The Kansas City Chiefs dynasty was put on life support on Monday (AEDT) as Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid, Travis Kelce and co. were forced to swallow an uncomfortable reality – they will not win a 10th straight AFC West title and will likely miss the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
After reaching the Super Bowl five times in the past six years, winning three times, they’ll need to go undefeated for the rest of the season and get a lot of help from faltering rivals, after they were dealt a 20-10 loss by the Houston Texans.
The loss came as a massive shock to NFL fans who have gotten used to seeing Mahomes and the Chiefs at the top of the pecking order, with the quarterback the only threat to claim more Super Bowls than Tom Brady, who had seven.
The Chiefs’ season has been dogged by inopportune penalties, dropped passes, failed pass protections and blown coverages.
In fact, they had at least six dropped passes against Houston, including one by Kelce in the closing minutes, right before Mahomes was picked off for the third time in the game.
“Listen, he’s a great player,” Reid said of Kelce, “but we have to make sure we catch the ball. It’s not for lack of effort out there. The ball went through their hands. It happens. But these guys are great players.”
Travis Kelce cut a frustrated figure. NBC
Kelce has put together a solid season at age 36, yet murmurs about this being his last year won’t go away.
He has 60 catches for 727 yards and five touchdowns and ranks in the top five in most statistical categories for tight ends.
However, with his upcoming wedding to pop star Taylor Swift and the chance to double down on the relationship as a commercial enterprise, which could make him more money than he did on the field, moving on will be difficult to resist.
“Every season I’ve had with him these last few years I’ve tried to cherish because you never know,” Mahomes told reporters after the game. “He’s got himself in great shape this year and he’s played great football. He’ll have the option to do whatever he wants to do after this season.
“But I know one thing, he’ll give everything he has throughout the rest of the season to try to give us a chance to make a playoff run. We know the chances are getting lower and lower, but I know the guys on this team are going to give everything they have every opportunity they get.”
Talking heads in the US were mixed in their appraisal of the Chiefs, with former NFL QB Dan Orlovsky declaring this version of the Chiefs “dynasty is over.”
“It sucks saying that,” he told ESPN. “This was the team that went to the playoffs for 10 straight years. This version of this unbelievable dynasty is over. Can they have another one? Sure. But it’s going to look different.”
Sports Illustrated Chiefs writer Matt Verderame posted: “Listen, the Chiefs had an amazing run. An all-time dynasty. Now, the bill is due, and they have a lot of questions ahead.”
Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs speaks with an official during the third quarter against the Houston Texans at Arrowhead Stadium on December 07, 2025 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images) Getty
Former NFL quarterback Kurt Benkert added: “Are we all watching a funeral for the Chiefs dynasty?”
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith believes Kelce will retire at the end of this year but claims the Chiefs aren’t a spent force just yet.
“Travis Kelce, this is probably the end for him. I think we all knew that. I think we all knew that he just came back because of the way they went out in the Super Bowl against the Eagles,” he said.
“You’ve got to sure up that offensive line. Outside of that, if it wasn’t for those couple of things, how would we be talking about the Chiefs?
“Look at what they’re dealing with right now. They’re decimated with their offensive line and that’s a big time problem. You fix that, you don’t have these problems.
“I don’t think you’re looking at the Kansas City Chiefs thinking, ‘Oh my god, they’ve got to completely retool.”‘
The Chiefs do have great players. Arguably just as good, top to bottom, as last year. But they went 15-2 and reached a third straight Super Bowl with that team, and unless they get a whole lot of help, they’ll be sitting out the playoffs entirely this season.
But that doesn’t mean the players have given up hope yet, even though their chances of making it fall around 12 percent.
“We’re 6-7. We have four games left. We can finish the season 10-7 and we can have a shot at the playoffs if the cards fall right,” Kansas City defensive tackle Chris Jones said. “We control how we finish the season. We can finish the season strong.
“God willing,” Jones said, “we can find a way to get into the playoffs.”