The Kansas City Chiefs were officially eliminated from playoff contention on Sunday. Chiefs fans wish that were only news of the day for them. Patrick Mahomes, unfortunately, tore his ACL late in that game and will require surgery. What happened this year?
It’s easy to chalk this season up to a Super Bowl hangover. The Chiefs got blown out in the Super Bowl, 40-22, and were probably running on fumes this year. We, however, have seen them bounce back from Super Bowl losses in the past.
Why was it different this year? I believe the roster was not good enough to compete. Kansas City dealt with injuries all year long.
Right now, the Chiefs have three offensive linemen down. Mahomes, as a result, was sacked 34 times in just 14 games. He was getting hit left and right every game.
The receivers Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy, and Hollywood Brown have been very disappointing. They have not made plays, and it’s hard to rely on a 36-year-old Travis Kelce to do the heavy lifting. That’s their first problem.
The second problem is the lack of a run game. Mahomes consistently was the leading rusher for this team in games. This year, he ran for 422 yards in 14 games.
For context, Mahomes has never crossed 400 in previous years when playing a full season. He’s an effective runner when needed, and he normally saves it for big moments like the playoffs. This year, however, in every game, if he didn’t make a play with his legs, Kansas City was going to more than likely lose.
The Chiefs need to build around him better. Next year, coming off an ACL injury, he will not be physically fit to do as much as he normally does in terms of improvising on plays. They need to get him some adequate help so he can remain effective for a longer time.
The things that made Kansas City so frightening the last seven years never came to fruition. The first thing was not being able to win close games.
In 2024, Kansas City was 12-0 in one-score games. We saw time and time again, Mahomes and the Chiefs pull the game out of the fire. It got to the point where the opposition had to blow them out; otherwise, it was going to end in a loss.
This year, the record in such games is 1-7. Teams have consistently outplayed Kansas City down the stretch, and it was weird to see. Back then, if Mahomes and the Chiefs touched the ball last in a tight game, you just assumed they were going to win.
This year, that fear was not there. The most insane part about all this is that Kansas City played its worst ball after the bye week. The Chiefs are known for making crucial adjustments during their bye week and coming out firing afterwards.
Andy Reid was 9-2 with Kansas City the week after a bye before this year. This season, they went into the bye coming off a loss to the Buffalo Bills. Normally, that meant the team facing the Chiefs after the bye was in for the best punch.
That was not the case. The Denver Broncos went ahead and beat Kansas City in a tight ball game late in the fourth quarter, highlighting the difficulties in closing out games. Bo Nix outplayed Mahomes all day long, which is unfathomable.
The Chiefs were 5-4 and fighting for their season, and Mahomes was not the best quarterback in the game. When have we ever seen that?
Everything that we knew about Kansas City was thrown out the window.
It’s time for the team to head into a new era. The trio of Reid, Mahomes, and Kelce is no longer the threat they once were. The team needs to address some positional issues and go younger.
The Chiefs need to draft or sign a running back in free agency. They need someone capable of carrying a consistent load rather than a back who is just good for short yardage situations. Kareem Hunt and Isaiah Pacheco are fine backs, but this team needs a game-changer.
We also don’t know how mobile Mahomes will be when he returns next year. With the possibility of him coming back potentially later in the 2026 season, Kansas City needs to stabilize without him. They need to have the mindset of putting him in the best situation rather than thinking his greatness can cover up any warts on the team.
The Chiefs have had an incredible seven-year run, but it is time to turn a new page. If they continue to take Mahomes for granted, the new page will not be written as fondly.
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