Chris Oladokun entered the Kansas City Chiefs‘ Week 16 game against the Tennessee Titans as the backup quarterback. He ended it as the team’s only healthy quarterback and the likely starter for the final two games of the 2025 NFL season after Gardner Minshew suffered what is believed to be an ACL injury.
“Being here for four years, you always walk through when your first moment is going to be and
when you’re going to sort of get an opportunity,” Oladokun told reporters. “I’ve really just attacked these last four years like you never know. Today just happened to be an opportunity for me, and I wanted to take full advantage of it.”
Oladokun certainly took advantage of it as best he could, completing 11-of-16 passes for 111 yards on the day despite being under constant siege from Tennessee’s defensive line. The 28-year-old didn’t turn the ball over and put the team in field-goal range three times despite quite a few things working against him on Sunday afternoon.
“That the moment wasn’t too big for me,” Oladokun said. “I felt really calm out there. Felt like I was seeing things pretty good, game didn’t seem too fast for me. And you just never know how you’re going to react in those situations until you’re in it. I’m never too high, never too low in those moments. So, it was good to go out there and get some live regular-season snaps because that’s just something that I haven’t really had these past four years.”
From the practice squad to the postgame podium, Oladokun suddenly finds himself taking charge of a team in freefall that is trying to find something to hang its hat on and build off of during this failed 2025 NFL season. Can Oladokun be the guy who helps the Chiefs find what they’ve been missing on the offensive side of the ball?
The impact that Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce have had on Chris Oladokun is clear
As the Chiefs will lean on Chris Oladokun to lead the team on Christmas Day’s home finale against the Denver Broncos, he’ll be taking cues from what he’s learned over the last four years from two of the team’s most prominent player leaders. A specific quality in Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes stood out most as something he can draw on.
“Oh, a bunch, just certain situations and play calls he likes,” Oladokun said. “I think the biggest thing is the energy that he gives to the team. Those guys feeling that energy, feeling like no matter who goes down, next man up, and it’s time to step up and play and battle with your guys. And that’s when I first
came in, I wanted the guys to know, ‘Hey, I’m here. We’re going to win this football game. We’re
going to go in there. I’m going to give you everything I got, and I expect the same from them.’
And so that’s probably what I learned from him the most.”
The other part is learning from Chiefs TE Travis Kelce, who preached living in the moment just this past week.
“I think you’ve always got to appreciate the moment,” Oladokun said. “I think Trav (Travis Kelce) said earlier in the week, anytime you get to strap on the pads and playing in an NFL game, that’s special.
Something I’ve been looking forward to and wanted to do since I was four years old. So, to have
this opportunity, you always watch postgame conferences, and being here in front of you guys
now, it’s surreal. But also, it’s business as usual, time to go to work and get ready for Denver.”
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This story was originally published by A to Z Sports on Dec 22, 2025, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add A to Z Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.