The Kansas City Chiefs are 6-7 on the season and face the realistic prospect of missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2014 season.
And this has led to a number of think pieces, like this one, asking, “What’s wrong with the teams that have been to the last three Super Bowls?”
The Chiefs have already conceded the AFC West title with Sunday’s loss to the Houston Texans. As a result, the team’s nine-year streak of winning district championships will come to an end. They also stand to keep their streak of consecutive appearances in the AFC Championship Game alive. They have played in the last seven games, and every season Patrick Mahomes has been the starter.
Kansas City’s era of dominance follows similar strength from the New England Patriots, and this season could be the first without Mahomes or Tom Brady in the AFC Championship Game since the 2010 season, when Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh Steelers) faced Mark Sanchez (New York Jets).
So what’s wrong with the Chiefs?
First, let me tell you what’s wrong. The two most important positions in the franchise are still dripping with greatness in head coach Andy Reid and quarterback Mahomes.
Admittedly, Mr. Reid didn’t enjoy a great campaign. He was sometimes responsible for key decisions during games, including Sunday’s loss to Houston. And he and offensive coordinator Matt Nagy could be blamed for making the offense a little too predictable and relying too much on Mahomes for his usual magic. But I don’t want to believe that Reed doesn’t understand that. He’s the best player of all time and will be essential to any future fightback.
There are many facts and figures that show how Mahomes has declined, and I will admit that there have been times when he hasn’t been at his elite best. But the reality is he’s still passed the eyeball test (he looked great when I saw him throw four touchdown passes in Dallas on Thanksgiving Day), bailed his team out time and time again, and played well enough to make another run at the playoffs.
The Chiefs wasted what could have been another special season for Mahomes, who already won three Super Bowls and was in the prime of his Hall of Fame career.
The offensive line collapsed and put too much pressure on them, but considering the injuries up front, that can almost be forgiven. But what about the skill position players around Mahomes? They have consistently let quarterbacks and teams down.
Who is the outstanding, game-breaking running back? They don’t have it. Kareem Hunt is a great workhorse and as tough as they come. But the 30-year-old leads the team with just 545 rushing yards and has just one run of more than 20 yards all season. Mahomes ranks second on the team with 407 rushing yards. If you remove his efforts on some gutsy scrambles, they would rank much lower than their current 17th place in the NFL.
Receivers and tight ends are equally guilty. Laci Rice has been hot and cold since returning from a suspension that wiped out the first six games of the year. He suffered some key drops and disappeared in key spots, especially in the Thanksgiving loss at Dallas, where he caught just four passes for 34 yards.
Fellow wideout Xavier Worthy has elite speed but has yet to reach his full potential. He must show he has more than raw physical skill to shore up an offense that has become much easier to defend than in years past.
Travis Kelce is the most productive target in the passing game, but at 36 years old his legs are mostly fading and he’s also made some significant drops. We just saw Mahomes throw a catchable pass to Kelce on Sunday night, and he threw it right into the Houston defensive back’s hands. Fellow tight end Noah Gray also drops too many passes.
Defensively, Chris Jones played like the All-Pro we’ve grown accustomed to seeing in recent years, dominating the NFL from the defensive tackle position. But there was a clear lack of effort early in the campaign, most notably in October when Trevor Lawrence wandered around the line of scrimmage when he came off the deck and dove into the end zone to score the game-winning touchdown against Jacksonville.
Jones was too slow to turn on, the pass rush was poor overall, and the secondary was severely depleted due to injuries.
That’s where I ended up working with General Manager Brett Veach on building the roster. That wasn’t nearly enough. There has been too much assumption that the format of previous campaigns will be replicated. And there is most certainly confidence that Mahomes will produce the necessary magic at the right time. This resulted in a record number of close wins in 2024. In 2025, the Chiefs have lost six games by at least one point.
With the big offseason upon us, the Chiefs team now needs to switch gears philosophically. They can no longer assume Mahomes will carry the rest of the team.
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Highlights of the game between Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys from Week 13 of the 2025 NFL season.
What would this team be like in 2026 if they had their own version of Brock Bowers or Tyler Warren at tight end in the NFL Draft? What would be the impact if they signed wide receiver George Pickens and running back Breece Hall in free agency? How about trading Maxx Crosby or Myles Garrett for defensive end?
Now, it’s a little too similar to playing fantasy football. But you get the point. The Chiefs quarterback has a Rolls Royce and a standard family saloon clustered around him.
If this is just a difficult road and not a complete collapse of the dynasty, things will need to change in 2026. Rebuilding is possible. Brady won Super Bowls with New England in the 2001, 2003 and 2004 seasons. After that, he won three more times in 2014, 2016, and 2018 after a 10-year gap.
In other words, there is hope for the Chiefs. But once this testing campaign is finally completed and dusted, they face a massive offseason.
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