Let’s be real: watching the Kansas City Chiefs can be an exercise in pure frustration for about three and a half quarters until Patrick Mahomes decides to teleport the ball into the end zone. But even the "Three-Peat" seekers aren't invincible. If you're wondering who did the Chiefs lose to last year, you’re likely thinking about that weird stretch in late 2023 when the offense looked totally broken. People were genuinely worried. Travis Kelce looked tired, the receivers were dropping everything, and the vibes in Arrowhead were, frankly, off.
They finished the 2023-2024 regular season with an 11-6 record. That sounds great for most teams, but for Andy Reid, that’s a "down" year. Those six losses weren't just random flukes; they were blueprints on how to actually beat a team that feels unbeatable.
The Season Opener Shocker: Detroit Lions
It all started on a humid Thursday night in September. The banner was raised, the crowd was deafening, and then... Kadarius Toney happened. Without Travis Kelce on the field due to a knee injury, the Chiefs' receiving corps looked like they were playing with oven mitts on.
The Lions didn't win because they were flashy. They won because they were gritty. Jared Goff played efficient football, and Dan Campbell gambled on a fake punt deep in his own territory that shifted the entire momentum. Kansas City lost 21-20. It was the first time since Mahomes took over as a starter that people started whispering about the lack of "weapons" around him. Rashee Rice was just a rookie then, and the chemistry wasn't there yet.
The Mile High Meltdown: Denver Broncos
This one hurt. For years, the Chiefs treated the Denver Broncos like a personal punching bag. They had a 16-game winning streak against their AFC West rivals heading into Week 8. Then, the wheels fell off in the Colorado thin air.
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Mahomes was dealing with the flu, and it showed. He threw two interceptions and fumbled once. The final score was 24-9. It was ugly. Honestly, it was the first time in the Mahomes era that the Chiefs failed to score a single touchdown in a game. Denver’s defense, led by Patrick Surtain II, played tight man coverage and dared the Chiefs' receivers to beat them. They couldn't. It proved that if you can disrupt the timing of the West Coast offense and force Mahomes to hold the ball while sick or under pressure, even the best can bleed.
The "Swiftie" Game: Green Bay Packers
By Week 13, the Taylor Swift phenomenon was in full swing, and the Chiefs headed to a freezing Lambeau Field. Jordan Love outplayed Patrick Mahomes. Period.
The Packers won 27-19, and it wasn't just about the offense. The Chiefs' defense, which was actually the strength of the team all year under Steve Spagnuolo, couldn't get off the field. A controversial non-call on a potential pass interference against Marquez Valdes-Scantling at the end of the game dominated the headlines, but the reality was simpler: Green Bay's young receivers ran circles around the KC secondary.
The Buffalo Rivalry: Bills Mafia Strikes Back
The Chiefs lost to the Buffalo Bills in Week 14, 20-17. This is the game everyone remembers because of the "offside" call on Kadarius Toney.
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Remember that incredible lateral from Kelce to Toney for a touchdown? It would have been one of the greatest plays in NFL history. But Toney was lined up in the neutral zone. Mahomes was livid. He lit into the refs on the sidelines, a rare moment of public frustration for him. While the penalty was technically correct, it felt like the breaking point for the team’s mental composure.
The Christmas Day Nightmare: Las Vegas Raiders
If you want to know who did the Chiefs lose to last year in the most embarrassing fashion, it was the Raiders. On Christmas Day. At home.
The Raiders didn't even complete a pass after the first quarter. Think about that. Aidan O'Connell had zero passing yards in the second, third, and fourth quarters, and the Raiders still won 20-14. How? Two defensive touchdowns in seven seconds. Bilal Nichols recovered a fumble for a score, and then Jack Jones jumped a route for a pick-six on the very next drive. It was the lowest point of the season.
The New Year's Eve Turnaround
Wait, I almost forgot the Week 11 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. A Super Bowl rematch where the Chiefs led 17-7 at halftime and then went scoreless in the second half. They lost 21-17 because, once again, a crucial deep ball was dropped—this time by Valdes-Scantling.
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Why These Losses Mattered
These six losses—Lions, Broncos, Packers, Bills, Raiders, and Eagles—actually served as the catalyst for their Super Bowl run.
- The Defense Stepped Up: Chris Jones and Trent McDuffie realized they had to be elite because the offense wasn't going to score 30 points a game anymore.
- Rashee Rice Emerged: After the Raiders loss, the team stopped trying to make "everyone" a target and focused heavily on Rice and Kelce.
- The "Villain" Arc: Mahomes and Kelce leaned into being the road warriors, eventually winning playoff games in Buffalo and Baltimore.
What You Can Learn From the 2023 Chiefs
Sports isn't always about being the best from Day 1. It's about when you hit your stride. The Chiefs were 9-6 at one point and looked completely "done."
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If you're betting or just analyzing the upcoming season, don't look at the final score. Look at "Turnover Luck." In almost all of the Chiefs' losses last year, they had a negative turnover margin or a special teams blunder. When they cleaned that up in January, they became unbeatable.
Keep an eye on the "Neutral Zone Infraction" and "Drops" statistics. Last year, the Chiefs led the league in drops for a significant portion of the season. If those numbers start creeping up again, you know they're vulnerable. Check the injury report for the offensive line specifically; Mahomes can scramble, but when the interior pocket collapses (like it did against the Raiders), the whole system breaks.
Follow the defensive snap counts for Steve Spagnuolo’s unit. Last year, they stayed healthy while the offense struggled. If that defense loses a key piece like McDuffie or Jones, those "weird" losses to teams like the Raiders will start happening a lot more often.