On Sunday, I reached the feeling of acceptance.
I was prepared for the Kansas City Chiefs’ 20-10 loss to the Houston Texans. It didn’t surprise me. It didn’t move me. I wasn’t angry. I knew what was coming — and it happened.
I very much wanted to be wrong. But deep down, we all knew what was coming. In fact, we’ve all felt it coming for quite some time.
Maybe for you, it started in last year’s Super Bowl — or the season kicking off with a thud against the Los Angeles Chargers in Brazil. The follow-up
performance against the Philadelphia Eagles certainly didn’t inspire much confidence, either.
But none of those did it for me. I still held out hope. I refused to believe the team’s run was coming to an end.
For me, the first real sign that things were changing was the 31-28 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Chiefs couldn’t get out of their own way; they beat themselves as much as the Jaguars beat them. It was the kind of performance we used to see from Kansas City’s opponents. Breaks were shifting to the other sideline. Calls were going the wrong way. The inches of difference that often defined the Chiefs’ wins were no longer there for the taking.
The 22-19 loss to the Denver Broncos all but erased the team’s aura of invincibility. That became clear in the next game. Playing a divisional foe — while coming off a bye — is a spot where head coach Andy Reid has almost always had the advantage. But this year was different. The Dallas Cowboys ruined Thanksgiving dinner for fans across the country.
So Sunday’s defeat was merely a formality — the death knell for a season that was already lost.
Technically, there’s still a path for Kansas City to reach the postseason. The Chargers would have to lose their matchup with the Chiefs on Sunday — and the Week 18 game against Denver. The Indianapolis Colts would have to drop two of their final four games. Those scenarios are — at the very least — conceivable.
But here’s the hard part: Kansas City would have to win all of its matchups. Does this team look like it can win four straight games?
At best, I am dubious.
So the Chiefs are probably going to miss the playoffs.
That is likely to be a blemish that is unmatched in recent NFL history. The New England Patriots never missed the postseason while head coach Bill Belichick had quarterback Tom Brady healthy and in his prime. The same was true of the Colts and Broncos with Peyton Manning — and the San Francisco 49ers with Joe Montana.
That’s the company that quarterback Patrick Mahomes keeps. The historically great start to his Hall of Fame career has earned him the right to be considered among them. He’s won two MVP awards. In each of his first seven NFL seasons, he’s made it to the AFC Championship. He’s a three-time Super Bowl champion. Those accolades will always be his.
But missing the playoffs this season will always be his, too. It’s something that shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Does this moment represent the end of the Chiefs’ dynasty? That’s hard to say. Some of it depends on how you judge dynasties. Did the Patriots have one long dynasty? Or was it two dynasties with a nine-year Super Bowl drought in the middle?
The offseason response will go a long way toward determining how 2025 will be remembered — but it’s difficult to project it, because we’ve never seen head coach Andy Reid and the team respond to this kind of failure. Before now, Mahomes’ worst two finishes — in 2018 and 2021 — were losing in overtime of the AFC Championship. After 2018, the team overhauled its defensive staff and personnel — and after 2021, chose to trade Tyreek Hill, which completely altered its offensive strategy.
If history repeats itself, changes should be expected. How big will they be? That remains to be seen. But Kansas City is not an organization that will sit on its hands, waiting for something to happen. The team needs to take a hard look in the mirror. Trading cornerback Trent McDuffie should be under consideration. Changes to the offensive staff might be necessary.
So it’s the end of an era. But it doesn’t have to be the end of a dynasty. From 2007-2011, the Patriots looked a whole lot different than they did from 2004-2004 — and from 2014-2018. While all three runs were defined by Belichick and Brady, the look and feel of the team continued to evolve.
And that’s what’s going to happen with Reid, Mahomes and the Chiefs.
