It was a fitting end to a season defined by missed opportunities. The Kansas City Chiefs’ 16–13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 15 not only marked another narrow defeat, but also mathematically eliminated Kansas City from playoff contention.
Inside the locker room, the weight of the loss — and what it meant — was evident.
“The guys are down,” head coach Andy Reid said after the game. “They busted their butts to win the game, and I wouldn’t expect anything less. It’s not a great feeling — and I wouldn’t expect it
to be after losing a game.”
While Reid said breakdowns across all three phases ultimately decided the outcome, he still praised his team’s effort to the final whistle.
“We came up short on both sides of the ball and special teams,” said Reid. “We had a few mistakes — and that ends up costing you against a good football team. I appreciate the effort of the guys [in] stepping up, playing hard and aggressive. Some positions were back-up guys to back-up guys — and they battled their tails off.”
Kansas City opened the game with urgency, scoring on a 12-yard touchdown run by quarterback Patrick Mahomes on its first possession. After adding two field goals in the second quarter, however, the offense stalled for the remainder of the afternoon.
At one point late in the third quarter, the offense recorded minus-4 yards — a snapshot of the inconsistency that has plagued Kansas City throughout the season.
“We’ve got to do better,” declared Reid. “You get opportunities in the red zone [and] more field position — you’ve got to take advantage of that. If it’s special teams, we’ve got to create field position. Then defensively, we’ve got to maintain it. In those cases, we weren’t quite good enough in all three phases. Again, that’s my responsibility to make sure that you don’t have these kinds of mistakes. So, I’ll be looking in the mirror first on this.”
With the game tied 13–13 entering the fourth quarter, the Chiefs briefly appeared poised to take control. A 21-yard reception by wide receiver Tyquan Thornton — followed by an unnecessary roughness penalty — moved the ball to the Chargers’ 15-yard line.
But once again, Kansas City failed to capitalize, as Mahomes threw an interception while targeting running back Kareem Hunt in the red zone.
“He probably wanted that one back,” noted Reid. “You don’t want to throw an interception there. He thought Kareem could potentially make a play on a linebacker, but that’s what happened.”
The interception didn’t end the game, but it compounded a frustrating afternoon. Kansas City entered the matchup dealing with significant injuries, particularly along the offensive line, where three backup linemen were in the starting lineup.
But the most consequential injury came late, when Mahomes suffered a knee injury and was unable to return. Backup quarterback Gardner Minshew took over and attempted to engineer a game-tying drive, but another interception ended the comeback — and the Chiefs’ season.
Minshew felt prepared for the moment — even if the result was difficult to accept.
“I felt very comfortable to go in and execute the offense,” Minshew said. “I hate that I couldn’t deliver and get us a win and keep our hopes alive.”
Minshew also praised Mahomes’ leadership and competitiveness.
“It’s been hard to watch for Pat,” he said. “That dude put so much into it. I don’t think I’ve ever respected anybody I played with more. I’ve never seen anybody I play with give so much of themselves to the team. And [then] to not get the results? It’s hard. But I have more confidence [in] him than anybody to come back and be better than ever.”
The Chiefs now head into the final stretch of the season with significant questions looming. What remains is an opportunity to evaluate and compete as they close out a frustrating year with professionalism — even as the postseason remains out of reach for the first time in over a decade.
“We’ve got to take care of business the next few games,” observed Reid.
