The Kansas City Chiefs are not even one calendar year removed from a Super Bowl loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
They fell just short of a storied Super Bowl three-peat and entered 2025 looking for revenge. But, going into Week 14, they sit at 6-6 and have an uphill climb to get into the postseason.
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Kevin Patra of NFL.com answered some fact or fiction questions. When asked if the Chiefs’ decade-long playoff run is going to end this year, Patra said this is fiction.
Here is why.
“I entered this space planning to write a eulogy of the Chiefs’ long AFC dominance. The signs are all there for Patrick Mahomes and Co. Kansas City is four games back in the AFC West race and two from a Wild Card spot. The offense comes and goes. The blocking is shaky. The run game a slog. The defense lacks consistent pressure on quarterbacks. Chris Jones is having a down year by his standards. Andy Reid’s squad has been undisciplined. Losers of three of their past four, the 6-6 Chiefs are ripe to fall. And yet, one thought tugs me back: Who do you trust to keep them out of the postseason?”
After all, the Chiefs have made three straight Super Bowls, and although things are up and down, they still have arguably the best quarterback in the NFL.
Patra also questioned the other AFC Wild Card teams with the AFC South combination of the Jaguars and Colts, the Chargers and then the Bills all also playing up and down this year.
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“The division feels out of reach unless Sean Payton’s Broncos completely faceplant. But are there three Wild Card contenders you trust to close the door on Mahomes?”
The Chiefs have a 35% chance to make the playoffs, so while the odds are against them, Patra isn’t counting them out, at least not yet.
“Kansas City’s playoff hopes will hang in the balance every week. The two-game deficit nearly ensures they need to win out. Sunday night’s game against Houston at Arrowhead is the biggest pivot point. A win would give them a tiebreaker over another team in the hunt. They would then have a chance to avoid a season sweep to the Chargers in Week 15.”
It begins on Sunday against the Houston Texans, and a win could carry this team a long way. After all, with No. 15 under center, it’s hard to bet against the Chiefs.