The silence at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium during the final weeks of the 2025 season was something fans hadn't felt in over a decade. Honestly, it was surreal. For years, Kansas City has been the center of the football universe, a place where winning was basically a foregone conclusion and the postseason was a permanent fixture on the calendar.
Then came 2025.
The Kansas City Chiefs finished with a 6-11 record. Read that again. It’s the kind of stat that feels like a typo when you see it next to Patrick Mahomes' name. For the first time in 11 years, the playoffs will happen without the red and gold. If you’re looking for a single reason why the wheels fell off, you won't find one. It was a perfect storm of aging legends, a brutal injury to the world’s best player, and some honestly baffling coaching decisions.
The Mahomes Injury That Changed Everything
We have to talk about the elephant in the room. Week 15 against the Los Angeles Chargers was the day the music died in KC. Patrick Mahomes went down with a season-ending ACL tear late in the game, and just like that, the "Magic Man" was gone. Before the injury, Mahomes was putting up numbers that were... okay. He had 3,587 passing yards and 22 touchdowns, but he also threw 11 interceptions.
It wasn't his most efficient year.
He was sacked 34 times. That’s a lot of hits for a guy who usually dances out of trouble. When Mahomes went down, the team essentially flatlined. Backup Gardner Minshew suffered his own knee injury shortly after, leaving third-stringer Chris Oladokun to take the reins for the final two games. It went about as well as you’d expect for a team that had built its entire identity around a generational superstar.
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Mahomes is currently in the thick of rehab, eying a return for Week 1 of the 2026 season. He’s called it a "long process," and for a 30-year-old quarterback coming off a major ligament repair, there are no guarantees he'll have that same twitchy mobility right out of the gate.
Is This the End for Travis Kelce in Kansas City?
The vibes around Travis Kelce right now are heavy. There’s no other way to put it. During the Week 17 loss to the Denver Broncos, cameras caught an emotional Kelce on the sidelines, looking around the stadium in a way that felt a lot like a goodbye.
His contract is up. He’s 36.
While he still led the team with 851 receiving yards and five touchdowns in 2025, the dominance isn't what it used to be. Rob Gronkowski recently went on Fox NFL Sunday and basically predicted Kelce might look for one last ring elsewhere if he doesn't retire. Gronk thinks KC is entering a "rebuild year," and he’s not entirely wrong.
Kelce has been the heartbeat of this offense since 2013. Losing him wouldn't just be losing a tight end; it would be losing the soul of the locker room. He hasn't officially announced anything yet, but the "Charity Challenge" winner is expected to make a call on his future before the new league year starts on March 11.
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Andy Reid and the Coaching Shakeup
Even with a 6-11 record, Andy Reid isn't going anywhere. He’s the longest-tenured coach in the NFL now that Mike Tomlin and the Steelers have moved on. But "Big Red" isn't sitting on his hands. He’s already started the "standard-raising" process by firing staff members, including running backs coach Todd Pinkston.
The bigger story? The coordinators.
Matt Nagy’s contract is up, and he’s been interviewing for head coaching gigs with the Titans and Raiders. Many fans in Kansas City wouldn't mind a fresh voice. The offense looked stale for huge chunks of 2025. They were 15th in scoring for a long stretch, which is unheard of for a Reid-Mahomes pairing.
- Steve Spagnuolo is also drawing head coaching interest.
- The defense was actually the stronger unit for much of the year, led by Nick Bolton's 154 tackles.
- Chris Jones remains a monster with 7 sacks, but rumors are swirling about a potential trade to recoup draft assets.
What Most People Get Wrong About the 2025 Failure
A lot of national media outlets are calling this the "death of a dynasty." That’s a bit dramatic. People forget that 9 of the Chiefs' 11 losses were by 7 points or less. They weren't getting blown out; they were losing close games because they couldn't finish.
The turnover ratio was a disappointing -1.
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They lost 12 fumbles. They committed 111 penalties for nearly 1,000 yards. This wasn't a talent-depleted roster as much as it was a disciplined team that suddenly lost its way. Brett Veach has his work cut out for him, but they do have a silver lining: a high draft pick in 2026.
The 2026 Outlook: Rebuild or Reload?
The Kansas City Chiefs are currently ranked 25th in some early 2026 power rankings. That’s a slap in the face to a team that’s won three Super Bowls in the last decade. But honestly? It might be the motivation they need.
Veach has already started signing "reserve/future" contracts, bringing in guys like linebacker Kam Arnold and receiver Jimmy Holiday to build competition. They need speed. They need a deep threat that actually scares people—Xavier Worthy had flashes (532 yards), but he needs to become a consistent WR1.
Actionable Steps for the Offseason:
- Protect the Investment: The offensive line needs an upgrade at tackle. Mahomes can't take 30+ sacks again if he wants to play into his late 30s.
- Define the Post-Kelce Era: Whether Travis stays or goes, the team must find a reliable second option. Jalen Royals and Jared Wiley are the young names to watch.
- Fix the Sack Production: 35 sacks as a team is abysmal. If they trade Chris Jones, they better have a plan to replace that pressure, or the secondary will get shredded in 2026.
- Special Teams Discipline: Nikko Remigio was a bright spot in the return game (964 all-purpose yards), but the unit as a whole needs to cut down on the penalties that flipped field position in close games.
The road back to the top of the AFC West goes through a healthy Patrick Mahomes. If his rehab stays on track, the Chiefs aren't dead—they're just resting. But if the roster churn doesn't address the lack of playmakers, 2026 might look a lot like 2025. Stay tuned. The March 11 league year start will tell us everything we need to know about how serious this "rebuild" actually is.