't think I've ever respected anybody I've played with more. I've never seen someone I've played with give so much of themselves to the team. To not get the results is hard, but I've got more confidence in him than anybody to come back and be better than ever.
"He's down, man, obviously. It's a tough game and it's been a tough year to this point."
In the past five years, Reid has valued having a veteran be Mahomes' backup. The team could look to add such a player in free agency to at least operate the Chiefs' offense through the offseason program, training camp, the preseason and even early into the regular season.
One of the most uncertain factors of the Chiefs' offseason is Kelce's future. As a 13-year veteran, Kelce is in the final year of his contract. He shared last month that he plans to decide on whether to return to the Chiefs by early March, before NFL free agency begins.
"You put in all this f---ing work and hope that it pays off," Kelce, 36, said Wednesday during the "New Heights" podcast he co-hosts with his brother Jason Kelce. "And right now, it's just for whatever f---ing reason, man, it's little things. I feel like I've always had the answers in years past. And this year, I just can't find them.
"I keep thinking if I show up to work and I put in the work and I fix the issues through my practice habits and through perfecting the game plan and my fundamentals and what I'm being taught, and go out there and try and play my ass off for my guys next to me, it's all going to come together like it has in years past. And this year it is just not, man."
If Kelce retires, one NFL scout suggested that the Chiefs should try to add a traditional, boundary receiver, a player similar to George Pickens -- who is set to become a free agent after this season -- to help beat man-to-man coverage.
The Chiefs' front office will also have to prioritize improving the team's pass rush. Too often this season, the lone lineman who could generate consistent pressure was Jones, who at age 31 is the team's second-oldest lineman. An AFC executive said the Chiefs' inability to get consistent pressure and sacks with four lineman -- the collective D-line has generated just 16.5 sacks -- has been the defense's biggest weakness.
Three times this season, Mahomes sat on the bench late in the fourth quarter and watched the opposing offense run out the clock while leading by one score.
In another loss, against the Broncos, the defense couldn't get off the field on a third-and-15 snap just before the two-minute warning, as quarterback Bo Nix was able to complete a pass to receiver Courtland Sutton for a 20-yard gain. The Broncos ended the game with a 35-yard, game-winning field goal from kicker Wil Lutz as time expired.
One of the final players to leave the Chiefs' locker room Sunday was Jones.
"I think we learned a lot this year," he said. "We can be mad at ourselves, and we can ask God why. But at times, it's a lesson that you're being taught along the journey. We'd be selfish to ask God why. Why right now? Why this?
"We more so [have] to understand it and build from it."
ESPN senior NFL reporter Jeremy Fowler contributed to this report.
