One of the NFL's most successful dynasties in the modern era has been officially eliminated from playoff contention in 2025.
The Kansas City Chiefs are currently 6-8 and have lost five of their last six games. Additionally, future Hall-of-Fame quarterback Patrick Mahomes II tore his ACL in his left knee in Week 15's game against the Los Angeles Chargers.
It has been a nightmarish season for a team that is 96-34 since Mahomes took over as the permanent starting quarterback in 2018. Since then, they had made the AFC Championship game in every year, made the Super Bowl five times, and won three championships.
This season has come as a complete shock to football fans and oddsmakers who had the Chiefs as one of the top three Super Bowl favorites for most of the season.
Interestingly, their overall team statistics and rankings are virtually the same as when they went 15-2 and made the Super Bowl last season. They ranked 15th in points scored and 16th in total yardage in 2024, and rank 15th in points scored and 7th in total yardage in 2025.
The defense ranks on a similar caliber as well - they were 4th in points allowed and 9th in yards allowed last year, and rank 5th and 8th in the same stats respectively this year.
So, what has gone wrong for this team? Simply put, last season's team kept managing to win every close game, while this season's team is managing to lose every close game.
The 2024 Chiefs were 11-0 in one score games that included plenty of wins in which they seemed to have a shamrock on their sidelines, while the 2025 Chiefs are 1-7 in such games.
The magical late game connection between Mahomes and Travis Kelce has escaped, while the defensive line - led by Chris Jones - has failed to generate much pressure late in games.
The early season six-game suspension to No. 1 receiver Rashee Rice certainly didn't help as the Chiefs got off to a poor 2-3 start. Jones, Kelce, George Karlaftis, Nick Bolton, and the offensive line have all regressed, while top draft picks such as former first-round pick Xavier Worthy have failed to progress.
On top of that, head coach Andy Reid has also regressed as a play-caller and game manager. The offense isn't very creative, it doesn't take many shots down field, isn't dominant on the ground, and the weapons don't scare defenses much. It looks wildly different than the Chiefs offense that was unstoppable early in Mahomes' career.
We'll have to rewind more than a decade to find the last time the Chiefs missed the playoffs:
When was the last time the Chiefs missed the playoffs?
The Chiefs last missed the playoffs in 2014 - Reid's second season leading the team. You'd have to go all the way back to the Romeo Crennel-led Chiefs in 2011 and 2012 to find two consecutive years of no playoff appearances.
Kansas City made the playoffs in 2013 before famously suffering a loss in the Wild Card round to the Indianapolis Colts after leading 38-10 in the second half. A massive comeback led by Andrew Luck culminated in a 64-yard touchdown pass to T.Y. Hilton to give the Colts a 45-44 lead late.
Kansas City went 9-7 in 2014 and missed out on the playoffs by one game, behind the 10-6 Baltimore Ravens.
They managed to bounce back and were consistently good with Alex Smith between 2015 and 2017, then became a powerhouse with Mahomes in 2018.
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